Founded in FoCo 2025: Full Schedule

Add sessions to your personal schedule to register your attendance (Check-In).

10:00am MDT

How to Tell Your Brand's Story Like Netflix SEATS AVAILABLE

Tuesday March 11, 2025 10:00am - 12:00pm MDT

In this session, participants will learn how to repeatedly capture their audiences' attention through powerful Netflix-style video storytelling.

Brandon, a former television editor and producer for Netflix, History Channel, and FOX will teach the fundamentals of what makes engaging video content and how to translate that to your own brand.

During the session, Brandon will guide participants using their own smart phones through the process of capturing and creating engaging content that builds brands and grows client base.

Workshop / Session Breakdown:

I. How to Entertain an Audience (Even if you're not an extravert)
In a series of short and fun exercises, Brandon will demonstrate how easy it is for session participants to capture brand stories like storytellers working on the most captivating films and tv series.

For example, Brandon will break down the anatomy of the session participants' favorite films, so that they can see WHY they're entertaining. He will then translate these principles into easy to implement steps that participants can use to tell their own brand stories with little to no budget.

II. The Minimum Viable Equipment Needed
This part of the session will go over the bare minimum equipment needed to tell high quality stories, and what the most important things to focus on are. For example, Brandon will cover how to shoot cinematic content on a smart phone, what affordable, but good investments can be made for sound and light. And how to design equipment around your own storytelling style (and how to keep equipment from getting in the way of the story).

III. The Three Essential Videos Every Brand Needs
In this session Brandon will help participants cut through the noise and focus on the main fundamental videos that every brand needs to succeed.

IV. Make A Video
In the final part of the session, Brandon will have the audience pair off and film with each other, applying the information learned.

Speakers

Brandon Wasserburger

Founder and Creative Director, Fire Tribe

Brandon started making videos on his dad's VHS camera telling stories about giants and G.I. Joes, many years later he would be working on some of the biggest hit series on History Channel, HGTV and Netflix.After creating pure escapism for millions of viewers across the country, Brandon... Read More →

Tuesday March 11, 2025 10:00am - 12:00pm MDT
Foxtail 2 1200 Raintree Dr, Fort Collins, CO 80526

Builder Track, Workshop

Subject Marketing
Format Workshop
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1:00pm MDT

Writing with AI: What you don't know could kill your business SEATS AVAILABLE

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:00pm - 2:45pm MDT

Foxtail 1

It’s really tempting to pop an AI open and ask it to do your boring tasks for you: email, reports, job descriptions, cover letters, and all that marketing content you’re supposed to be churning out. But when we’re telling brand stories in a sea of robot regurgitation, we have to use our tools effectively: AI is just a fancy calculator using language instead of numbers. Before you get too intoxicated watching your empty page fill, remember that AI can’t write for you, and come to our workshop to get a refresher on its strengths and weaknesses, and a structured approach for producing usable, effective writing using AI as a tool in your kit. You’ll leave with some prompts, a method for reviewing and adapting AI outputs, and a much more nuanced understanding of appropriate AI usage and just why it is that most of us can recognize unadulterated AI content.

Speakers

Sharon Pitkin

Content that connects, Something Polished

Sharon is a (primarily technical) communicator, connecting experts with the customers who need to understand what they do. With careful editing and content writing, she gets your words out to the right audiences. Together, you’ll create something polished: an RFP bid, website copy... Read More →

Jenny Morse

Business Writing and Communication Expert, Appendance, Inc

Jenny helps professionals develop their confidence and credibility as business writers through her company Appendance, Inc, which offers corporate seminars and online courses. She has had the privilege of training employees at CoBank, Hunter Douglas, Adobe, Larimer County, Digicomm... Read More →

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:00pm - 2:45pm MDT
Foxtail 1 1200 Raintree Dr, Fort Collins, CO 80526

AI Track, Workshop

Format Workshop
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1:00pm MDT

Traction: How to Get a Grip on Your Business SEATS AVAILABLE

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:00pm - 2:45pm MDT

Sand Lily

Is your business controlling you, or are you controlling your business?

Being an entrepreneur is exciting—until it's not. The chaos of keeping things together feels like trying to juggle while riding a unicycle on a tightrope. Blindfolded. Over a pit of fire.

Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Business owners everywhere face the same uphill battle: mounting fires, leadership tension, and a nagging suspicion that your business might actually be running you. It doesn’t have to be this way.

As an EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) Implementer, I help frazzled founders, weary leaders, and overwhelmed teams regain control. This workshop unpacks the simple, powerful tools of the Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS®) to help you:

+ Gain clarity on your vision (because guessing isn't a strategy).
Build a healthy, aligned leadership team (goodbye, endless bickering in meetings).
+ Establish consistent, accountable processes (yes, people will actually follow through!).
+ Solve issues at the root, not just slapping on duct tape (we're looking at you, 'quick fixes').

You’ll leave with the tools and confidence to run your business, rather than letting it run you into the ground. And hey, you might even start enjoying being the boss again.

