Week 1: Customer Data & Customer Acquisition 

• Characterize customer segments and profiles
• Determine target customers
• Create marketing and customer acquisition plan
• Create customer journey and an outreach strategy

Instructor

Kris Hefley: Marketing Program Director and Associate Professor, Johnson & Wales University and President, PresentFutures Group

Kris is a marketing consultant with the SBDC and has over 30 years of marketing experience with his own marketing consultancy working with client/companies such as General Motors, BMW Motorcycles, Pepsi, Vail Resorts, HUD and the State of Alaska. Hefley has also taught college level marketing and sales for 19 years at Johnson & Wales University, Regis University, and for numerous sales executive associations in the United States.

Week 2: Financial Modeling 

• Understand basics of operational finance.
• Understand Income statements, Balance sheets and Profit/Loss statements.
• Create a Financial Model and Cash Flow Forecast for funding ask.
• Determine Financial Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Strategize around financial partnerships.
• Connect business decisions to your financial model (staffing, purchasing, etc.).
• Understand how and when to iterate with financial model.

Instructor

Mark Ahern: Founder and Advisor, AMP Business Consulting, LLC

Mark empowers business owners to make more informed decisions by gaining a deeper understanding of the financial side of their business, measuring and monitoring performance, and forecasting cash flow. Mark is the founder of Amp Business Consulting, LLC, an advisory and fractional CFO firm dedicated to providing affordable advisory services to create an equitable business landscape. He spent over a decade in financial services with firms such as First Midwest Bank, GE Capital, and most recently Wells Fargo. In his time as a credit analyst and commercial banker, Mark worked with businesses of all sizes and industries. Mark earned his MBA from DePaul University and is proficient in Spanish. In addition to consulting, Mark teaches finance part-time at Regis University.

Week 3: RVC Pitch Academy 

• Preparing a business for a deal
• Designing a deck
• Delivering the pitch
• Communicating the value for venture funding
• Balancing pitching a product vs. pitching a company
• Raising equity vs. convertible debt
• Communicating risks that don’t raise red flags
• Understanding investor psychology

Instructor

Kevin Kudra: Director of Operations, Rockies Venture Club

Kevin is a CSU grad and an action oriented self-starter trained in finance with the ability to analyze complex, high quantity, and contradictory information to solve problems and optimize work processes with a focus on continuous improvement, executing project tasks efficiently, and identifying margin improvement opportunities.

Week 4: Pitching Your Idea | Storytelling Pt. 1 

• Understand the components of impactful storytelling.
• Prepare engaging calls-to-action and funding ask.
• Identify the most relevant components of the businesses story.
• Outline an effective pitch for your venture

Instructors

Terry Rubin is a seasoned communication expert who has spent his career helping individuals perfect their message and presentation skills. Since 2011, Terry has provided independent consulting to a range of individuals and companies looking to elevate their preparation for major presentations, interviews, and other public speaking engagements. Terry’s experience includes nearly two decades as an award-winning producer with the PBS Newshour. Throughout his career, Terry worked with on-air talent to enhance their communication techniques. For 17 years, Terry also coached and directed a nationally ranked Speech and Debate program where his students competed in events judged on public speaking, poise, and presentation. Most importantly, they learned valuable skills that led to successful careers in business, law, academia, communications, and marketing. 

Kurt MacDonald is an award-winning teacher and experienced content creator. His graduate degree in Behavioral Neuroscience provides unique insight into the psychological and physiological processes that underlie speaking, stress, and information transfer. He utilizes his understanding of human attention, memory, and persuasion to design content that is engaging, effective, and moves audiences. Kurt also has a long history of public speaking, spanning 25 years of his academic and professional career. Kurt delivered the Most Outstanding Graduate address at the University of Colorado, Boulder, was a commencement speaker at Kent Denver School, was a mainstage presenter at Scholar Search Conference, was an invited speaker at the Summit Advocates for Gifted Education, and presented at IgniteSTEM Columbia. Kurt also co-founded and directed a nationally-recognized debate program, helping his students develop arguments, execute strategies, and deliver persuasive speeches across the country.

Week 5: Pitching Your Idea | Storytelling Pt. 2 

• Refine and Practice Final Pitch

Instructors

Terry Rubin is a seasoned communication expert who has spent his career helping individuals perfect their message and presentation skills. Since 2011, Terry has provided independent consulting to a range of individuals and companies looking to elevate their preparation for major presentations, interviews, and other public speaking engagements. Terry’s experience includes nearly two decades as an award-winning producer with the PBS Newshour. Throughout his career, Terry worked with on-air talent to enhance their communication techniques. For 17 years, Terry also coached and directed a nationally ranked Speech and Debate program where his students competed in events judged on public speaking, poise, and presentation. Most importantly, they learned valuable skills that led to successful careers in business, law, academia, communications, and marketing. 

Kurt MacDonald is an award-winning teacher and experienced content creator. His graduate degree in Behavioral Neuroscience provides unique insight into the psychological and physiological processes that underlie speaking, stress, and information transfer. He utilizes his understanding of human attention, memory, and persuasion to design content that is engaging, effective, and moves audiences. Kurt also has a long history of public speaking, spanning 25 years of his academic and professional career. Kurt delivered the Most Outstanding Graduate address at the University of Colorado, Boulder, was a commencement speaker at Kent Denver School, was a mainstage presenter at Scholar Search Conference, was an invited speaker at the Summit Advocates for Gifted Education, and presented at IgniteSTEM Columbia. Kurt also co-founded and directed a nationally-recognized debate program, helping his students develop arguments, execute strategies, and deliver persuasive speeches across the country.

Week 6: Finalists One-on-Ones 

• Each finalist will get a 90-minute one-on-one session to perfect their pitch.

Week 7: Final Pitch Event | September 26, 2024 | 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm

• Invite friends and family and be ready to sell, sell, sell yourself!
• All participants get a table to market their businesses prior to the Final Pitch Event
• The top 5 students will give a final pitch to our assembled audience who will choose a winner.
• Grand Prize – $1500