Creative Distillation

Creative Distillation
  • 5.0 (20)
  • Business
  • Updated Biweekly

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

  1. Sep 10

    102: Rum, Bourbon, and Rum + Lots of Papers from Katie Brownell (VA Tech) and Tom Dean (CSU)

    For this episode of Creative Distillation, Brad and Jeff are holed up at Jeff’s Tiki Hideaway, where they’re joined by returning guests Katie Brownell from Virginia Tech University and Tom Dean from Colorado State. This episode covers a lot of ground, beginning with a recap of our thrilling visit to Smugglers Cove in San Francisco, then diving into a few different recently- or soon-to-be-published papers written by Katie, Tom, and Katie and Tom. First up is a discussion of Tom’s paper on Property Rights Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which looks at how separating property rights into different categories can lead to innovation. Tom cites the scooter industry as an obvious example of this. Brad and Jeff expand the conversation to discuss the challenges of regulating new technologies, AI and social media being two obvious examples. Katie then talks about her new paper examining reproductive loss in the workplace, and how organizational silence can impact employee identity and support. Then there’s the paper Katie and Tom co-wrote, about entrepreneurial opportunity evaluation and how founders’ anticipatory regret over doing (or not doing) something influences the decision-making process. Finally, Katie introduces another paper she’s working on, which takes a look at Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy on team survival. (Spoiler: founder narcissism can actually be beneficial, at least in a startup’s early stages.) All of this floats on a tasting of rum, bourbon and more rum, expertly led by Jeff, as he expounds on the virtues of rum’s complexity and versatility. Jeff also invites you to participate in the Tikipreneur Project, which you can learn more about and participate in at tikitimewithjeff.com. Enjoy and cheers! — This episode of Creative Distillation was recorded at Jeff’s Tiki Hideaway, located somewhere in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado. Access is by invitation only. (Sending Jeff an email may just get you in. Or maybe not.) Learn more about Smuggler's Cove at https://smugglerscovesf.com. That website is also where you'll find our guidebook during this season of Tiki Time with Jeff Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki You're invited to participate in our Tikipreneur Research Project. Learn more and sign up at https://tikitimewithjeff.com. Big thanks to our guests: Katie Brownell, Assistant Professor of Management in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech https://management.pamplin.vt.edu/faculty/directory/brownell-katrina.html Tom Dean, Tinberg Business for a Better World University Professor at Colorado State University https://biz.colostate.edu/about/directory/tomd Papers discussed in this episode: Dean, T.J., Forster, W., & Dew, N. (2026). Property Rights Entrepreneurship: The Drive for Product, Asset, and Resource Excludability. Managerial and Decision Economics. http://doi.org/10.1002/mde.70149 (open access link) Brownell, K.M. (2026). Unmothered at Work: Organizational Silence Around Reproductive Loss. Gender, Work & Organizations.1-24. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.70158 Brownell, K.M. (2026). Getting Along, Getting Ahead, and Sometimes Getting It Wrong: A Socioanalytic Perspective on Team Dynamics. Journal of Small Business Management. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472778.2026.2698768 Katie and Tom’s paper on anticipatory regret is still under review. Stay tuned to their faculty pages for publication information. Thanks for listening! See you next time for another round of Creative Distillation. -- CREATIVE DISTILLATION University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights. Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
jeffrey.york@colorado.edu Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
walter.werner@colorado.edu Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | deming@colorado.edu

    102: Rum, Bourbon, and Rum + Lots of Papers from Katie Brownell (VA Tech) and Tom Dean (CSU)

  2. Aug 27

    101: Ultimate Tiki Time: Jeff & Brad Sip & Speak with Martin & Rebecca Cate at SF’s Smuggler's Cove

