In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits back down with Seth Levine—Founding Partner at Foundry Group—for part two of their conversation, diving deep into the experiences that shaped his path from telecom dealmaker to one of Colorado’s most influential venture capitalists.

Seth takes us back to his early days on Wall Street, grinding through 100-hour weeks at Morgan Stanley during the telecom boom. He recounts witnessing the rise and collapse of competitive carriers, navigating chaotic boardrooms, issuing high-yield debt in a market racing toward overcapacity, and learning the craft of business inside an industry on the brink.

Dan and Seth also revisit the origins of Foundry Group, the unlikely formation of the four-person partnership, and how Brad Feld’s mentorship and generosity influenced Seth’s approach to founders, community-building, and leadership. They unpack what it really takes to be a founder, why comfort with the unknown is a superpower, and how Seth is now thinking about the next chapter of his career.

Check out Seth Levine and Elizabeth MacBride's new book: Capital Evolution: https://www.amazon.com/Capital-Evolution-New-American-Economy/dp/1637747780

Learn more about Foundry: https://foundry.vc/

⁠Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book

Listen to Dan's Song Stretch: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/dancaruso/stretch

Check out music by Jason Mendelson (Jace Allen): https://www.youtube.com/@jaceallen

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Boulder artist Will Day, whose unlikely path from architecture to painting began in the middle of the 2008 financial collapse.

Will talks about losing his job, moving his family to Boulder, and slowly building an art practice from a basement with no roadmap and no guarantee it would work. He shares the early challenges—financial strain, uncertainty at home, and the pressure of trying to build a creative career while raising two young kids.

Dan and Will discuss how Boulder shaped his development as an artist, why Black Lab Studios became the right environment for his work, and what it means to create during times of disruption. Will breaks down his process of painting on raw canvas, working across multiple pieces at once, and allowing intuition rather than rigid planning to guide each piece.

The conversation also touches on Boulder’s evolving arts scene, the impact of events like the Sundance Film Festival and Boulder Roots Music Fest, and the role of community in helping local artists gain visibility.

Learn more about Will’s work: https://www.willdayart.com

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book

Listen to Dan's Song Stretch: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/dancaruso/stretch

Check out music by Jason Mendelson (Jace Allen): https://www.youtube.com/@jaceallen

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan Caruso sits down with David Prichard — CEO of Denver Ventures — for a conversation about conviction, community, and the evolution of Colorado’s venture capital ecosystem.

David shares how his unconventional path—from skipping college to leading sales teams before 25—set the stage for his work building one of Colorado’s most active investment platforms. He and Dan dig into how Denver Ventures grew out of the local Denver Angels network, why the best investors look beyond markets to the people behind them, and how “Founder DNA” traits like self-awareness, adaptability, and resilience determine who survives the toughest cycles.

The two explore why 2025 could mark a defining vintage year for venture capital, how Colorado is emerging as a national leader in hard tech, quantum, and AI, and what happens when founders and investors truly align around long-term conviction. David also opens up about his early life, the lessons learned from failure, and his belief that great companies start with great people—not perfect plans.

Learn more about Denver Ventures: https://denverventures.co/Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/bookListen to Dan's Song Stretch: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/dancaruso/stretchCheck out music by Jason Mendelson (Jace Allen): https://www.youtube.com/@jaceallen To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Dr. Bill Blanchet — a Boulder-based physician whose open-minded approach to medicine led him on an unlikely journey from Colorado to Cuba.

Dr. Blanchet shares how a patient’s battle with stage-four cancer sparked his exploration into Cuba’s surprising leadership in biopharmaceutical innovation — from advanced cancer immunotherapies to a groundbreaking nasal treatment showing remarkable results against dementia.

He and Dan discuss how decades of investment in Cuban medical research have produced world-class breakthroughs despite political isolation, and why these discoveries could reshape the global approach to diseases once thought untreatable. They also examine the obstacles created by U.S. embargo policies, the promise of new clinical trials now involving American patients, and the potential for collaboration between Cuban and U.S. researchers.

