The LoCo Experience

Hosted by Curt Bear

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Episodes

351

Latest episode

Nov 2026

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About the show

The LoCo Experience is a long-form conversational podcast that dives deep into the journeys of business leaders, entrepreneurs, and changemakers in Northern Colorado. Hosted by Curt Bear, Founder of LoCo Think Tank, the show brings real, raw, and unfiltered conversations—where guests share their successes, struggles, and lessons learned along the way. LoCo Think Tank is Colorado’s premier business peer advisory organization, founded in Fort Collins to help business owners gain perspective, accountability, and encouragement to grow both personally and professionally. LoCo chapters bring together business owners at all stages of the journey into professionally facilitated peer advisory chapters, led by experienced business veterans. These groups provide a trusted space to share challenges, seek advice, learn togethter, and support each other’s success. The LoCo Experience Podcast extends this mission beyond the chapter meetings— bringing the wisdom, insights, and stories of local business leaders to a wider audience. Our triad mission with this podcast is simple: Inspire through real stories of resilience and success. Educate by sharing valuable business insights. Entertain with engaging, unfiltered conversations. If you love “How I Built This” and the free-flowing style of Joe Rogan - but with a Northern Colorado focus - you’ll enjoy The LoCo Experience!  Our closing segment, "The LoCo Experience," asks guests to share their craziest stories — and we get some doozies! It’s a passion project with purpose, and we invite you to listen, follow, and share, and maybe consider sponsoring. Know someone with a great story?  Nominate your favorite business leader for an episode!

Listen to episodes

60 recent

November 4, 20261 hr 43 min

Every Great Business Story Needs a Guide - Kirk Dando, Founder & CEO of Dando Advisors

In today’s conversation, I was joined by Kirk Dando (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirkdando/), Founder & CEO of Dando Advisors. As I prepared to write this intro I jumped on LinkedIn and noticed that we have 250 mutual connections! And yet - when we were introduced this summer, neither of us knew much of anything about the other. And it’s because our circles are adjacent! Kirk has been engaged with fast-growing and already middle-market companies for close to 30 years, while my circles go from start-up phase to approaching middle-market. Kirk is a CEO Coach, Growth-Whisperer, and Angel Investor - and almost always all three at once. He takes a stake in the enterprises of the CEO’s he coaches, and he’s helped unlock $17B in exits and $80B in enterprise value growth over the course of his career. And - it all started somewhere. Many thanks to Kirk for sharing his journey from his early days in corporate accounting - to finding his special sauce unlocking growth for middle market companies. There’s something for anyone in this episode, so please tune in and enjoy my conversation with Kirk Dando.

October 28, 20261 hr 43 min

The LoCo Experience EP.293 | I Know the Owner! Matt Estrin, Founder of 477 Distilling & Oak & Maple

In today’s podcast, I sat down with Matt Estrin, Founder & President of 477 Distilling and Oak & Maple Restaurants - and Author of the new book - I Know the Owner! I was introduced to Matt this summer by a longtime prospect for LoCo I’d been having trouble landing. She wanted a LoCo member experience, but not to travel to Fort Collins for it - and so she built a bridge to a preferred future by accessing her network - it’s what entrepreneurs do! Matt and I hit it off like peas and carrots, and he’s got both an awesome story and a great pedigree to become a LoCo Facilitator! You know the old story, worship pastor becomes a garage distiller, soon builds a brand and community gathering place and becomes a serial entrepreneur, and then he wrote a book about it! “I Know the Owner” is a great read, and aims to incite and encourage the next generation - and the current generation - of would-be entrepreneurs to go ahead and start something, or to grow the thing you’ve already started. And he gives practical advice on how to do it. We’ll be giving away copies to registered attendees of an event on November 17 (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/loco-think-tank-loveland-chamber-ribbon-cutting-chapter-launch-event-tickets-2003030143078) - after which you’ll be able to say “I Know the Owner” - and decide if you want to be part of a new LoCo Think Tank chapter with Matt as LoCo Facilitator - launching in January 2027 at Projective - near the crossroads of I25 and Hwy 34. So join the event if you can - but tune in and enjoy regardless - my conversation with the Owner of 477 Distilling and Oak & Maple Restaurants, Matt Estrin.

