Business & Entrepreneurship

Colorado will continue on the road to recovery and add a variety of jobs in 2014 across almost all business sectors following a positive year in 2013, according to economist Richard Wobbekind of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. The comprehensive outlook report for 2014 features forecasts and trends for 13 business sectors prepared by more than 100 key business, government and industry professionals.

Elihuu, a startup company whose slogan is “meet your manufacturer,” has met an investor -- a group of University of Colorado Boulder graduate students. The students last week put $30,000 into Elihuu, an online software platform that connects product designers with manufacturers who can make their wares. The students turned venture capitalists direct CU-Boulder’s Deming Center Venture Fund (DCVF), which was launched by a donor in 1997 and is a program of the Leeds School of Business.

The University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business will present its 49th annual Colorado Business Economic Outlook Forum on Monday, Dec. 9, at 1 p.m. at the Denver Marriott City Center. The event is free and open to the public but reservations are required for those planning to attend. Leeds School economist Richard Wobbekind will present the forecast and Doug Suttles, president and CEO of Encana, will deliver the keynote address.

Attracting more talented foreign students to study at U.S. universities and encouraging them to launch entrepreneurial ventures here could help “revitalize innovation and economic growth” in this country, a trio of economists led by University of Colorado Boulder Professor Keith Maskus concludes. Maskus and co-authors Ahmed Mushfiq Mobarak, associate professor at the Yale School of Management, and Eric T. Stuen, assistant professor at the University of Idaho College of Business and Economics, make this case in the Policy Forum of the Nov. 1 edition of the journal Science .

Former University of Colorado President Alexander E. “Sandy” Bracken knows a few things about the role that effective leadership plays in career success and life in general. As the Newton Leadership Chair at CU-Boulder, Bracken has the task – and desire – to bring more leadership training and development opportunities to students across all academic disciplines. One of the major components of this goal is the creation of the Newton Leadership Studies Minor, which will launch in the spring 2014 semester along with a new class (LEAD 1000) titled “Becoming a Leader.”

The confidence of Colorado business leaders has slightly declined going into the fourth quarter as uncertainty facing a potential government shutdown and the federal deficit increased, according to the most recent Leeds Business Confidence Index, or LBCI, released today by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.

Taking breaks from the stress of a startup improves experienced entrepreneurs’ mental well-being, but not inexperienced entrepreneurs’ well-being, says a study led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

Consumers who watch television sitcoms and see product placements through covert marketing have better memories of the products and better attitudes toward the brands, according to three joint studies led by the University of Colorado Boulder.

The Colorado economy continues to grow in 2013 at a magnitude that exceeds previous expectations going into the year, according to economist Richard Wobbekind of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. Midway through the year, Colorado’s job growth rate is up by about 2.3 percent -- a gain of about 52,400 jobs from May 2012 to May 2013. The job growth rate is expected to continue to rise to about 2.5 percent -- a figure that was revised from estimates last December when the projection was at about 1.8 percent.

The confidence of Colorado business leaders has continued its strong upward trend, surging into the third quarter of 2013, according to the most recent Leeds Business Confidence Index, or LBCI, released today by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Leeds School of Business.