Michael Gracie

Just in time for autumn

It’s a great time to be fishing, and it’s only going to get better. We’re heading into a transition period, when the temperature cools, the leaves start falling off the trees, and (happily) when fish either head into spawning mode and/or start bulking up for winter. In my humble opinion, there is no better place to be during this time than on one of Colorado’s designated gold medal waters (notwithstanding that those who fish with me will quickly debate the ‘humble’ part). On that note, I thought I’d summarize what ‘gold medal’ means, and where to find them besides the cover of Sports Illustrated.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife says there are more than 6,000 miles of streams and more than 2,000 lakes and reservoirs in the state. Of those precious natural resources, just 168 miles of streams (and 3 stillwater locations) have been officially designated “Gold Medal water.” This award is given to those fisheries that represent the best opportunities for anglers to catch trophies, and are specially managed to ensure their excellence. Most are catch and release, artificial lure and fly only, and those that do allow taking fish usually limit the bag to two (one of which can be greater that 20 inches, and one that must be less than 12 inches - essentially limiting the take to one ‘trophy’ since nobody really wants to keep a 12 inch fish). The best part is most people memorialize in picture, and the “report poachers” warnings that usually reside near the entrances to these waters are enough to deter those sans camera.

Where do I find the medals?

Gold medal waters are spread throughout the state - some are within an hour or two of major metropolitan areas (think Denver and Colorado Springs), and some are far enough away to virtually guarantee minimal pressure. You can expect that the waters close at hand will be chock full of anglers, hence the fish are handed their Ph.D.’s in entomology early. Those far off may hold less educated aquatica, but you may find yourself carrying your shelter if you decide to stick around for more than a day. Here’s a list, as compiled by the department and organized alphabetically, which includes links to satellite imagery (and links to maps) of the described sections…

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70 people get together to build a web-based company in a single weekend. That’s 70 people that either barely know each other or have barely worked together - well maybe 60 or so plus a few that actually do work together. Nevertheless, just getting this many people to burn their entire weekend working for 1/70th of the equity in an unfunded enterprise is a feat. Yet, there were naysayers beforehand and the “told ya so” crowd” afterward (the site didn’t actually launch on time), many of whom fall into the following persona categories:

- Those that thought this project was purely an exercise in building to flip (because they generally can’t see the forest through the trees); and
- Those that the existing 70 folks probably wouldn’t have wanted around anyway (because they are simply negative-willed pains in the asses).

There were numerous successes to this “venture,” and you don’t really need a well-trained eye to see them either:

• A few die hards will finish the project (albeit late), and probably sharpen their negotiating skills (to balance their highly tuned coding skills, and newfound high pressure social skills);
• A few people will have some fun with the project once it’s done;
• Vosnap will not need to hire a PR firm when it launches (they’ve gotten plenty of free publicity already);
• The groundbreaking “all open” development methodology (open as in blogged, video-ed, cross-commented on, etc.) will be the subject of a business school case study, and probably sooner rather than later;
• Several of the participants will invariably start something else, knowing now that they have complimentary skillsets and further assurances of a productive working relationship;
• The Foundry Group/TechStars/Boulder/Colorado communities stand to benefit from the above (and they knew it to begin with).

There are probably a lot more gains to be had that don’t show up at first glance, but I have to go walk the dog.

Also noted…even though Vosnap didn’t launch on time, there is a distinct lack of directly negative commentary showing up among the “internet influencers” - before you bash this project, ask yourself why.

Fortunately, I think happy hour should be longer, even if it does have to start a little later.

According to yesterday’s report from E&Y and DJ’s VentureOne, venture capital investing hit its best quarter since the first of 2001. That’s great for startups. Unfortunately, the party doesn’t seem to be happening in my neighborhood.

You could provide the standard reasoning that local funds are more mature, and they are doing more follow-ons and portfolio consolidation right now. You could also go out on a limb by saying there is a “right brain drain” going on, so there are less ideas floating around. I don’t buy any of the notions, and I think the phenomena is actually a good thing.