    Hello, and welcome to Season 8 of Creative Distillation. We covered a lot of ground over the course of season 7’s arc, with Brad and Jeff and their many guests discussing topics including the Optimal Distinctiveness of Electric Organs; Moral Flexibility; the efficacy of Public/Private Collaborations; and, of course, we finally dove into AI, coming at it from several different angles. We took a season-concluding road trip to San Francisco, where we recorded our landmark 100th episode; and, if you haven't heard, we started a sub-podcast looking at the culture and business of tiki. It was quite a journey. This episode of Tiki Time wxith Jeff (and Brad), picks up where Season 7 left off: in San Francisco, this time recording on location at the top of Tiki Mountain (figuratively speaking). We're at the iconic Smuggler's Cove in San Francisco, speaking with Martin and Rebecca Cate, co-authors of Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki. The book is Jeff's personal bible, of sorts, and has served as the guide and driving force behind Creative Distillation’s tiki sub-theme. From the Crow's Nest of Smuggler's Cove, on an increasingly crowded Tuesday evening, over a couple of rounds of top shelf tiki craftwork, the Cates regale Brad and Jeff with tales from their personal journey into tiki; the amazing versatility, nuance and history of rum; community's essential role in tiki culture; the passion-verging-on-obsession that all authentic purveyors of tiki share; and an epic story about a memorable customer. It’s a perfect way to kick off Season 8 of Creative Distillation and our quasi-dominant sub-thread, Tiki Time with Jeff. Speaking of which…we invite you to share your tiki story by joining the Tikipreneur Research Project at tikitimewithjeff.com. Simply click on the “Tikipreneur” link and you can leave your contact info or take a survey. Who knows? Your tiki story could land you a guest spot on Creative Distillation. Take that as encouragement, a dare, or a warning. Regardless of how you read it, we’d love to hear from you. As always, thank you for listening. And now on to Season 8 of Creative Distillation and Tiki Time with Jeff! Aloha and cheers! — Tiki Time with Jeff (and Brad!) is a special, semi-reccurring production of Creative Distillation. This episode was recorded on location at Smugglers Cove in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. For more information visit https://www.smugglerscovesf.com/ That website is also where you'll find our guidebook during this season of Tiki Time with Jeff Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki You're invited to participate in our Tikipreneur Research Project. Learn more and sign up at https://tikitimewithjeff.com. Thanks for listening! Much aloha to all! -- CREATIVE DISTILLATION University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights. Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
jeffrey.york@colorado.edu Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
walter.werner@colorado.edu Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | deming@colorado.edu

    101: Ultimate Tiki Time: Jeff & Brad Sip & Speak with Martin & Rebecca Cate at SF’s Smuggler's Cove

  3. May 21

    100: Flaming Tiki, Inside Jokes, Outsized Insights and an AI Showdown: It’s our 100th Episode!

    Welcome to Episode number 100 of Creative Distillation! We’re still in San Francisco at the fantastic Pagan Idol tiki bar. We’ve moved from the secret back room to the main deck of this magic vessel, where Brad and Jeff are joined by two guests: Tom Dean, a professor in the Department of Management at Colorado State University and previous guest on the podcast; and Bob Eberhart, Associate Professor of Management at the University of San Diego, and perhaps the most frequent guest to appear on Creative Distillation. (We’ll have more on that later.) Already a couple of tiki drinks into the evening, our fearless four gather around a tiny table, discussing the impact of the first 100 episodes of Creative Distillation, and musing about our humble podcast’s future. To prepare for this episode — and unbeknownst to each other — Brad and Jeff each fed transcripts from all of our episodes into their preferred AI oracle in order to see what kind of actionable insights might be gained from that. Not only did these queries offer some fascinating — if not debatable — perspectives; they also, unexpectedly, revealed a pretty clear winner between two of today’s leading AI chatbots. And somewhere in the middle of it all, Pagan Idol GM and Episode 99 guest Maggie Sanders, shows up with an incredible flaming bowl of tropical delight. It’s a fun and crazy episode that in the end has us toasting — and looking forward — to another 100 episodes of Creative Distillation. Enjoy and cheers! — Episode #100 of Creative Distillation was recorded at Pagan Idol in San Francisco. For more information visit paganidol.com. Learn more about Tom Dean on his faculty page at Colorado Statue University: https://biz.colostate.edu/about/directory/tomd Learn more about Bob Eberhart on his faculty pages at the University of San Diego: https://www.sandiego.edu/business/about/biography.php?profile_id=14906 And a gigantic, sincere cheers and thank you to all of you for listening to Creative Distillation. This one’s for you!

    100: Flaming Tiki, Inside Jokes, Outsized Insights and an AI Showdown: It’s our 100th Episode!