October 21, 20261 hr 37 min

The LoCo Experience | EP292 Inspiring Hope for Teen Moms with Kodie Rosten & Kelsey Vandemark

Inspiring Hope for Teen Moms with Kodie Rosten & Kelsey Vandemark of Hope House Northern Colorado I met Kodie Rosten at a BBB event in Greeley, and before I knew what happened, I was inspired by her cause and invited her to join me on the podcast - and I’m so glad I did. She’s the Executive Director at Hope House Northern Colorado, and she brought her all-purpose Community Engagement Coordinator, Kelsey Vandemark, along for the experience! Hope House Northern Colorado started in 2020 and was the first affiliate of Hope House, which began serving teen moms in Arvada in 2003. They’ve grown to serve several more communities in the meantime, and the NoCo affiliate has grown to a flagship example of community building. We explore both Kodie’s and Kelsey’s journeys in this episode, which includes Kelsey recently leaving the board to join the team part-time, and Kodie’s journey of service and continual leadership growth. We also examine the direct care needs of clients and the growth experienced by Hope House - including their recent expansion into a much-larger facility - ribbon-cutting coming up on November 4th. Amazing people doing great things for community is something we’ll always celebrate on The LoCo Experience, and so I invite you to join me in enjoying my conversation with Kodie Rosten and Kelsey Vandemark, from Hope House Northern Colorado.

October 14, 20261 hr 36 min

Trading for Murder - Training for Life with Author & Entrepreneur Angela Miller Curtis

In today’s episode, I sat down with Angela Miller Curtis - author of the new book, Trading for Murder - the first in a Mazie Harris Mystery Series. But I know her as Angie Curtis - who along with her husband, Rick, were the pre-marital counselors introduced to my wife and I some 24 years ago this fall. I barely recognized it at the time, but the sweet couple from church who helped Jill and I set the stage for a now 23-year-old marriage were also inspiring entrepreneurs, at the leading edge of the cottage soap industry. Cotney Peak Manufacturing was the business that Angie was inspired to purchase in 1990 - whose assets basically consisted of dozens of heritage soap recipes and a handful of small customers. They grew to become a leader in the industry as awareness of a different kind of clean grew nationwide - and exited in 2006. Angie worked in talent management at CSU for the next 15 years, and retired in 2021 - with dreams of writing a next chapter in life. Angela Miller Curtis Books was born, and Mazie Harris may just be the next Nancy Drew. So tune in and meet the author and creator, a smart business veteran with love for a good mystery novel, my dear friend, Angie Curtis.

October 7, 20262 hr 17 min

The LoCo Experience EP 290 | Designing how Money Moves for Business with Ken Salazar

I was introduced to Ken Salazar by a pair of our LoCo Next Level members, who’d heard him present as a subject matter expert at a chapter meeting. They’d later engaged with him to work on “peak payments performance” in their middle market or approaching-middle market businesses - and had great things to say! Ken is the CEO & Chief Payments Architect at SilverEdge - or SilverEdge 2.0 as they’ve been referring internally. A payments architect is just what it sounds like - a designed payments system for business, instead of a “system” cobbled together through a series of vendors and accounting department leadership teams. Move money faster, reconcile easier, trim redundant work through AI and designed processes - and save money! Why it’s SilverEdge 2.0 is because the OG SilverEdge (that he founded in 2004) was acquired by Madwire in 2018, and Ken became part of their leadership team for a few seasons before joining BillGo as Chief Sales Officer and departing as Chief Revenue Officer in 2024. Ken has been on the leadership teams of some of the fastest growing firms in our regions for 2 decades now - and he knows a lotta things about a lotta things - especially fin-tech related. And - he’s a great conversationalist - so please tune in and enjoy my time together with Ken Salazar!

September 30, 20261 hr 42 min

The LoCo Experience EP 289 | Seth Silvers - CEO of Story On - New Chapters in Life and in Podcasting

In today’s episode, I sat down with a third-time guest, Seth Silvers, CEO of Story On, and truly - my mentor in podcasting. Seth joined me in studio only a little over a month removed from the birth of his first child, and shared some new perspectives that he was told to expect - but still they hit differently when it’s real. Story On has been focused on podcast production since soon after Seth and I had our first venture together in 2018 - the Small Business Storytellers podcast - for which I stuck around for 10 episodes, and Seth went on to create a total of 100 episodes - and publish 99 - before putting down the mike and focusing on production and strategy services for others in the business podcast space. But soon - they’ll be producing content again at Story On, and formally launching their consultancy arm, and getting Seth back behind the microphone and digging into the stories that make business - and podcasting - great! If you’re watching the video feed on this one, you’ll note there’s only a solo camera. We were flying without studio support due to a scheduling goof with my producer - and decided to kick it old-school. But - I was happy to hang with my personal podfather, Seth Silvers, and I’m confident you’ll find joy in the journey when you tune into our latest conversation.