So, if you’ve ever felt like the captain of a ship that’s constantly one storm away from sinking, join us for this workshop. Together, we’ll turn your team into a well-oiled machine that runs like clockwork, leaving you free to enjoy life, lead well, and maybe—just maybe—sleep through the night.

It’s time to get a grip. Because the only thing worse than being overwhelmed by your business is realizing it’s been controlling you all along.

This workshop isn’t just about survival. It’s about thriving. It’s about gaining the traction you need to move forward, not just spin in circles.

And let’s be honest—there are enough things in life that control us (hello, social media algorithms). Your business shouldn’t be one of them.

Speakers

Justin Boling

I help entrepreneurs & business owners take control of their business!, EOS Worldwide

I am a dedicated husband, father to 5, serial entrepreneur, Coach, and Small Business Owner committed to empowering fellow entrepreneurs. Previously, I grappled with the commonplace notion that success meant sacrificing personal well-being and relationships. In my pursuit of climbing... Read More →

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:00pm - 2:45pm MDT
Sand Lily 1200 Raintree Dr, Fort Collins, CO 80526

Builder Track, Workshop

Subject People, Strategy, Growth, Leadership, Marketing, Sales, Communication Skills, Small & Medium Business, Venture-Backed, Mindset, Mental Health
Format Workshop
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1:00pm MDT

Art is Not a Business SEATS AVAILABLE

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:00pm - 2:45pm MDT

Stage

Why is it so many artists/creatives resist creating business plans? Why do we dread engaging in marketing and sales? Why do we struggle to price our art? Because art, unlike business, is not "the practice of making one's living by engaging in commerce." But it's also not charity. Artists are not "poor businesspeople," we are just not traditional business people, and judging us by those standards keeps us in low-earning positions, stifles innovation, and pits us against each other. In this session, author and arts advocate Teresa Funke will lead the audience in a fast-paced, whine-free, out-of-the-box, open discussion of how we artists could potentially carve out a space for ourselves that operates somewhere between business and charity and redefines what "business success" looks like.

Speakers

Teresa Funke

Author, Arts Advocate, Community Catalyst, Owner Teresa Funke & Company, LLC

Teresa Funke is an author, speaker, blogger, playwright, part-owner of Blue Moose Art Gallery, and an arts and community catalyst. She is the founder and owner of Teresa Funke & Company, LLC and Victory House Press. She also owns and operates the Bursts of Brilliance® website, brand... Read More →

Wednesday March 12, 2025 1:00pm - 2:45pm MDT
Stage 1200 Raintree Dr, Fort Collins, CO 80526

Creative Track, Workshop

Subject People, Strategy, Creativity, Solopreneur/Freelancers
Format Workshop
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10:15am MDT

Writing Your Artist Statement! SEATS AVAILABLE

Thursday March 13, 2025 10:15am - 12:15pm MDT

Gregory Allicar Museum of Art's Robert W. Hoffert Learning Center [Offsite]

Calling all artists, writers, and creatives: emerging or established, mid-career or hobbyist!

Stumped by your artist statement? Don’t know where to start, what to say, or how long it should be? Have an existing statement that feels out of date or doesn’t accurately represent you or your work?

Discover the answers to these questions and more at Writing Your Artist Statement, an interactive workshop led by Madeleine Boyson, regional arts writer and editor.

Together we'll discover your work in your own voice, cover best practices, create new frameworks for statements, and build creative community in the process. Bring an existing statement or start from scratch!

Speakers

Madeleine Boyson

Arts and Culture Writer, Editor, + Communications Coordinator, Gregory Allicar Museum of Art

Madeleine Boyson (she/her) is a Denver-based writer, poet, and artist. She holds a BA in Art History and History from the University of Denver and makes her living as a communications professional, editorial coordinator, and arts writer.

Thursday March 13, 2025 10:15am - 12:15pm MDT
Gregory Allicar Museum of Art's Robert W. Hoffert Learning Center [Offsite] 1400 Remington StFort Collins, CO 80524

Creative Track, Workshop

Subject People, Growth, Communication Skills, Social, Creativity, Solopreneur/Freelancers, Networking
Format Workshop

1:00pm MDT

Customer Discovery Workshop from CSU's Venture Validator [Institute for Entrepreneurship]

Thursday March 13, 2025 1:00pm - 2:45pm MDT

Foxtail 2

Join us for the Customer Discovery Workshop, an immersive seminar designed to equip entrepreneurs with the essential tools for validating business ideas. In this session, you'll dive deep into the customer discovery process, learning how to conduct empathy-driven interviews, gather meaningful insights, and refine your value propositions. We'll explore key frameworks like the Business Model Canvas and customer segmentation strategies to ensure your venture aligns with real market needs. Whether you're launching a new product or refining an existing one, this workshop will give you actionable techniques to move from assumption to validation with confidence.

Speakers

Mark Schreiber

Institute for Entrepreneurship, Colorado State Business of a Better World, Colorado State University

Mark serves as the Entrepreneurship Specialist where he strives to community members and schools and students to add more entrepreneurial programs and mindsets into their lives, schools, and businesses. He enjoys doing presentations about the Business Model Canvas and creating tools... Read More →

Sponsors & Partners