Gen XYZ: Colorado's top 25 young professionals for 2011.

THEY'RE YOUNG. THEY'RE TECH-SAVVY and they're undaunted by the lingering economic downturn that has now persisted almost half of some of their professional careers. They're also givers, involved in their communities. But most of all, they're doers.

This is the 2011 edition of "Gen XYZ" our second annual look at 25 professionals under 39 we judged to be the most influential in Colorado by virtue of their accomplishments, their unusual drive and the impact they've had on their communities, whether by giving their time, donating their professional expertise, or inspiring others to do the same.

As the judges of the entries that flowed in, we had a tough time whittling the many thoughtful submissions of these standout young professionals down to 25 - and an even tougher time selecting a top five, which we profile in more detail along with the 20 additional honorees on the following pages.

ColoradoBiz was assisted in the Gen XYZ nomination process by the Colorado Springs Young Professionals, which solicited entries from its more than 1,700 members, including chapters in Denver and Pueblo.

CotoradoBiz recognized these 25 individuals and their companies at a special Gen XYZ celebration on Sept. 29.

Mike Taylor, ColoradoBiz managing editor

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TED CHURCH, 38

ANTHEM BRANDING

His hybrid ad agency creates merchandise that fits the market

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Try to figure out what "Sesame Street," Burton snowboards and Google have in common.

If you know Ted Church, you have the answer. The president and founder of Boulder-based Anthem Branding has helped each of those companies recognize its brand.

"Basically we're a hybrid ad agency," says Church, 38. "We're an advertising, design and merchandise agency."

Package design and Web development tap the creative minds of the 17 employees at Anthem Branding.

"We come up with products that are authentic to that company," he says. "We're lifestyle branding experts. We've expanded our services so we do everything but TV. We take a creative approach."

Creativity pays off. In 2010, revenue was $4.9 million, up from $1.9 million in 2007.

View Masters, mouse pads and jail keys have all become promotional merchandise with the innovative touch of Anthem Branding's employees.

"For Burton, we recently created a scale that measures your weight, and based on that weight and your riding ability, it will suggest which board you should be riding."

Church pauses for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"That's the kind of thing that makes clients come to us," he says. "We're efficient and we're imaginative."

Attributes, says Joe Liggett, that perfectly fit his employer.

The account manager works with new clients on marketing strategies.

"He's very forward-thinking," says Liggett, who nominated Church for the Gen XYZ award. "He's a trend setter and he's a great motivator. It's a great place to work because he's always supportive of whatever comes to the table. He allows his employees to have input on how the business is going."

Church says he's proud that the business taps local merchants whenever possible.

"We do about 3,500 projects a year, some from national clients," Church says. "Whenever we can get it locally, we do, from silk-screen embroidering companies to blank apparel, like T-shirts and hats."

Giving back to the community also means a commitment of time, says Church, who is a member of the Emergency Family Assistance Association (EFFA).

"We like to say that it's a hand up rather than a handout," Church says. "Some of what the organization does is provide transitional housing and a food bank for those in need."

His wife and two daughters, ages 7 and 10, volunteer at the food bank, he says.

"I have a wonderful family," he says, adding that he's also lucky to have a job he loves.

"It's a really positive business," Church says. "We're promoting people and their businesses, and they're getting excited about our ideas.

"I go in every day thinking I know what the day will hold, but I never do. It's exciting every day."

And, he says, he has the best of both worlds, running the business and also getting to help with the creative aspects of the work.

"It helps that I have a five-minute attention span," Church says with a laugh. "I can juggle around 500 things a day." - Maria Cote

KRISTA PAUL, 32

USINGMILES.COM

CU Leed's school graduate created a business around frequent flier miles

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If there's such a thing as a born entrepreneur, then Krista Paul is it.

"I remember when we were quite young, we used to go to the convenience store on the corner after our dance classes," says Chelsea Palmer, who has known Paul since age 4 and nominated her as one of Colorado's most influential young professionals.

"She had the bright idea to use all of her allowance to buy as many large Jolly Ranchers as she could. Then she would take them with her on the bus the next morning and sell them to all of the kids at a 300 percent markup."

