The last year has been a wild ride and has taught me so much about what it is to be human, to be an entrepreneur, and how much life can change in the blink of an eye. In June of 2010 I collaborated with a couple of my closest friends to create something bigger than anything we could've ever imagined - a magazine. It was ambitious, daring, and we had absolutely no idea what we were in for. Who would write the content? How would we fund the project? How many pages would it be? Would it be a monthly publication? How would we interview anyone relevant? These were all questions that had to be solved by a meager team of four people. Fast forward to September 3rd, 2010 - the launch of our first print edition. Over the course of three months we had managed to put together a 60+ page magazine with a badass musician on the cover, pull together a pool of sponsors, print 5,000 copies, and gather a group of fine models for a launch party we'd organized at the swankiest club in town. We had worked tirelessly for 3 months and on the eve of September 3rd we were on top of the world...and scared shitless. Continuing after September's issue was a struggle for all of us. We desperately wanted to produce a monthly publication and expand our staff but were lacking the funds needed to continue full steam ahead. That's when we met John, an ambitious and talented writer/model/manager. We brought him on immediately as the magazine's Editor in Chief and his influence was immediately felt through out the company. A new wave of passion came over the group and we immediately snapped back into action - dumping dead weight, bringing in a talented photographer (Jim Wills), co-organizing a massive halloween fashion show, and pulling together a November issue in the nick of time. The November issue was another massive milestone and a symbol of our strength, but unfortunately we were still too small a team with too small a focus. I was still financing the majority of the operation from business cards and banners to printing the magazine. Come mid November nothing had improved on our advertising front and we were back to square one of another issue. Things began to crumble before our eyes and by January we didn't know if or when we'd be back to print. This is not to say there weren't things that were going well. We had a strong web following, a couple great videos being produced, and an 'It Girl' feature that was bringing in substantial traffic. Even still, we had a lot of barriers to overcome before we could go back to print and I had made a conscious decision that I wouldn't be dumping any more of my own money into the project. This made advertising revenue more important than ever and unfortunately for us, ad sales had been a constant vice, crippling us at every turn. Long story short, despite multiple attempts in 2011 to bring together a good core team of people, it never quite happened by the time that I (the final remaining founder) had finally came to the realization that my passion for LoDo had unfortunately faded. That was a very hard point for me to come to and it may never have even happened had I not been forced to face many of my own demons and fears in the jungles of Brazil, one of which being the time and money drain that LoDo had become for me. So here I am today, reminiscing a year after the launch of LoDo Magazine's first issue. I can't say I regret putting the amount of time or money into the project that I did, in fact I learned more during that project than any before it and I met my darling girlfriend, Josephine. Starting a magazine is not for the faint of heart, it takes an insanely dedicated and strong team of people with varying skills to put together something as divers and in depth as a monthly print publication. My hope is that the remaining members of LoDo can still fulfill the dream that we originally had. I still think the concept of LoDo magazine is brilliant and needed in a city like Denver, and with the correct group of individuals I firmly believe it could be a massively successful publication. As for my journey, QRlicious has helped me set things in motion and I am going to begin a journey of exploration very soon, that's who I am - a knowledgephile. I want to see other cultures, learn new languages, and soak in as much about the world as possible. That is why I've chosen to be an entrepreneur after all. Also, check out this great video from the retreat that I went to in June. Amazing place... http://qrlc.us/sv Feel free to contact me if you're interested in getting more information or attending a retreat.