The Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
continues to recognize emerging talent and amazing
success in Colorado.
For the 20th year in the Rocky Mountain region, entrepreneurs have been scrutinized and recognized for their vision and success creating world-class businesses through the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year program.
Awards are given to entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.
Founded and produced by Ernst & Young LLP, the Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards is nationally sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In the Rocky Mountain region, local sponsors include Marsh, Clifton Gunderson LLP, Faegre & Benson LLP, LeGrand Hart, The Denver Business Journal, Comcast Spotlight, Scherzer International and Henry Wurst.
It is a challenge to select a single winner as the finalists, each in their own right, are accomplished and deserving of the prestigious recognition. Each year, award winners are selected by an independent panel of judges composed of area leaders from business, academic and civic organizations. This year’s Rocky Mountain Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of The Year 2006 award winners are:
• Business Services - Karl Friedman, President and Founder, NextAction
• Emerging - I. Ben Joseph, Chairman and CEO, Wireless Channels
• Healthcare & Life Sciences - Dr. Joel R. Montbriand, President, Gastroenterology of the Rockies/Medamorph
• Real Estate - James Chaffin, President, and James Light, Chairman, Chaffin/Light Associates
• Retail & Consumer Services - Elizabeth Isely, Vice President; Heather Isely, Vice President and Secretary; Kemper Isely, Co-President; and Zephyr Isely, Co-President; Vitamin Cottage
• Software - Perry Evans, CEO, Local Matters
• Technology - David Phelps, President and CEO, Merlin Technical Solutions
• Turnaround - H. Craig Clark, President and CEO, Forest Oil
“Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year award winners embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and determination necessary to achieve success,” said Mark Siegel, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year program director for the Rocky Mountain region. “Ernst & Young is proud of its 20 year history in recognizing and supporting these outstanding leaders and their companies.”
Past Entrepreneur Of The Year winners include individuals who have built some of business’s most recognizable names: Jeff Bezos of Amazon.com; Pierre Omidyar of eBay, Inc.; Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, Inc.; Howard Schultz of Starbucks Corp.; Catherine L. Hughes and Alfred Liggins of Radio One; and Jim McCann of 1-800-Flowers.com.
Scott Walker
Accuvant, Inc.
A visionary, Scott Walker noticed shortcomings forming in the security consulting market and the industry’s lack of being able to truly meet the needs of its customers. He helped form Accuvant to fill the void, providing comprehensive solutions to the complex information security challenges that face large enterprises. Twelve months into its business plan, Accuvant sales were well below expectation. Scott was faced with the decision to curtail growth. This contradicted his belief that rapid expansion was needed to create the economies of scale required to serve his target market. Over the next twelve months, Scott turned the company around, balancing risk while staying true to his aggressive growth plans. Accuvant has since increased revenue and employee count by 500 percent and has opened a new office in a new market every quarter.
Robert Sievers & Brian Quinn
Aktiv-Dry LLC
More than 1,000 children die every day from measles. The disease is easily preventable, but developing countries often don’t have the electricity required to refrigerate the vaccine. Dr. Robert Sievers and Dr. Brian Quinn are dedicated to making a difference. Aktiv-Dry is creating vaccines for measles and other preventable diseases formulated as dry micro-powders that don’t require refrigeration and can be inexpensively administered through inhalation. Robert, a chemist, and Brian, a physicist and engineer, originally met while in the Air Force, assigned to the Aerospace Research Laboratories. The pair kept in tough as their careers advanced, rejoining to form Aktiv-Dry in 2002. Combined, they hold more than 30 patents that advance their cause and commitment to saving lives taken by preventable diseases in developing countries.
Joel Montbriand
Boulder Valley Gastroenterology, Inc.
Inspired by his father’s ambition and drive and his wife’s strategic thinking, Joel Montbriand, M.D., propelled Boulder Valley Gastroenterology Inc. to new heights when the original practitioner left in 1994. Reshaping the practice with his vision, Joel led the company through a complete “technological transition” to enhance the quality of his medical practice. He sacrificed paychecks for months and worked “on call” every day for a year to afford the cost of computerizing the office. His instinct to hire the right people at the right time— even if it meant hiring outside the health services industry (unheard of in the industry) — proved beneficial. Over the last ten years, Joel has taken a practice of one physician in a single location to a practice of nine practitioners and three medical centers, serving five counties.