First, less capital floating around means only the choice opportunities get funded, and the chance of success of any given deal should jump a notch or two. Getting more wins (and less fiascos) under the belt will attract additional capital over the long term. And it’s the “left brain” that usually keeps the books anyway.

Second, I suspect a big part of the local economy has been real estate driven, at least that’s my guess based on the impression that all people seem to want to talk about is their new houses, and all everyone seems to be doing is getting real estate licenses. Time to wake up there - the housing party looks like it is ending, and while it could actually get really ugly, at least that will prime a lot of people to get down to the business of creating value instead of waiting for someone or something to conjure it for them.

In summary, a little restriction of liquidity gets the juices flowing. We’ll see more bootstraps, more ideas popping up out of the woodwork (I love those kinds of surprises) - more ingenuity, and less waste. And that is really the entrepreneurial way.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers is touring the state talking about fraud, privacy and identity theft. His last stop, in Pueblo, was met with something less than enthusiasm - in fact, he was met with nobody at all. The AG was targeting the elderly - the ones you would think would be the most vulnerable. According to Suthers, one-third of fraud victims are seniors.

Hat tip to ColoradoPols for picking this one up, and a bit of a smirk to them as well, for politicizing it. I don’t care who your candidate of choice is, and/or what they are promising. Not a one of them can stop this stuff - new laws, policing, etc. won’t put much of a dent in it. But, education and awareness will. And I’ll applaud Suthers for trying.

And to those sniveling about the poor turnout - you won’t be when someone empties your bank account.

You would naturally assume that if some educational institution was now “missing” a laptop with the names and social security numbers of 95,000 students and faculty on it, that I would be picking on them like no tomorrow. In this case, however, it happened in my backyard, so I am just hoping nobody I know is caught in the grips of some ID thief.

I heard the news on the tele while sitting in a crowded Jiffy Lube a few hours ago, so I have not been able to corroborate the story in print or bytes. But my eyes and ears gathered that several Denver metro area higher-education elements could be affected, based on enrollment over the last few years.

Best bet is to call the fraud prevention departments at the three major credit bureaus, forthwith. Here are the contact points you need:

Equifax fraud division
800-525-6285
P.O. Box 740250
Atlanta, GA 30374

Experian fraud division
888-397-3742
P.O. Box 1017
Allen, TX 75013

Trans Union fraud division
800-680-7289
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, CA 92634

They will ask you a bunch of information about yourself - name, address, SSN, the name and account number of a creditor (and maybe more, so have that stuff ready). Ask them to put a fraud alert on your report. That should cover you until the smoke clears, and/or the machine is recovered.

Best wishes,

Spamroll

I was getting worried for a while, but now I can now safely continue picking on all the universities losing their data. I feared I might eventually have to target someone around my neighborhood, but as it turns out, Colorado universities are taking the issues pretty seriously. Whew!

Trout Unlimited Wild Trout Chapter’s benefit last night for the Eagle River Preserve was, in my opinion, a smashing success. Of course, my view was based on the number of folks with big smiles on their faces, sipping beers, and spewing good fishing stories. There were also lots of bids for the variety of items in the silent auction, so I suspect some good money was raised for the cause.
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The State of Colorado is restructuring its subsidized venture capital initiative, and will soon be utilizing professional fund managers to deploy investments in seed level and early stage companies.

The state had a previous structure in place, called the CAPCO program, which was complicated and expensive to operate. Under the former program, the state provided premium tax credits to insurers, and insurers in turn provided cash to qualified for-profit entities (called “Certified Capital Companies”). These companies must have been in the business of providing venture capital to other operating companies. Essentially, it was a subsidy arrangement. A new investment fund could be formed, and regardless of the money they raised from upper-tier institutions, could supplement pools with the insurer’s “free” funds - insurers often invest small portions of their portfolios in venture capital anyway. The original arrangement provided for up to $200 million in premium tax credits, and was later adjusted down to $100 million when funds were redirected to other programs.
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