  4. May 7

    99: Rum Martinis and Daywalkers: Tiki Time with Jeff (and Brad) @ San Francisco’s Pagan Idol

    We are excited to be coming to you from the golden shores of California, the City by the Bay, and one of the tiki capitals of the world: San Francisco. This is Episode #99, the first of three conversations in Creative Distillation’s 100th episode celebration, which kicks off with Brad finally joining Tiki Time with Jeff to speak with Maggie Sanders, General Manager of Pagan Idol. Maggie describes how she’s gone from growing up on a California berry farm to being the General Manager of one of the city’s more legendary tiki bars — all while mixing a Daywalker for Jeff and a Rum Martini for Brad. Jeff’s tiki protocol leads to a deep dive into the culture and customer experience of tiki, and the different ways different customer types interact with the bar. After geeking out on tiki’s history and sharing their earliest personal tiki memories, Maggie, Brad and Jeff look to the future of tiki, and potential innovations and new interpretations. (A Black Sabbath-themed tiki party, for example.) As they (almost) always do, Brad and Jeff bring it back to showing the broader lessons that tiki culture can offer any entrepreneur, namely the importance of experimentation, adaptation, and storytelling. It’s a truly delightful conversation with one of the best mixologists we’ve ever had on the podcast. There’s a lot of passion flowing — as well as rum — in this exciting episode of Tiki Time with Jeff. Aloha and cheers! — You’ve been listening to Tiki Time with Jeff (and Brad!), a special, semi-occurring production of Creative Distillation. This episode was recorded on location at Pagan Idol in San Francisco’s Financial District. For more information visit https://www.paganidol.com/ Stay tuned next time for Creative Distillation episode #100, also recorded at Pagan Idol and featuring some special guests, an AI showdown, and a very large bowl of rum. Thanks for listening to Creative Distillation and Tiki Time with Jeff! Much aloha to all!

    99: Rum Martinis and Daywalkers: Tiki Time with Jeff (and Brad) @ San Francisco’s Pagan Idol

  5. Apr 30

    98: Jeff's Jet Pilot and Brad and Jeff's Tiki Analysis Part 2

    CDEP98: JEFF’S JET PILOT AND BRAD AND JEFF’S TIKI ANALYSIS PART 2 Welcome back for Part 2 of Brad and Jeff’s Tiki analysis, a look at the major eras of tiki through the lens of Martin and Rebecca Cate’s book, Smuggler’s Cove. In part 1, over a Three Dots and a Dash stirred up by Jeff himself, our co-hosts dive into the mythic-but-true history of Don the Beachcomber, founder of the first tiki bar in 1933. This time around, over a Jeff-crafted Jet Pilot, we learn of Trader Vic’s emergence on the scene in 1937, and how he took Don the Beachcomber’s genius idea and turned it into a worldwide franchise. As they’ve done countless times over our 7 seasons of Creative Distillation, Jeff and Brad compare the differences in the two entrepreneurs’ approaches, and examine the pros and cons of each. They also look at the cultural factors contributing to the tiki craze (think: Elvis, the Beach Boys and the rise of surf music, and Disneyland’s Enchanted Tiki Room) and how tiki’s “authentic inauthenticity” begins to permeate American culture in general. As we’ve come to expect from the Creative Distillation guys, they stick the landing by tying all of this tiki madness into the broader cultural context and the role of storytelling in entrepreneurship. This is episode #98, and it seems Brad and Jeff are actually getting kind of serious about this. Maybe we actually will make a tiki pilgrimage to San Francisco for our 100th episode. Maybe this paper will actually be written. Stay tuned, tikiphiles! Aloha and cheers! —- You’ve been listening to Tiki Time with Jeff, a special, semi-occurring production of Creative Distillation. This episode was recorded on location at Jeff’s super secret Tiki Hideaway. Check the show notes for a Jet Pilot recipe, and Part 2 of Jeff and Brad’s tiki analysis, which includes a timeline of major events in tiki, emerging themes and next steps. Thanks for listening to Creative Distillation and Tiki Time with Jeff! Much aloha to all! ___ INGREDIENTS: Jet Pilot Jet Pilot • lime juice • grapefruit juice • Homemade cinnamon syrup • falernum • black blended rum (Coruba) • blended aged rum (Appleton 12) • black overproof rum (Planteray OFTD) • herbstura (a blend of Angistura bitters and Herbsaint) Find the complete recipe (and dozens more) in Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki, by Martin & Rebecca Cate https://www.smugglerscovesf.com/store/smugglers-cove-exotic-cocktails-rum-and-the-cult-of-tiki-signed -- Part 2 of Brad and Jeff's Tiki Analysis: https://bit.ly/4usNvyH -- CREATIVE DISTILLATION University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights. Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
jeffrey.york@colorado.edu Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
walter.werner@colorado.edu Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | deming@colorado.edu