Tom Gebes
BuilderMT
It’s a rags to riches story for this former high school president. A serial entrepreneur, Tim Gebes lives by the motto: “you don’t know how to win until you lose.” BuilderMT stands as proof. The company was turned down twice for VC funding during the 1990’s despite its strong business plan because it lacked the standard dot com Web initiative. Tom used rejection to create a high-caliber staff and business plan focused on products and customers. Combined with his natural leadership, Tom navigated BuilderMT to become the fastest growing technology solution in the homebuilding market with a presence in four countries. BuilderMT continues to ride a stable growth rate over 20 percent in the last four years.
Eric Sumpter
COPAN Systems
COPAN Systems inconspicuously got its start in the spring of 2002 when Eric Sumpter and the other co-founders convened in a room to brainstorm. The task was to visualize 1,000 disk drives sitting on shelves within the room. The company’s viability rested on the ability to connect the drives together at the lowest possible price, while ensuring data reliability for long-term storage. Eric and his cohorts accomplished this goal, creating the Revolution line of MAID (Massive Array of Idle Disks) storage systems. No other company has harnessed the power of MAID as thoroughly as Eric and his COPAN team. The company leaped from a single product company to one with a full product line and announced in 2005 that it manages more than 2.5 petabytes of its enterprise customers’ long-term data.
James Light &
James Chaffin, Jr.
Chaffin/Light Associates
James Chaffin, Jr. and James Light create and operate developments that exemplify the art and science of innovative communities. The duo formed Chaffin/Light Associates (CLA) with little more than a vision, mortgaging their homes to acquire 3,000 acres in Snowmass Village, Colorado. After their institutional investor withdrew commitment, CLA combed the nation to raise $5 million in equity and $2 million in debt within a 27-day period. The company has grown rapidly, now owning developments across the country and five real estate brokerage companies. CLA has also created four environmental nonprofits funded by a real estate transfer assessment, which in essence is a self-imposed tax on CLA sales and re-sales by CLA’s property owners and members. This innovative and selfless approach has been copied extensively across the industry.
Roger Odell, Dave W. Newton
Encision
It’s a Cinderella story for this dynamic duo, Roger Odell and Dave Newton founded Encision, a company revered among surgical elites despite its small stature in size compared to industry goliaths. Founded in 1991, Encision’s goal is to optimize patient survey during laparoscopic surgery. The company’s patented AEM (active electrode monitoring) technology prevents stray electrosurgical burns due to laparoscopic instrument insulation failure and capacitive coupling. Plans for future growth include incorporating the patient safe AEM technology beyond laparoscopy and into other areas of minimally invasive surgery. The company plans to remain true to its mission of educating surgeons across the world on the dangers of laparoscopic burns. Encision’s educational efforts are demonstrated through the company’s internship program that provides opportunities to youth in engineering from both domestic and international universities.
Brent Handler
Exclusive Resorts
Brent’s vision to create Exclusive Resorts, a vacation experience that combines the best of luxury resorts with the comforts of home, came to him while on vacation. Less than a year later, the company sold its 100th membership, and currently dominates the category with 1,800 members and more properties than all of its competitors combined. One of the key areas of success of Exclusive Resorts is their online reservation system, referred to as Compass. Members have Web based access to the Compass system 24 hours a day and it has helped the Company reach and maintain a leading position in the industry. Members are able to check property availability by destination, as well as date of travel. Imagine having your pick of 233 spectacular homes around the world for your next vacation— this dream is possible— Brent is to thank.
Jason McCool
Executive Coating and Contracting, Inc.
Jason McCool exemplifies entrepreneurial zeal. At seven, he sold sodas and candy bars to neighbors, expanding to pizza at flea markets by the time he was 15. He started his own painting business at 18, which became Executive Coating and Contracting in 1997. The company moved to Denver two years later. Faced with a new market, Jason visited every apartment complex in sight just to gain the right to bid on projects, let alone win. His pursuit of perfection soon filled the pipeline. Jason recently drove past a complex that was painted by Executive Coating and Contracting. One side appeared to be faded more than the others; Jason stopped and offered to repaint that side for free. Executive Coating and Contracting has expanded into Nevada and Michigan with plans to further expand into California and Arizona.