Learn more about La Pradera International Health Center: https://www.cubameds.com/lappradera

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book

Listen to Dan's Song Stretch: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/dancaruso/stretch

Check out music by Jason Mendelson (Jace Allen): https://www.youtube.com/@jaceallen

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan Caruso sits down with Mike Wussow and Alina Nisenzon — the husband-and-wife team behind Poppins Payroll, a household payroll platform born from their own parenting frustrations.

Mike and Alina share how a simple need to legally pay their nanny exposed a broken system — one that forced families into small-business-level compliance just to hire care help. What began as a side project quickly evolved into a nationwide solution, built from their living room while both maintained demanding careers. They walk through the realities of creating a tech-enabled service business from scratch, the 60-hour tax maze that inspired their mission, and how their legal backgrounds unexpectedly became their superpower.

As COVID upended work and family life, Poppins found itself at the center of a new wave of household employment — tripling its user base as families sought reliable, compliant payroll tools. Mike and Alina reflect on scaling through that surge, maintaining white-glove customer service in a high-trust category, and building a culture that prized integrity as much as innovation.

This conversation was recorded a year ago, just before that pivotal investment — and we’re thrilled to finally share the full story of how persistence, partnership, and purpose turned a household headache into a national success story.

Learn more about Poppins Payroll: poppinspayroll.com

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/book

To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Brad Feld—venture capitalist, author, and longtime Colorado ecosystem builder—for a candid conversation about innovation, acceleration, and the future that’s already here.They dive into the implications for leaders, educators, and policymakers, exploring why access and experiential learning will determine who thrives in the years ahead. Dan introduces his idea of the “super professional,” and Brad expands on how critical thinking and curiosity—not fear—will separate those who lead from those who get left behind.The conversation moves from macro to deeply personal as Brad shares how he’s applying these ideas in his own life and work. He reflects on the Give First philosophy that shaped Techstars and Foundry Group, the power of mentorship, and why giving without expectation remains his guiding principle in an age defined by exponential change.Learn more about Foundry: https://foundry.vc/Buy Brad's Book "Give First: The Power of Mentorship": https://a.co/d/jhC1JBKOrder Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/bookTo nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Pat Lynch—Executive Managing Director of CBRE Data Center Solutions—for a deep dive into the evolution of digital infrastructure and the lessons learned from three decades in the industry.

Pat recounts his path from MFS Communications and Level 3 to leading CBRE’s global data center platform, reflecting on how real estate, fiber, and connectivity became the backbone of the modern economy.

He and Dan revisit the bandwidth boom and bust—an era of massive ambition, market collapse, and gritty reinvention—and share stories from the front lines, including Level 3’s survival years, the “Mondo Condo” build-outs, and turning crisis into strategy.

Now at the helm of CBRE’s worldwide data center business, Pat connects the dots between those early telecom battles and the AI-driven expansion reshaping infrastructure today. He and Dan explore how power constraints, quantum computing, and edge AI are redefining what it means to build for the future—and why discipline, trust, and curiosity still matter most.

Learn more about CBRE: https://www.cbre.com/

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: dan-caruso.com/bookTo nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan Caruso sits down with Dave Schaeffer—Founder and CEO of Cogent Communications—for Part Two of their conversation.

This time, Dave takes us deep inside the chaos of the early 2000s telecom collapse—when companies were vanishing overnight and billions in fiber lay stranded underground. He reveals how Cogent turned crisis into opportunity, buying distressed networks like PSI Net and LambdaNet for pennies on the dollar and stitching them into one of the most efficient global backbones ever built.

Dave and Dan unpack how Cogent’s “focus or fail” strategy defied industry dogma—selling only internet, targeting only high-density buildings, and rejecting the temptation to chase shiny new products. Dave breaks down the math of return on invested capital, the brutal discipline behind saying no to most deals, and why keeping a pure network architecture was key to long-term dominance.

It’s a front-row seat to the stories of the post-crash telecom—and a rare look at the mindset of one of the most relentless dealmakers in digital infrastructure.

Learn more about Cogent Communications: https://cogentco.com/en/

Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: ⁠dan-caruso.com/book⁠To nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com