Get to Know Our Mentors
Andy Alsop
CEO of The Receptionist
Andy is a profit-driven, team-oriented executive with a substantial background in technology startups. He has demonstrated success in all aspects of startups, including management, operations, finance, marketing, and sales.
At The Receptionist, he has helped create the most versatile, effective and easy-to-use Visitor Management system available. From offices with just a few employees to others with more than 3,000, the app is used by hundreds of businesses around the globe.
Andy graduated from West Virginia University with a B.S. in Business Management.
Ethan Bach
CEO and Co-Founder of Alt Ethos: Experiential Design Studio
Ethan Bach was coined “an entrepreneur with an eye on the future’s future” by Denver’s Westword magazine in 2018. Bach continues this future thinking in his recent playbook publication, The Essential Design Guide for Engaging Your Audience During COVID-19 and Beyond and his soon to be released podcast, "Alt Ethos Explores Post-COVID Experiential Design."
Bach graduated from The Evergreen State College with a BA in Media Production and subsequently completed an MFA in Electronic Arts from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Bach not only produces original artwork, but he pushes the boundaries of technology and media in the process.
Brendan Cosgrove
Investment Director at the Capital Access Lab
Brendan Cosgrove leads the investment due diligence, strategy development, and deal sourcing at Capital Access Labs. Brendan has been a member of the CAL team from its inception at the beginning of 2019.
Prior to joining CAL, Brendan worked as an Associate Investment Director at global investment firm Cambridge Associates helping a wide range of institutional clients build and evaluate their private investment portfolios. He also co-founded the Resource Efficiency Group and conducted due diligence on venture capital and private equity funds focused on addressing sustainability challenges as a member of the Impact Investing Research team.
Brendan earned his B.A. in Economics and Geology at Colby College.
Colleen Fanning
Public & Private Art Advisor and Appraiser
Since 1996, Colleen Fanning has provided fine art services, project management on commissioned works of art, valuation services for families placing objects on the market for disposal, divestment strategies, curatorial expertise, contract negotiations on complex art-related issues such as indemnity and liens and ownership title.
Fanning manages all aspects of her client’s collections from loans to institutions to framing, crating and shipping. Following her undergraduate studies, she held positions in the highly regarded Denver Public Art Program and Denver International Airport for three mayoral administrations, including Wellington Webb, John Hickenlooper, and Michael Hancock.Fanning specializes in Post War, Modern & Contemporary Fine Art.
Karen Gibbs
Co-Founder of ByHand Consulting
Karen's career spans over 25 years working with artisan enterprises around the world to help them expand their markets. She has served on the board of Aid to Artisans and Hand/Eye Fund, she co-founded a successful wholesale lifestyle company, has worked with economic development initiatives and private enterprises in over 70 countries, and regularly collaborates with trade shows, major retailers, and ethical sourcing programs in the US market.
Her passion is the global artisan sector and sharing her knowledge and connections with entrepreneurs worldwide.
Molly Hughes
Retired News Anchor, Communications Consultant, and Content Creator
Molly Hughes is a retired broadcast journalist who spent more than 25 years anchoring the news at various affiliates in Denver, San Diego, Dayton, Ohio, and Yuma, Arizona.
Since leaving CBS4 news in Denver in 2010, her entrepreneurial spirit has come alive. Her most recent venture is called SelfieEssentials.com (gadgets and pro-tips for Zoom calls, YouTubers, influencers, online educators, etc.). In 2014, Hughes co-created Denver Post TV (DPTV), the newspaper's online video operation.
She's spending this chapter of her life getting back to her true love of storytelling. She creates content for her social media channels in her home studio. And, though she doesn't get paid for doing it, she's rewarded every time she shares news and information that helps friends and followers.
Rich Kylberg
C-Level Corporate Marketer and Entrepreneurial CEO
In the beginning of his career, Rich spent more than 20 entrepreneurial years owning and operating radio stations across the country. He then joined Arrow Electronics, an American Fortune 500 company with 18,000 global employees, to serve as Vice President of Corporate Marketing and Communications.
Today, he works with numerous companies as a senior executive, particularly focusing on marketing strategy, employee motivation, agency management, brand development, sales optimization, and corporate social responsibility. He graduated from Stanford University and Harvard Business School with an MBA in general management.
Joshua Richau
Founder and CTO at Overlay
Josh grew up in Montana, lived in the Bay Area, and is now happily living in Colorado with his wife and two kids. He graduated from Stanford University in 1995 with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. Since then, he has worked as a functional architect at Mercury Interactive and HP Software, as well as a senior director at Jive Software.
He founded Overlay, an augmented reality platform for creating and utilizing information overlays in physical industrial workspaces, in 2015 and now serves as CTO.