    98: Jeff's Jet Pilot and Brad and Jeff's Tiki Analysis Part 2

  6. Apr 16

    97: Jeff's Three Dots and a Dash and Brad and Jeff's Tiki Analysis Part 1

    We have a lot of fun in store as we round the final turn of Creative Distillation’s seventh season, and build toward our 100th episode. Martin and Rebecca Cate’s book, Smuggler’s Cove, has served as the roadmap and bible for this season’s journey into tiki, and in this episode, fortified by a Three Dots and a Dash expertly mixed by Jeff himself, our fearless explorers start charting the course and organizing the data they’ve been gathering for the Tiki paper Brad will allegedly be writing as a result of all this rigorous field research they’ve been conducting. From Jeff’s super secret Tiki Hideaway, our bold academics delve deeply into some Tiki Analysis, with Brad noting the complexity of the drinks, and Jeff pointing out that among bartenders, tiki is considered the highest form of mixology and the most difficult to master. Focusing on the history of Don Beach, aka Don the Beachcomber and the founder and proprietor of the first tiki bar, which opened in Hollywood in 1933, Brad and Jeff touch on the seminal moments in the history of tiki, and delineate the three periods that mark this subculture’s nearly 100-year evolution. It’s a fast-paced, entertaining and downright edifying episode of Tiki Time with Jeff. It’s also a great behind-the-scenes look at the process of researching, writing and, ultimately, publishing a paper. The weather is beautiful, wish you were here. Aloha and cheers! — You’ve been listening to Tiki Time with Jeff, a special, semi-occurring production of Creative Distillation. This episode was recorded on location at Jeff’s super secret Tiki Hideaway. Check the show notes for a Three Dots and a Dash recipe, and Part 1 of Jeff and Brad’s tiki analysis, which includes a timeline of major events in tiki, emerging themes and next steps. Thanks for listening to Creative Distillation and Tiki Time with Jeff! Much aloha to all! -- INGREDIENTS: Three Dots and a Dash • AOC Martinique rhum agricole vieux • blended aged rum • Velvet Falernum • allspice dram • honey syrup • lime juice, freshly squeezed • orange juice, freshly squeezed • Angostura bitters • Garnish: maraschino cherries, pineapple frond Find the complete recipe (and dozens more) in Smuggler's Cove: Exotic Cocktails, Rum, and the Cult of Tiki, by Martin & Rebecca Cate https://www.smugglerscovesf.com/store/smugglers-cove-exotic-cocktails-rum-and-the-cult-of-tiki-signed -- Part 1 of Brad and Jeff's Tiki Analysis: https://bit.ly/3RjWR1b -- Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at CDpodcast@colorado.edu. Thanks for listening. -
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis "Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs ___ CREATIVE DISTILLATION University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights. Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
jeffrey.york@colorado.edu Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
walter.werner@colorado.edu Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | deming@colorado.edu

    97: Jeff's Three Dots and a Dash and Brad and Jeff's Tiki Analysis Part 1

  7. Mar 26

    96: Tiki Time with Jeff with Claudia Doblinger (TUM): Trader Vic’s Rum Punch and the Public/Private Role in Clean Tech Startups

