Telluride Venture Accelerator: tellurideXchange Event at Arroyo 6/11

10 Jun Telluride Venture Accelerator: tellurideXchange Event at Arroyo 6/11

Telluride Venture Accelerator’s Jesse Johnson (left) & Telluride Foundation’s Paul Major (right)

The tellurideXchange is the region’s local entrepreneur and small business network and an outgrowth of the Telluride Foundation’s major initiative, Telluride Venture Accelerator. Through the network,  interested parties can meet TVA mentors and super successful entrepreneurs and connect with other local businesses for synergistic opportunities. Case in point, the upcoming Xchange gathering, Telluride Venture Accelerator’s first such event of the summer., free and open to the public.

The subject of the evening, Start-up value chain: How to build, sell and communicate value to customers and investors

The meeting takes place Tuesday, June 11, 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at Arroyo Telluride.

The event features two visiting TVA mentors and a successful Colorado start-up on the rise:

•       Maile Buker, brand identity specialist in outdoor lifestyle products (i.e. Black Diamond);
•       Elizabeth Kraus, co-founder of a Boulder-based angel impact investment group, equally dedicated to making a difference and realizing a return
•       Cordell Brown, Chairman and CEO, Durango-based Airborne Media Group, creator of Audioair®, the ground breaking technology and mobile app that enables users to selectively listen to muted television displays in private and public environments to create socially interactive communities. Cordell was recently named a finalist in “Colorado Companies to Watch,” which honors Colorado companies that drive economic growth by creating valuable products and quality jobs.

The three will share their perspectives on building, selling and communicating value to customers and investors. Directly afterwards, the Audioair team is inviting all interested to join them at Smuggler’s Brewpub for a live demo of their system, some camaraderie and a microbrew.

Deeper bios of presenters:

Maile Buker – Brand Strategist, Consumer Lifestyle Companies: Maile has over 25 years experience leading marketing teams at consumer products companies from $6M to $12B in sales, including Nike, Timberland, IZZE Sparkling Juice, ZICO Coconut Water (Coke VEB), Nutrisoda (PepsiAmericas), Coors Beer, Black Diamond Equipment and Kryptonics. Maile was awarded Ernst & Young’s Utah Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2002 with the rest of the executive team at Black Diamond Equipment, and was also recognized by the Governor of Utah in 2005 with a Merit Award for Quality Growth for her work with Park City’s Leadership Class X on a comprehensive Wind Power Initiative. Maile is a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, and enjoys coming to Telluride in the spring for the MountainFilm Festival.

Elizabeth Kraus – Co-Founder, myUsearch.com and Take it Out: Elizabeth started her career as an intern for a fast growing start-up, Exclusive Resorts, and has been founding, consulting for and investing in start-ups ever since. Prior to founding her own companies, Elizabeth was the director of brand strategy and business development for Brand Iron, a strategic branding firm, where she gained hands-on experience helping businesses build strong brands and drive revenue. She co-founded the Impact Angel Group, a group of angel investors equally dedicated to making a difference and realizing a return, and has been very active in the statewide.

Cordell Brown, Chairman and CEO, Airborne Media Group:  In September 2011 Airborne launched Audioair, designed and developed to deliver an entirely new entertainment experience to the sports bar, restaurant and gaming industries, as well as other public environments that are required to mute television displays because of noise pollution issues. Anyone seeking to hear these televisions can download the Audioair application on his or her Smartphone or tablet and privately listen in to the selected on-premise channel. Beyond the obvious benefit of being able to hear a muted TV, an incredibly powerful mobile marketing platform has been brought to the market that has never been seen before