In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Ryan Heckman, a former Olympic athlete turned private equity leader and entrepreneur. Ryan shares his incredible journey from growing up in Granby, Colorado, to competing in the Olympics at just 16 years old, and how his relentless drive to win—rather than just train—shaped his mindset in both sports and business.
The Bear Roars
The Bear Roars is hosted by three-time decacorn entrepreneur and venture investor Dan Caruso. Colorado Innovators, the Bandwidth revolution (associated with Dan’s book), and DeepTech are areas of focus. The purpose is to celebrate innovators, inspire listeners, and spark conversations within the innovation community.
Latest Episodes:
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with David Cohen, co-founder and CEO of Techstars, the startup accelerator that began in Boulder with a $250,000 investment and grew into a multi-billion-dollar investment firm backing thousands of startups worldwide.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Hunter Newby, a visionary in the telecommunications and data center industries, to discuss the evolution of network infrastructure and the forces shaping its future. From his early experiences with Telex to his work with ColoATL and Neutrality, Hunter has been at the forefront of connectivity, helping to build the foundation of modern digital interconnection.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Chuck Morris, a legendary music promoter, manager, Chairman Emeritus and former President/CEO of AEG Presents Rocky Mountains, and the driving force behind some of the most iconic moments in live music. From booking local bands at The Sink in Boulder to managing the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band for 25 years, Chuck has worked with legends like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Elton John, U2, and Bruce Springsteen.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Gregg Spiridellis, a digital media pioneer who went from Wall Street to reshaping online entertainment. Gregg co-founded JibJab, the viral content studio behind This Land and Elf Yourself, which dominated the early internet era with political satire and personalized videos. After two decades of innovation in digital storytelling, he and his brother launched StoryBots, a modern-day Sesame Street that became a Netflix hit and featured celebrity guests like Snoop Dogg, Jay Leno, and Scarlett Johansson.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Bill LaPerch, former CEO of AboveNet and a telecom veteran who played a key role in shaping the industry’s digital infrastructure. Bill’s career spans the rise of competitive fiber networks, the telecom boom, the WorldCom collapse, and the rebirth of the industry post-dot-com bust.
