The DaVinci Institute - DaVinci Institute - Where great ideas happen!

"The AeroGrow Story"
...an ingenious startup story with the power to transform your life

In 2002 Michael Bissonette created a company called AeroGrow in Boulder, with the dream of marketing and selling a revolutionary idea involving growing plants without soil. In fact, his idea is so unique that a new category of kitchen appliances had to be invented - kitchen crop appliances.

Mr Bissonette previously sold a voice-recognition based remote-control company and a wireless home-security company. After looking at many possible products, he became excited about the potential of a technology called aeroponics. Originally developed by NASA, aeroponics accelerates the speed at which plants grow by drizzling nutrients onto their roots, which dangle in the air instead of being planted in soil.

Driven by this ingenious new product, he hoped to create a whole new market generating billions of dollars in new revenue. He is now well on his way to succeeding.

AeroGrow’s products consistently occupy a number of the top ten slots among Amazon.com’s bestselling indoor plants. In the final quarter of 2007, AeroGrow’s revenues topped $14 million, three times its revenues from the last quarter of 2006. Mr Bissonette believes annual revenues for the aeroponics industry could eventually rise to $1.5 billion.

In addition to finding and selecting great products, Michael has an extraordinary talent for raising money and providing investors with huge returns on their investments.

Join us as we dive into this amazing story and hear from the chief architect of AeroGrow.

EVENT: Startup Junkie Underground
DATE: Monday, July 21, 2008
TIMES: 6:15- 9:00 pm - COME EARLY AND NETWORK!

LOCATION: MADCAP Theater, 10679 Westminster Blvd, Westminster CO 80020
DIRECTIONS: Driving Directions
WEBSITE: www.startupjunkieunderground.com

COST: Members - Free, Nonmembers - $25
REGISTER - Click Here
PHONE: 303-666-4133
TOPIC: "The AeroGrow Story"
SPEAKERS: Michael Bissonnette, Founder and Chairman of Aerogrow

SPEAKER: Michael Bissonnette has over 25 years of hands-on, battlefield-proven, entrepreneurial experience in the funding, development and marketing of revolutionary, technology-based consumer products. Michael has built three consumer product companies from conception into multi-million dollar businesses - two became sizeable national and international corporations. An experienced fundraiser, he has raised substantial sums of money for his ventures and clients - more than $25 million dollars both privately and publicly. In addition, he has taken two of his companies public, and has negotiated the multi-million dollar acquisition of a third.

Mr. Bissonnette's extensive consumer marketing experience encompasses retail sales distribution and direct-to-the-consumer marketing, including direct mail, radio, television and long form infomercials. He brings hands-on skill in the use of broadcast media, having conceived, developed and produced his own extremely successful radio and television commercials.

CO-HOSTS: Allison Taylor and Dave Taylor are co-hosting the Startup Junkie Underground and as serial entrepreneurs, both will be on hand to help solve your startup related issues.

Allison Taylor is a Business Consultant specializing in relationship selling, referral marketing, customer and employee retention and non-traditional sales training. Through her business, Paravox, she offers innovative marketing and performance tactics to significantly improve business growth and profitability.

Dave Taylor has been involved with the Internet since 1980 and is widely recognized as an expert on both technical and business issues. He has been published over a thousand times, launched four Internet-related startup companies, has written twenty business and technical books and holds both an MBA and MS Ed. Dave maintains three weblogs, The Business Blog at Intuitive.com, focused on business and industry analysis, the eponymous Ask Dave Taylor devoted to tech and business Q&A and The Attachment Parenting Blog, discussing topics of interest to parents. Dave is an award-winning speaker, sought after conference and workshop participant and frequent guest on radio and podcast programs.

August 6, 2008

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An Evening with Dr. Ben Bova
"How to win the war against terrorism, save the space program, and alienate all your friends"

In his various writings, Dr. Bova has predicted the Space Race of the 1960s, solar power satellites, the discovery of organic chemicals in interstellar space, virtual reality, human cloning, the Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars), the discovery of life on Mars, the advent of international peacekeeping forces, the discovery of ice on the Moon, electronic book publishing and zero-gravity sex.

Dr. Bova has taught science fiction at Harvard University and at the Hayden Planetarium in New York City, where he has also directed film courses. He received his doctorate in education in 1996 from California Coast University, a master of arts degree in communications from the State University of New York at Albany (1987) and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Temple University (1954).

He lectures regularly on topics dealing with the prospects for human immortality, the impact of science on politics (and vice versa), space exploration and development, the craft of writing, and the search for extraterrestrial life. He has worked with film makers and television producers such as Woody Allen, George Lucas, and Gene Roddenberry.

Join us as we spend a fascinating evening with the legendary Dr. Ben Bova. Please register early to reserve your seat.

EVENT: Night with a Futurist
DATE: August 6, 2008 - Wednesday
TIME: 6:30-9:00 pm
WEBSITE: www.nightwithafuturist.com

LOCATION: CB & Potts, 1257 W 120th Ave, Westminster, CO 80234
DIRECTIONS: Click here

COST: Free for Members, all others $25
REGISTER: Click here
PHONE: 303-666-4133

NOTE: Because of the popularity of this event and the limited amount of seating, we are asking people to register early to reserve a seat

TOPIC: "How to win the war against terrorism, save the space program, and alienate all your friends"
SPEAKER: Ben Bova, World Renowned Science Fiction Author

SPEAKER: The author of more than 115 futuristic novels and nonfiction books, Dr. Ben Bova has been involved in science and high technology since the very beginnings of the space age. President Emeritus of the National Space Society and a past president of Science Fiction Writers of America, Dr. Bova received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in 2005, “for fueling mankind’s imagination regarding the wonders of outer space.” His 2006 novel TITAN received the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for best novel of the year.

At the Omegacon 2008 science fiction convention, Dr. Bova received the first annual Ben Bova Award “For Outstanding Achievement in Science Fiction Literature.”

Dr. Bova is a frequent commentator on radio and television and a widely-popular lecturer. Earlier, he was an award-winning editor and an executive in the aerospace industry.