Craig Clark
Forest Oil
Craig Clark, appointed Forest Oil’s CEO in 2003 to restructure the company, is a “rebel with a cause” in the energy world. By reorganizing the company’s management team, Craig changed the culture, bringing to life a company that sets and fulfills yearly goals while maintaining a strict budget and an intense work ethic. He implemented a four-point strategy to do this; varying from acquisition management to costs and balance sheet management. Craig leads by example— making Forest a better company and a good corporate citizen. While he motivates employees by making them all equity holders, he also identifies key issues to which Forest will direct financial and personal time. Last year, Forest gave significant financial and personal time to assist those affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Boni Lonnsburry
In Touch Today
Boni Lonnsburry, President and CEO of In Touch Today, believes that “every problem creates opportunity” and InTouch is a real-life example. As a divorced, single mom, she took a temporary job in the marketing department of a mortgage company. Her marketing skills soon skyrocketed, which lead her to start her own business. In Touch Today provides a wide variety of marketing material to the mortgage and real estate industries and since its founding, the company has drastically increased its revenue. Future plans include improvements in the copmany’s technology in order for greater e-commerce efficiency and diversification into other markets beyond the mortgage and real estate industries. In Touch Today shows no signs of slowing and the completion of construction on Lonnsburry’s recently acquired building should provide the space needed to continue growing in the future.
Stephen Adele
iSatori
iSatori is a Japanese term that translates to “my epiphany.” For founder Stephen Adele, iSatori was an epiphany in the late 1990’s when EAS was purchased. Instead of cashing in options as EAS’ manager of international relations, Stephen pursued his dream of starting his own company, leveraging a niche he saw in the market for customers looking for more than just a “quick-fix” to health. Financing the start up through a second home mortgage and maxing out his credit cards, iSatori’s products today are distributed in over 20,000 retail stores nationwide and 12 additional countries. The focus of new products will be food-based, as Stephen believes food-based products are the wave of the future. Today, this former Mr. Teen Colorado and Mr. Colorado spends his spare time helping others get fit in unique activities. For the Denver Police Department, Stephen developed a “Plan for Success” to help them lose weight and the “donut-eating police officer” image.
Sharon Linhart
Linhart McClain Finlon PR
As editor of her high school newspaper, Sharon Linhart followed her passion through college as a journalism major. She quickly realized, however, that her true passion lie not only in expressing thoughts in print, but working directly with people; or in Sharon’s words: the “social side” of journalism. After studying other PR firms’ tactics and strategies while working in the corporate world, Sharon approached Cathey Finlon about a potential partnership in January 1996. Cathey accepted and terms were negotiated. Fast forward to 2005 and Sharon has grown her business from one employee to 13. Two business principles have driven her firm to success, including “no particular niche” and “best not biggest.” Celebrating their tenth year in business this year, Sharon shared the success with the firm, asking each employee to plan a monthly event— one was indoor skydiving.
Perry Evans
Local Matters
“You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with,” reads the famous quote. This principle has helped Local Matters founder Perry Evans maintain a strategic edge on the competition. Perry surrounds himself with people who serve as invaluable mentors, crediting his wife as his greatest role model. He believes that Local Matters’ future success is directly related to hiring smart, technical teams and continually building relationships with customers. Local Matters, which offers expanded local search content online with increased search relevancy to enhance the shopping experience and build relationships between consumers and local advertisers, is not shy about future growth. Perry believes that the company is global by nature with customers in over 18 countries, and will continue to grow on an international level through acquisitions.
Bill Chambers & John Spiers
LeftHand Networks
As longtime data storage industry veterans, Bill Chambers and John Spiers knew that, in business, losing data can mean losing money. Along with a small technical team, they started LeftHand Networks in 1999, dedicated to the vision of both simplifying and advancing data storage. Within just two years, thanks to the technical know-how of John and his team, and the entrepreneurial experience of Bill, Lefthand Networks redefined shared network storage, creating the first full-featured Storage Area Network (SAN) that could utilize existing Ethernet infrastructure to create scalable, enterprise-class storage systems. LeftHand’s strategy is to become the software platform of choice for any company wanting to deliver SAN solutions to the marketplace. In the past 12 months, LeftHand has licensed its SAN/iQ software to HP, Intel, MPC, as well as many other industry leaders to deliver powerful and cost effective storage solutions to mid-tier enterprises in the U.S. and Europe.
David Phelps
Merlin Technical Solutions, Inc.
David Phelps, founder of Merlin Technical Solutions, Inc., is a man with a mission. In 1997, he founded the company with $500, homemade business cards, huge energy and a clear plan. During the next nine years, relying on his own capital, David led the company to generate skyrocketing annual sales for 2003, 2004 and 2005. Merlin is unique because it starts with a deep understanding of an agency’s mission before it develops technical solutions. After working years in the aerospace industry, David realized there was a huge gap in the technology solutions that were available to various government users. There were vendors who simply sold products and there were large “domain” companies that managed specific programs but who were often dangerously outdated on new technology. Merlin has not only bridged the gap between products suppliers and services providers, they have created an entirely new value platform for government agencies.
