About Eben Johnson and Colorado Technology Ventures Testimonials.
Chartered in 2009, CTV helps founders and their teams build successful ventures.
Eben Johnson
Experienced startup coach and mentor across markets, industries, and technologies serving both for-profit and not-for-profit companies, including those developing and selling goods or services.
- Awarded USCA Best of Boulder Excellence in Sales and Marketing
- Awarded UTC Best Practices for Global Voice of the Customer Product Development Process
- Awarded Mentor of the Year, University of Colorado, Boulder—across a wide variety of ventures, industries, & markets
- Commendation Malcolm Baldrige Quality Committee for Excellence in Operations & Procurement
- Led corporate marketing and commercial team for a new engine program—first to approach leading customer, now in production
- Conceived, researched, and recommended creation of new information services business unit—now in production
- Conceived, researched, planned, and recommended creation of new Emissions Solutions business unit—now in production
- Start-up success, won 1st production contract and closed funding—now in production and successfully exited via strategic acquisition
- Reduced lead times & order fulfillment from six weeks to same-day shipping
- Reduced direct material spend 30%, reduced lead times 50%, nearly eliminated incoming quality rejects
Formerly Full-Time Instructor, University of Colorado Boulder
Graduate and under-graduate courses; Engineering Management Program, College of Engineering and Applied Science
- Marketing
- Product Development and Design
- Intrapreneurship
- Entrepreneurship
- Mentor and program contributor—CatalyzeCU
Languages and International
- Expat experience: Europe 15+ years
- Have worked with companies from around the world; comfortable with cultures
- Fluent in English; formerly native fluent in French; rusty Dutch and German; nearly achieved tourist level Japanese
Positions
- Founder and President of Colorado Technology Ventures, LLCof
- CEO and Founder, QZetta, Inc.
- Instructor, College of Engineering and Applied Science; University of Colorado, Boulder
- CEO, Thomas Engine Company
- Global Director of Sales & Marketing, VAIREX International
- VP Global Sales & Marketing, Raybestos Corporation
- Director, Light-Duty Automotive Markets, Cummins Engine Company
Education
- MBA,Product Development & Alternative Energy; UC Davis
- BS, Mechanical Engineering; UC Davis—2nd BS, ~80% complete; recruited out
- BS, Industrial Management; Carnegie Mellon University
Patents and Publications
- Transportable Marketing Content Overlaid on Digital Media – PCT/US18/37797
- Contributing writer and editor to several graduate and undergraduate cost accounting textbooks including Cost Accounting by Deakin & Maher
- Published author of creative historic fiction and nonfiction stories
Current or Former Associations
- Rockies Venture Club
- Innosphere
- American Marketing Association (AMA)
- SAGE
- American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS)
- Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM)
- Owner & founder Hybrid Truck and Bus Group (>2500 members)
- VP, Boulder Writers Alliance
Testimonials
- “Your team has impressed and delighted us. Clearly one of our best partners in our family.” — Carlos Ghosn, CEO, Nissan Motor Co.
- “[Eben] is doing more to know the customer and deliver solutions than anyone in our industry.” — CMO, Paccar Inc.
- “Working with Eben has been a total game-changer! As a founder of a tech company, I spent a couple of years going in the wrong direction and spending nearly $200K on things I didn’t yet need. His expertise has completely changed how I approach my business. In just a few months, he helped me create a solid plan that I wish I had from the start. If you’re a founder, before you waste precious time and money, do yourself a favor and work with Eben. He knows exactly what you need to get your idea to market the right way.” — Holly Porter, Tech Founder
- “We engaged Eben (CTV) for a new product market analysis and business plan complete with pro forma. As a nonprofit organization, we did not know what to expect when we started the process. However, after extremely focused, detailed, and professional guidance from CTV, our team not only met our deadlines but we gained a plethora of knowledge in market surveys, customer interviews, Monte Carlo forecasting, system design, pricing, and product scoping. I highly recommend Eben for guidance in starting, building, or expanding a business or product!” — James Downing, UNAVCO, Inc.
- “Eben has an extraordinary ability to help me “show my work.” He helps translate my vision into compelling narratives and frameworks that others can quickly understand and support. He doesn’t just understand my ideas, he helps articulate them, offering precision that bridges the gap between concept and execution. For any entrepreneur or startup looking to bring clarity, structure, and investor-ready polish to their ideas, I highly recommend working with Eben. His insights and expertise have been crucial to my journey.” — Hermine Ngnomire, FemTech and MarTech CEO & Entrepreneur
- “Eben is the most empowering mentor I’ve ever had. I can’t say it enough. I had the pleasure of connecting with him at Watson Institute. He offered me great insights, useful tips, and lots of encouragement along the way. His understanding of early-stage ventures and ability to guide others through is second to none. While showing me the bigger picture, Eben always knows the smallest details about my venture. I highly recommend him.” — Jianjin Li, co-founder Athena Stick, Watson University
- “I had the privilege of having Eben as my mentor during my time at the Watson Institute Accelerator program in Boulder, CO in the year 2020. Through the few months I spent with him working on developing further my startup venture, I came to appreciate the value and impact he had not just on my startup but also my life due to his unique mentoring skills, which tap into my deepest motivation of why I do what I do. Eben’s understanding of the entrepreneurial world, advice, charisma, leadership, and commitment with a constant dedication to hold me accountable for my set goals and objectives led to the very success of my time at Watson and contributed to the way I approach life today. He’s been a very positive influence in my life and I wouldn’t have wished for a better mentor than Eben.” — David Mualen, PhD, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Ohio State University
- “I connected with Eben at the Watson Venture Accelerator in July 2022. Since then he has been a great mentor generously sharing his golden nuggets of wisdom in building a company. He has been very helpful in giving advice and feedback on improving our product, team efficiency, marketing strategy, and fundraising. Eben is an experienced entrepreneur, mentor, and instructor with great empathy. I learned a lot about the mental models of being a founder from him. His consistency in holding me accountable throughout the journey has been a huge encouragement.” — Yaqi Chu, Social Entrepreneur
- “Eben, without fail, empowers teams to sharpen their product-market fit, identify strategic opportunities, and strengthen the value they deliver to paying customers. I look forward to opportunities to collaborate with Eben in the future and recommend his technical leadership to any organization that is tackling complex challenges with a novel solution.”
- “Eben was my professor for both Marketing & High Tech Ventures and Product Development & Design. His extensive experience and insight, combined with his enthusiasm for students and the subject, led to some of the most valuable classes I’ll ever take. He has high expectations for the quality and focus of the work, and the depth of thought required to integrate the material into the real world.”
- “He went out of his way to help me align my product development project to my full-time job, and I was promoted into a product development role before the semester ended. I am very grateful for Eben’s instruction and encouragement and would highly recommend his classes to anyone up for a challenge.”
- “Through his invaluable mentorship, Eben guided us through the initial stages of business plan development to an award in the Cleantech track of the University of Colorado New Venture Challenge. Eben is great to work with and he eagerly shares his deep knowledge and experience in start-ups, raising venture capital, networking, presenting, and cleantech industries. We are immensely grateful and humbled to have him as a mentor.”