Over the summer, the Rocky Mountain ProductCamp (@RMPCamp) will be shining the spotlight on various monthly events which align with our own vision and purpose. This will be the first of many Q/A’s done with the founders of the events.
Today we’re talking with David Sandusky, founder of the YBInnovator series. This series is held at the Center for Visual Art, in Denver which proved to be a great venue! I would encourage anybody interested in making a difference in the community and solving some problems to check out this group.
(Travis, RMPCamp) What is YB Innovator all about?
(David Sandusky) The YB Innovator Series gathers innovators and creators to prove we can solve problems and create opportunities. We are about a community of innovators and creators who tell stories from past experience to inspire thought. As a group we create new stories of innovation as we put real creative problem solving to action. Although we will certainly attract entrepreneurs, we will work hard to maintain a diverse population of innovators to include leaders in well established business, education, technology, arts and politics.
(Travis, RMPCamp) How did you come up with the idea?
(David Sandusky) The thought occurred to me at the end of 2010 when I felt it was time to change the four year running Internet Radio show called Your Brand Radio. We had awesome guests and great content broadcast live from a coffee shop. This was a unique event but I wanted to do something larger in scope and important in action. I also needed to change from a weekly event to monthly event. If we are going to connect monthly, then let’s make it a big deal. So what will be a big deal? This question got me thinking about how many people including my own clients ask how they can get involved in my Creative Problem Solving class at the Center for Innovation at Metro State College of Denver. Specifically, there is a lot of interest in a project called the $20 Challenge. People love we prove each semester how to market products and services that people want with no resources to start. Why not create a series that attracts the doers to solve real problems and connect with like minded professionals? Why not create real opportunities for these same students and long time professionals alike? Bring these stories together and you have YB Innovator. ‘Y’ is Your and ‘B’ is Brand to represent my company, Your Brand Plan.
(Travis, RMPCamp) What can we expect to see happen with the events over the next 6 months?
(David Sandusky) We launched YB Innovator on May 10, 2011. The first six months will be about sustaining a culture of storytelling rather than “pitching” at a typical networking event. We will set a culture of connecting based on open and genuine stories of success and failure while building report around solving actual problems. Over the next six months we will launch a problem solving campaign around a well defined problem or two as brought to us from the Denver community. In addition, we will hear from innovators and creators as they tell short stories.
(Travis, RMPCamp) Tell us a little bit about the venue you’ve chosen. Where is it? Why have you chosen it?
(David Sandusky) We chose the Center for Visual Art on Santa Fe in Denver because the affiliation with Metro State College of Denver where I teach Creative Problem Solving. This was our top choice for this reason as well as the desire to hold YB Innovator in a unique venue that inspired creativity. Center for Visual Art is perfect and actually even better in the near future as they implement an awesome sound system! There are a few months out of each year where the gallery is closed. We see this as an opportunity to gather data and fact finding and kick off new well defined problems to solve in Denver.
(Travis, RMPCamp) What is the atmosphere like? Casual, formal, loud, etc? What are the people like?
(David Sandusky) YB Innovator takes place in an actual art gallery which will have a different floor plan almost each time we get together. Even the most regular of attendees will take pause to enjoy the art. This is by design to create open mind dialog. We do not set a dress code and find the combination of art gallery and innovation will land somewhere around business casual as well as more of a casual environment. People will come from a diverse background and work experience and feel like they fit in a more causal discussion environment where there is intriguing pressure to produce rather than a networking environment where people are pitching prepared elevator speeches.
(Travis, RMPCamp) Is there anything else you’d like to tell us about your event?
(David Sandusky) We are already seeing interesting ideas being shared and request to get involved in ways larger than “only” attending events. This is good. We will certainly take advantage of the Internet and my own website to crowd source and fact find prospective problems to solve in Denver. www.YBInnovator.com will be home base for members, but I expect people will be creating groups on other social media sites as well meeting offline between YB Innovator events. The autonomy is deliberate as that is my own management style and the only way to treat innovators you trust to do great things.
I also want to invite those who feel a connection with this idea to join us and invite others to register on www.ybinnovator.eventbrite.com