September 23, 20261 hr 32 min

The LoCo Experience EP 288 | Life is Better Here! - Ben Smith & Lindsey Phillips

Life is Better Here! - Ben Smith & Lindsey Phillips - Owners & Therapists at Evolve Counseling In today's episode of the LoCo Experience podcast, I sat down with Ben Smith and Lindsay Phillips, the owners and therapists at Evolve Counseling. They shared abundantly about their inspiration to begin a private practice and the journey - first by Lindsay and then drawing in Ben - toward leaving corporate roles to become self-employed. We talked about the business of mental health, what drew each of them into the field in the first place, and some of the plans they have to expand the practice in the seasons ahead. I also put some of my own quirks on display and asked some nutty questions, and we wondered together why more and more young people have been seeking mental health counseling - and if the trends will reverse when Trump leaves office. Good people, great stories, and inspiring business journeys are all to be found in this episode, so please join me in enjoying my conversation with Ben Smith and Lindsey Phillips.

September 16, 20261 hr 46 min

Building Community to Belong with Tara Rasmuson of Greeley Lifestyle Magazine

In today’s episode, I sat down with Tara Rasmuson, Owner/Publisher of Greeley Lifestyle Magazine and VP of Land for Bear Lake Resources. I’ve gotten to know Tara a bit over the past few months, and suspected there was a good story there - and she did not disappoint. The star of her recent journey has been Greeley Lifestyle Magazine, which she purchased in the fall of 2020, and launched in early 2021 - with 40 pages of content! When she began, she was in an open-book season of sorts - she’d been working as a “land lady” of sorts in the oil industry for over a decade - but wanted something new, and had recently moved to a town her new husband was well known in - but she lacked community. Creating the magazine - and building community through that conduit - was her answer, and her 100th Year Anniversary edition for the Greeley Stampede early in the journey anchored her value proposition in the community. Before all this though, Tara had a long and challenging chapter, as the stay-at-home mom of 4 kids, with a husband who didn’t want to work, despite the family near-starving on welfare. Long hours spent in education and rapid career advancement enabled a new chapter, and I’m confident you’ll be both inspired and entertained. So please join me for my conversation with Tara Rasmuson.

September 9, 20261 hr 40 min

The LoCo Experience Ep 286 | Scott Dillon & James Merkley w/ NoCo's United for Youth

In today's conversation, I was joined by two highly active representatives from northern Colorado from United for youth, formerly NoCo unify this organization of under 40 business leaders has been among the most active fundraising organizations in Northern Colorado since its founding in 2007. 00:00:17:17 - 00:00:32:14 Speaker 1 They're the creators of some of the best parties in the region the Down in Derby Party, Every Me and the Suitcase Party every August, which we were on the heels of as we recorded this episode. Last year they brought back The Saint Patrick's Day party or parade to Old Town Fort Collins as well. James Merkley is an active member at Unify and also CEO and Chief Creative at Storey Path Marketing. He's a local think tank member, and we're also both members of a somewhat similar but very different organization realities for children. James has a diverse background of his own, largely focused on worship music, marketing and storytelling. Scott Dillon is the business intelligence director at Powder Valley Rei, our local electric cooperative, and also serves on the board of directors for Northern Colorado United for youth. Scott's journey helps explain his passion for kids causes, and his involvement. Here is just one way he goes back. Storytelling and business intelligence are the sweet spot for these guests, so I know you'll enjoy, as I did my conversation with Scott Dillon and James Merkley representing Northern Colorado United for youth.

September 2, 20261 hr 17 min

The LoCo Experience EP 285 | Losing Your Big Brother on 9/11 - Craig Woodall's Journey of Grief

Today, I’m here recording from the Fort Collins Food Truck Rally (https://www.focofoodtruckrally.com/) - where we’ve got the Tank parked in a row of food trucks and trailers - because this episode comes out tomorrow and we needed to use the just-in-time machine! For this week’s episode, I sat down with Craig Woodall, retired Educator, Speaker, Coach, and Author of the new book “Overcome - Rebuilding Hope After Losing My Brother on 9/11”. Craig retired as the Principal of Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, where he’d served for 12 years, with plans to initiate a leadership coaching business - and perhaps write a book about leadership as part of the plan. But - his mind had other plans, and after he retired the first priority was a book that forced its way to the front of the line. Overcome was the result, and it’s full of stories of grief, and challenge, and resilience - and ultimately - growth. It is a leadership book - but not in the common sense, and it really focuses on the notion that the most important person for you to lead - is yourself. Craig is a great conversationalist, and a servant-hearted leader from the start - and I know you’ll enjoy our time together in this episode.