    This “hybrid” episode of Tiki Time with Jeff and Creative Distillation was recorded in April 2025, during the early days of Jeff’s tiki odyssey. Trader Vic’s in Munich — the oldest remaining Trader Vic’s location — is the setting for Jeff’s interview with Prof. Dr. Claudia Doblinger, Professor of Innovation and Technology Management at Technical University of Munich. Over a shared Rum Cup served in a tiki-style ceremonial bowl, Jeff regales Claudia, a tiki neophyte, with tales of tiki’s origins. We get her impressions of her first visit to a tiki bar, and the advice she would give a student considering opening one. Claudia talks about her academic journey, which includes strong ties to CU and, with Jeff, co-authoring a widely-respected and well-read paper on environmental and social entrepreneurship. The heart of the discussion though, involves three papers Claudia’s co-authored, each looking at different aspects of clean tech startups and the role of public collaboration in their innovation and survival. Taken together, she paints a clear picture of the importance of these public/private partnerships. Enjoy and cheers! — You’ve been listening to Tiki Time with Jeff, a special, semi-occurring production of Creative Distillation. This episode was recorded on location at Trader Vic’s in Munich, Germany - the oldest existing Trader Vic’s. Learn more at tradervics.com Learn more about Claudia Doblinger on her faculty page at Technical University of Munich. Check the show notes for a link to that as well as her papers discussed today. Claudia Doblinger's faculty page: https://www.professoren.tum.de/en/doblinger-claudia "The effects of corporate investment and public grants on climate and energy startup outcomes": https://portal.fis.tum.de/en/publications/the-effects-of-corporate-investment-and-public-grants-on-climate-/ "Governments as partners: The role of alliances in U.S. cleantech startup innovation": https://portal.fis.tum.de/en/publications/governments-as-partners-the-role-of-alliances-in-us-cleantech-sta/ "Author Correction: Federal energy R&D: Startups supported by ARPA-E were more innovative than others but an investment gap may remain (Nature Energy, (2020), 5, 10, (741-742), 10.1038/s41560-020-00691-8)": https://portal.fis.tum.de/en/publications/author-correction-federal-energy-rampd-startups-supported-by-arpa/ Thanks for listening to Creative Distillation and Tiki Time with Jeff! Much aloha to all! -- Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at CDpodcast@colorado.edu. Thanks for listening. -
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis "Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs ___ CREATIVE DISTILLATION University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights. Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
jeffrey.york@colorado.edu Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
walter.werner@colorado.edu Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | deming@colorado.edu

    96: Tiki Time with Jeff with Claudia Doblinger (TUM): Trader Vic’s Rum Punch and the Public/Private Role in Clean Tech Startups

  8. Mar 12

    95: The Pits and Stems Sal Banan and MJ Yang (CU) on AI Growing Pains

    On this episode, Brad and Jeff continue their field research at Pits & Stems, a real live speakeasy located somewhere in Boulder. They’re still joined by host and proprietor Ethan Decker, who contribrutes his wry insights as he keeps the libations flowing, and MJ Yang, Assistant Professor of Strategy, Entrepreneurship and Operations at CU Boulder’s Leeds School of Business. The conversation shifts to MJ’s work, which focuses on scientific approaches to entrepreneurship, and is centered on AI and data-driven decision making. He asserts that AI (particularly LLM’s) should be treated as a “brain-damaged peer.” It’s not the most reliable data analyst; just the fastest, and MJ emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and problem framing. Brad points out that we’re experiencing the growing pains of a fledgling technology, but that no matter how important AI becomes, there will always be a job for creative problem solvers with grit. Jeff likens AI to the dotcom boom, in that the true believers (as he was back then), think only about how much the tech is going to improve our lives, without considering the negative externalities. Ethan calls that being “nerd-sighted.” Jeff goes on to say that, because AI has been on our minds for decades, it’s not the already-predicted worst-case scenarios that worry him. He’s more concerned about the dangers we haven’t thought of. You know: those unknown unknowns. He also puts in important (seriously) plugs for Coruba and Clareen rums, from Jamaica and Haiti, respectively. They’re key ingredients in one of Ethan’s creations featured herein: the Sal Banan, an original and fully AI-proof cocktail. Enjoy and cheers! — This episode of Creative Distillation was recorded at Pits and Stems in Boulder, Colorado. Unfortunately, that’s about all we can say about it. Learn more about MJ Yang on his faculty page at the Leeds School of Business website. https://www.colorado.edu/business/leeds-directory/faculty/mj-yang -- Learn more about CU's Deming Center for Entrepreneurship: https://deming.colorado.edu Comments/criticism/suggestions/feedback? We'd love to hear it. Drop us a note at CDpodcast@colorado.edu. Thanks for listening. -
An Analog Digital Arts Production for the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Produced, recorded and edited by Joel Davis "Whiskey Before Breakfast" [Traditional] performed by Jeffrey York and Brad Werner. Recorded, mixed and mastered by George Figgs ___ CREATIVE DISTILLATION University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights. Jeff York | Associate Professor | Research Director
jeffrey.york@colorado.edu Brad Werner | Instructor | Teaching Director
walter.werner@colorado.edu Deming Center for Entrepreneurship | CU Leeds School of Business
303.492.9018 | deming@colorado.edu

    95: The Pits and Stems Sal Banan and MJ Yang (CU) on AI Growing Pains
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

University of Colorado-Boulder professors Jeff York and Brad Werner distill entrepreneurship research into actionable insights.

Information

  • Creator
    Creative Distillation
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    104
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    Creative Distillation

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