Karl Friedmanl
Next Action
An MBA professor once told Karl Friedmanl, “We’re not teaching answers, we’re teaching questions.” He has tried to instill that same spirit in all his employees and for more than one company. Co-founder of Abacus Direct, which went public in 1996 and was sold for $1.7B in 1999, Karl knew he was too young to retire. He looked for his next challenge and found what was to become Next Action, a provider of targeted customer databases for companies needing to more effectively advertise to potential customer vs. a mass population. Karl believes taking calculated risks on a consistent basis will continually elevate the performance of his company and prepare his company for future challenges by developing relationships with cable providers and others; recognizing that the industry is changing significantly with the use of the internet and digital TV.
Kathy Pakkebier
Portable Computer Systems (PCS)
In the world of public safety, only minutes can mean the difference between catching or loosing a criminal and extinguishing a fire or letting it roar out of control. Thanks to Kathy Pakkebier, founder and President of Portable Computer Systems (PCS), police officers and fire fighters now have necessary information and communications equipment at their finger tips in the field. PCS sells, installs and supports rugged laptops for public safety vehicles. These laptops help transfer and communicate information in just seconds between different field units, a process that once took several minutes through dispatchers. Between 2003 and 2005, PCS doubled its revenue. The company is always looking to expand into new markets and is now beginning to sell to drivers of public utility vehicles and even business travelers in need of a rugged laptop.
Ryan Martens
Rally Software Development
Ryan Martens was born with the entrepreneurial spirit; Rally Software Development is his fourth software entrepreneurial experience. After working at Qwest Communications, founding Avitek and helping lead BEA Systems, Martens founded Rally Software Development. The company delivers easy-to-use software project management products for improving visibility and team collaboration and helps thousands of software professionals shorten their development cycles to respond faster to changing customer needs. Ryan’s commitment to conservation and ecology inspired him to redefine the software development industry and move it from an inefficient, product based business model to a lean, service-based approach. Rally has grown from only 11 employees in 2003 to 34 as of the end of 2005.
John Elms
SpectraLink Corporation
After a brief stint in a large corporate environment, John Elms discovered his true passion— turning small companies into large global players. His experience in the corporate market and global perspective gained while working in Hong Kong, led him to SpectraLink, where he was appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2003. Since his appointment, he has increased this small Boulder-based company’s revenues by nearly $30 million and with the recent acquisition KIRK telecom, a Danish company; SpectraLink is now positioned as a global contender. Elm’s passion for building the business has also translated into community involvement with a heavy emphasis on education. A relationship formed with the University of Colorado has resulted in a successful internship program and participation in the University’s Presidents Leadership Program. Additionally, Elm helped create a volunteer time-off program allowing employees two work days to dedicate to community involvement.
Mr. Kemper, Mr. Zephyr, Ms. Heather, & Ms. Elizabeth Isely
Vitamin Cottage
It’s all in the family. The Isely children’s love for the Vitamin Cottage began at a young age by working in the store bagging nuts and running the cash register. In 1999, the children purchased the nine-store business from their father and have been able to reap the fruit of their labor in 14 new store openings. The Isely family asserts that “organic” not only defines the products they sell but the philosophy by which they live and conduct business. Driven by their five tiered mission statement, Vitamin Cottage has continued to invest in successful business strategies. The company believes their competitors helps drive demand in the overall market and increases demand, which Vitamin Cottage then capitalizes upon using their unique business strategies.
Ben Joseph
Wireless Channels
Ben Joseph defines the entrepreneurial spirit. At sixteen he was repairing all of the neighbors’ transistor radios, destined to be an entrepreneur and in his mind, a radio technician. Joseph began his career at Motorola; within five years he was named Vice President. Although the corporate world wasn’t for him and since leaving Motorola, he started several companies including Wireless Channels. Joseph found an opportunity with Wireless Channels to be a distributor that adds value to both sides of the distribution chain, individual consumers and the major wireless carriers. Joseph’s initiative and business model has, within two years, produced substantial returns to its investors and continues to grow in a positive way. Joseph demonstrates his entrepreneurial spirit outside of work as a mentor to many first time entrepreneurs by “showing them the mistakes I made.”
