The Bear Roars

Loud Bear Productions
  • 4.7 (14)
  • Business

The Bear Roars is hosted by three-time decacorn entrepreneur and venture investor Dan Caruso. Colorado Innovators, the Bandwidth revolution (associated with Dan's book), and DeepTech are areas of focus. The purpose is to celebrate innovators, inspire listeners, and spark conversations within the innovation community.

  1. 1d ago

    Colorado Is Losing the Critical Metals Race — with Hugo Schumann

    In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Hugo Schumann — founder and CEO of EverMetal Capital and former CFO of Boulder's Jetti Resources — for a conversation about the chokepoint most people miss in the critical metals story. Hugo opens with getting sent to the Congo at 26 to build an iron ore project, an AK-47 pointed at him at the airport, and a mountain hike that took the company from $20M to $400M in a couple of months. From there he makes the case that mining was never the bottleneck. There's ore in Chile, Brazil and the US, but almost all of the refining that turns rock into usable metal happens in China, which spent the 2000s building that capacity while the West shut its own down. Dan and Hugo get into why that hands China a switch it can flip both ways, and why doing this work here is better for the environment than doing it there. Then it gets local: Colorado has the School of Mines, a Denver mining cluster and the talent to match, and is still watching these plants go to Texas and Oklahoma. Plus Hugo's super-alloy recycling roll-up, and a candid exchange on using AI in dealmaking. Learn more about Hugo's work in critical metals: https://www.evermetal.capital/hugo-schumann 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

  2. Aug 11

    Can Boulder Get Out of Its Own Way? with Aquiles La Grave

    In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Aquiles La Grave — serial entrepreneur, community builder, and candidate for Mayor of Boulder — for a candid conversation about whether Boulder can get out of its own way before it prices out the very people who make it special. Aquiles arrived in Boulder in 1995 as a 15-year-old immigrant from Venezuela, and within a single generation his family built thriving lives here. His worry is that today's Boulder wouldn't offer that same chance. He and Dan dig into the numbers behind the anxiety — roughly 3,600 fewer K–12 students and looming school closures, about 30% downtown office vacancy, and permit timelines that can stretch a six-month project into years — along with what Aquiles calls a "crisis of empathy" in a city government whose staff largely neither live in Boulder nor come into the office. They also get into what he'd actually do about it: treat adaptability as a governing framework, bring city staff back to serve the community in person, make it easier to build the homes working families need, and lead with "yes, and here's how" instead of "no, and here's why." And why it matters well beyond city limits — Boulder anchors the Front Range, producing some $10 billion in annual payroll, most of it in jobs beyond its own borders. It's a conversation about accountability, opportunity, and keeping a community's door open to the next family chasing a better life. Connect with Aquiles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aquileslagrave/ 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

  3. Aug 5

    Can You Trust AI With Payroll? with Gabe Monroy

    In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Gabe Monroy — Chief Technology Officer of Workday — for a candid conversation about building AI you can actually trust in the highest-stakes corners of the enterprise: people and money. Gabe reflects on a career spent at the center of modern computing — helping shape the container and Kubernetes technology that quietly powers nearly every major AI system today, standing up the container and distributed compute businesses inside Microsoft Azure, and serving as a product and engineering leader at DigitalOcean and Google Cloud before taking the CTO role at Workday, where roughly 70% of the Fortune 500 are customers. He explains why he walked away from the world of runaway AI infrastructure spend after sensing a "bubble-ish" disconnect from reality, and why the real opportunity is solving AI where a mistake isn't a bad chat response — it's a missed payroll or a broken ledger. They get into how AI is reshaping engineering itself — from swarms of agents that let two people ship in a week what once took sixteen engineers six months, to why "taste" and systems thinking now matter more than specialized skills. Gabe makes the case for deterministic guarantees over probabilistic magic, why open-weights models are becoming a critical counterbalance for enterprises wary of a government "kill switch," and why he believes Colorado has every right to lead the next era of innovation — if it leans into the change instead of legislating against it. Learn more about Workday: https://www.workday.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

  4. Jul 28

    Can Sodium Beat Lithium in the Battery Race? with Landon Mossburg

    How do you power the AI revolution without breaking the electric grid? And why is one former Tesla executive betting that the answer isn’t lithium?Landon Mossburg, founder and CEO of Peak Energy, shares  the technology that could redefine America’s energy future.After helping scale Tesla’s Gigafactory and growing European battery giant Northvolt from just 17 employees to more than 6,000, Landon left the world’s biggest battery companies to build Peak Energy, a startup focused on making grid-scale energy storage cheaper, safer, and manufactured in America.Landon explains why sodium-ion batteries—not lithium—could become the missing piece of the clean energy transition, how exploding demand from AI and hyperscale data centers is forcing a complete rethink of our electric grid, and why battery manufacturing has become a matter of both economic and national security.If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, AI, manufacturing, climate technology, or the future of American innovation, this conversation offers an inside look at one of the most important industries of the next decade.Learn more about Peak Energy: https://peakenergy.comOrder Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: https://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/@jaceallenTo nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