"It was an awesome market," Paul says.

Now 32, the high-flying founder of UsingMiles.com has come a long way since then, all the while staying true to her inner entrepreneur. After graduating with highest honors from the CU Leed's School of Business, Paul worked at various companies in the Bay Area, including Coca-Cola, then followed her head and heart to start a business based on her own frustrating experience with frequent flier miles.

"I personally lost a ton of miles because I'm not organized enough to keep track of them," Paul says. "I thought, 'Shoot, if I'm having this problem, then I bet a lot of other people are having the same problem."

UsingMiles.com was born, and Paul was accepted into the Techstars program in Boulder, a three-month incubator that chooses 10 companies per year out of more than 600 applicants for mentorship

That kind of support makes all the difference, Paul says.

"You are never going to know the answers to many of the problems you're going to encounter," she says. "Mentors can save lots of heartache and lots of time."

Paul's young company raised $2.7 million earlier this year, giving her the opportunity to shift from fundraising - and surviving - to "building a rock star team and a world-class product," Palmer says. She's definitely on the right track: Entrepreneur magazine named UsingMiles.com one of its 2011 "100 Brilliant Companies."

Paul has already started giving back to the business community, doing everything from mentoring other entrepreneurs in the Founders Institute and Techstars to delivering motivational speeches to would-be entrepreneurs.

"The first thing I tell them is, you need to get started and just start building it now," Paul says. "Don't get caught up in all the details--'I've got to raise money, I've got to quit my job.' That's the reason a lot of people don't ever get started. You don't have to quit your day job or raise money, not today. Once you get it started, the answers will come."

Paul gives back in other ways as well, particularly to organizations that help children. She has trained to be a court-appointed special advocate for child dependents of the court in California, and she has worked at the Ronald McDonald House and helped organize and build a playground in a low-income Denver neighborhood.

Doing all this comes easy to Paul, described by Palmer as passionate, determined and blessed with endless energy.

"We are sort of paving roads never paved before," Paul says. "It's a blessing and a curse to be a first mover - nobody's done it before, so you don't have the technical support you need. But if you have a really, really interesting concept, and you do it correctly, you'll be successful.

"And you'll be the first to do it." - Lisa Ryckman

CHRISTIAN VANEK, 34

SURVEYGIZMO

He might be belter known fir what he doesn't believe in as a leader than what he does.

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He doesn't believe in top-down management. He doesn't believe a workplace needs to be stiff and formal. And he doesn't believe in sitting in his office behind a closed door.

In fact, the CEO of SurveyGizmo doesn't even have a door.

"I took it off to kind of make a statement," Vanek says. "I've lived in organizations when people lived in fear of the CEO. This is my way of making sure this wouldn't happen. You close your door, you back away from what's happening in your organization."

SurveyGizmo was founded in 2006, when Vanek was working as a consultant

"I noticed that my clients weren't satisfied with the survey software out there," Vanek says. "I knew what they wanted and what they didn't like. We didn't know the company would be such a success."

Vanek and one partner started with one server, which was $79 a month. He worked for no pay, and continued his contract business to bring home a paycheck.

"One of the things I tell young entrepreneurs is to stick to their dreams," he says. "Don't let anything stop you. Finding venture capital isn't always necessary."

What started small has grown into a company with more than $3 million in annual sales. The SurveyGizmo Web application has more than 150,000 users, with customers in more than 60 countries.

Inc. magazine recently ranked SurveyGizmo the 13th fastest-growing private software company in the United States.

And every member of the team, he says, truly defines the company.

Julie Jensen, senior marketing manager for the company, says she feels as if she greets her family when she walks into work in the morning.

"It's unlike any place I've ever worked before," she says. "We all have a feeling that we're in it together. Even when we're getting through the bumpy spots, we keep in mind that we're friends first."

And it starts, she says, with a leader who has a wonderful outlook.

"He walks in every day and says, 'God, I love being here.' It sinks in to the rest of us, too."

Success, Vanek says, comes with practice.

"I started as a software developer when I was just out of high school," he says. "My first company wasn't such a...