The Founder's Playbook
Thursday, October 1, 2026 · The Reserve, 1820 Blake St, Denver
The evening
One coach. One fireplace. A room of more than thirty people leaning in.
The fourth Founder Series brought founders, operators, and friends to The Reserve, a private event space in Denver's Dairy Block. Guests were greeted at the door, walked through the space, and gathered in the kitchen over beer, wine, and sparkling water before everyone found a seat.
It turned into a true fireside chat. Coach Ricardo Patton sat right beside the fireplace, and Gabe Anderson and Roberto Seidita of RG Syndicate led the conversation.
Coach spent thirty years in Division I basketball, including his run as head coach at the University of Colorado. He talked about his early life and the years that shaped him, how he coached, the hobbies he has always kept going on the side, and the people who have stood by him. Some of those people were in the room, friends who have backed his company from the start.
One story he shared: Coach used to send his team a message every day, and one of them was a question. What do you get when you squeeze an orange? There are no wrong answers, he would tell them, though most people say orange juice. Then he would ask the next one. What do we get when we squeeze you? It was his way of bringing out the best in each of them.
He closed with the story behind Clear Step, the entry mat he invented that dries, grabs, and sanitizes shoes at the door. Then he asked the room for two things. Support the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy, where he serves as Executive Director. And if you know a distribution partner who should see the mat, make the introduction.
The room was a mix: commercial real estate brokers, bankers, people in wealth management and title, software and technology founders, people from the ski industry, owners of AI agencies, and plenty more. Afterward, Serendipity Catering passed appetizers and set out a dessert table, and the room kept talking. You could feel the buzz.
Coach is a client of RG Syndicate, and he has become a friend. That showed all evening.
The founder
Coach Ricardo Patton
Thirty years in Division I basketball, including his run as head coach at the University of Colorado. Executive Director of the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy. Founder of Clear Step, an entry mat that dries, grabs, and sanitizes shoes at the door, so guests keep their shoes on and the floor inside stays clean.
Know a distribution partner who should see it? RG Syndicate can make the introduction.
Thirty years on the sideline, a martial artist, and a rider who looks at home in the saddle. Coach Patton has never had just one thing going.
On the table
Food by Serendipity Catering, passed through the room after the conversation.
The room
The Reserve is a private event space at 1820 Blake St in Dairy Block, half a block from Coors Field.
The next Founder Series is in the works.
New sessions are announced here. If you are a founder with a story to tell, we would like to hear it.