  5. Jul 21

    Colorado Innovators: Don Strasburg, President of AEG

    In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Don Strasburg—President of AEG Presents—for a conversation about the evolution of Colorado’s live music scene, entrepreneurship, and the enduring power of shared experiences. Don reflects on his unlikely journey from Grateful Dead-obsessed college student to one of the country’s most influential concert promoters. He shares how bringing Phish to Colorado College sparked a career, why opening the Fox Theatre at just 22 years old became the foundation for everything that followed. They explore the rise of Colorado as a national music destination, the creation of legendary venues like the Fox Theatre, Fillmore Auditorium, and Mission Ballroom, and how AEG grew from a challenger with no market share to the leading concert promoter at Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Along the way, Don shares behind-the-scenes stories of artists like Sublime, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, Coldplay, John Fogerty, and Willie Nelson, while reflecting on the risks, setbacks, and persistence required to build a lasting business. Learn more about AEG Presents: https://www.aegpresents.com/ Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: https://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

  6. Jul 15

    Rebecca Holmes, Principal and CEO of Colorado Education Initiative

    Rebecca Holmes, President and CEO of the Colorado Education Initiative, joins The Bear Roars for a thoughtful conversation on how artificial intelligence is transforming K–12 education and what it will take to prepare the next generation for an AI-powered future. Rebecca shares how Colorado is helping school districts responsibly integrate AI into classrooms, why she’s optimistic about teachers embracing new technology, and how AI can free educators to focus on the deeply human aspects of teaching. Together, her and Dan explore the growing AI divide, the importance of equitable access across urban and rural communities, and the role philanthropy, innovation, and leadership will play in shaping the future of public education. They also discuss why today’s education system must evolve beyond traditional instruction, how robotics, project-based learning, and career-connected education can better prepare students for tomorrow’s workforce, and why balancing technological advancement with critical thinking, creativity, and human connection will be one of education’s greatest challenges in the years ahead. Learn more about the Colorado Education Initiative: https://coloradoedinitiative.org/ Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: https://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

  7. Jul 8

    Colorado Innovators: Rick Sapkin, Owner of Edgemark

    In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Rick Sapkin—Founder and CEO of Edgemark—for a conversation on real estate, leadership, innovation, and the future of Colorado. Drawing on more than four decades of experience building and investing in commercial real estate, Rick shares how Edgemark has evolved from developing retail centers to investing in affordable housing, self-storage, and luxury senior living communities. Together, Rick and Dan explore why Colorado’s collaborative culture has fueled decades of growth, the challenges facing downtown Denver and housing affordability, and how business leaders can work alongside government to create stronger communities. They also discuss the impact of AI on society and infrastructure, the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship, why empathy and civil discourse matter in today’s political climate, and what it will take to ensure Colorado remains a place where businesses—and people—can thrive. Learn more about Edgemark: https://www.edgemark.com/ Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: https://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

  8. Jun 30

    Colorado Innovators: Carl Williams, Principal CEO at CJW Quantum Consulting

    In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Dr. Carl Williams—former Director of the NIST Quantum Information Program and founder of CJW Quantum Consulting—for an in-depth conversation on the past, present, and future of quantum technology.Carl shares stories from more than three decades at the forefront of quantum science, including his role in launching the U.S. quantum initiative, working alongside Nobel Prize-winning researchers, and helping establish Boulder as one of the world’s leading quantum hubs. Together, he and Dan break down the fundamentals of quantum mechanics—from entanglement and quantum teleportation to Bose-Einstein condensates and neutral atoms—and explain how these discoveries are shaping the next generation of computing.Learn more about CJW Quantum Consulting: https://cjwquantum.com/Order Dan’s Book – Bandwidth: The Untold Story of Ambition, Deception, and Innovation that Shaped the Internet Age and Dot-Com Boom: https://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/@jaceallenTo nominate a founder or yourself as a future guest speaker, email: contact@loudbearproductions.com

See All (105)

Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

The Bear Roars is hosted by three-time decacorn entrepreneur and venture investor Dan Caruso. Colorado Innovators, the Bandwidth revolution (associated with Dan's book), and DeepTech are areas of focus. The purpose is to celebrate innovators, inspire listeners, and spark conversations within the innovation community.

Information

  • Creator
    Loud Bear Productions
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    105
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Loud Bear Productions
  • Show Website
    The Bear Roars