Episodes

  • Episode 0155: Roundtable Topics

    Episode 0155: Roundtable Topics
    Feb 14 2026
    Show Notes
    • Host: Dan Hugo
    • Summary: Getting the Genius Roundtable up and running for a second cohort as part of Initiative 2026 has taken a temporary back seat to the Smarter Smart City Challenge over at the Innovate for Vegas Foundation, but the Roundtable can overlap The Challenge, so let’s throw out some topics to ponder ahead of a virtual meetup…
    Links
    • Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org
    • HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo
    • Nevada job seekers face uphill battle as unemployment hits 3rd highest in nation https://www.ktnv.com/news/nevada-job-seekers-face-uphill-battle-as-unemployment-hits-third-highest-in-nation
    • Students, parents, educators speak against CCSD’s plan to cut 1,200 positions https://www.fox5vegas.com/2026/02/13/students-parents-educators-speak-against-ccsds-plan-cut-1200-positions/
    • Study lists Nevada as one of the least educated states | KLAS https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/study-lists-nevada-as-one-of-the-least-educated-states/
    • Small business creation drops in Clark County https://www.fox5vegas.com/2026/02/09/small-business-creation-drops-clark-county/
    • Inside Las Vegas's Electric Reinvention Into a Sports Capital | Condé Nast Traveler https://www.cntraveler.com/story/inside-las-vegas-electric-reinvention-into-a-sports-capital
    • Crushing it: Wynn Resorts CEO sees bright future, even with a very tough act to follow https://www.8newsnow.com/news/local-news/las-vegas-strip/crushing-it-wynn-resorts-ceo-sees-bright-future-even-with-a-very-tough-act-to-follow/
    • TECH HUBS: Site Selection Magazine https://siteselection.com/tech-hubs-dfw-overtakes-dc-in-north-american-tech-hub-index/
    • Global Innovation Hubs Index 2025 https://www.nature.com/articles/d42473-025-00418-x
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    49 mins
  • Episode 0154: A Few Non-Random Things

    Episode 0154: A Few Non-Random Things
    Feb 6 2026
    Show Notes
    • Host: Dan Hugo
    • Summary: I have been looking in the direction of the upcoming year-long Smarter Smart City Challenge so forgive my distraction, here are a couple of things on deck.
    Links
    • Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org
    • HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo
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    54 mins
  • Episode 0153: Realm of Possibilities

    Episode 0153: Realm of Possibilities
    Jan 30 2026
    Show Notes
    • Host: Dan Hugo
    • Summary: Greater Vegas certainly could be if we made the most of so many people visiting this little oasis, not to extract so much but to engage. I may be biased, though, let’s talk about it.
    Links
    • Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org
    • HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo
    • Innovate for Vegas Foundation https://innovateforvegas.org
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    34 mins
  • Episode 0152: Goodhart in Vegas

    Episode 0152: Goodhart in Vegas
    Jan 23 2026
    Show Notes
    • Host: Dan Hugo
    • Summary: Goodhart’s Law states that “When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.” So about those tourism stats…
    Links
    • Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org
    • HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo
    • Goodhart’s Law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law
    • LVCVA Research https://www.lvcva.com/research/
    • LVCVA Fabulous Five-Day Sale https://press.lvcva.com/all/las-vegas-kicks-off-the-fabulous-5-day-sale-today/s/65399c90-ab5e-4207-a0c8-cc70b9a17da5
    • Sarah Paine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_C._M._Paine
    • Sarah Paine on current Strategy and Potential Outcomes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSUE1n8yWng
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Episode 0151: Bootstrap Vegas

    Episode 0151: Bootstrap Vegas
    Jan 17 2026
    Show Notes
    • Host: Dan Hugo
    • Summary: Everybody is waiting for the final report for 2025 regarding the Vegas Slump that everyone is already reporting on, and if you are waiting for some central planning, advice from above, and a supply side economy to enable your entrepreneurial innovation journey, we need to talk.
    Links
    • Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org
    • HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo
    • LVCVA Research https://www.lvcva.com/research/
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    57 mins
  • Episode 0150: Retro Go

    Episode 0150: Retro Go
    Jan 9 2026
    Show Notes
    • Host: Dan Hugo
    • Summary: Vegas, we have a problem. It probably started 100 years ago, and it most definitely got worse in 2025. We are not talking about quite what you might be thinking, but close.
    Links
    • Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org
    • HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo
    • Apollo 13 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13
    • Feynman Challenger Article https://calteches.library.caltech.edu/3570/1/Feynman.pdf
    • Feynman Appendix https://www.nasa.gov/history/rogersrep/v2appf.htm
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    42 mins
  • Episode 0149: Vegas Colaboratory

    Episode 0149: Vegas Colaboratory
    Jan 2 2026
    Show Notes
    • Host: Dan Hugo
    • Summary: I have spoken of the Colaboratory notion in a previous episode, now that our new year has commenced, the time has come to deploy this scenario and see what happens.
    Links
    • Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org
    • HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo
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    32 mins
  • Episode 0148: Retrospective 2025

    Episode 0148: Retrospective 2025
    Dec 27 2025
    Show Notes
    • Host: Dan Hugo
    • Summary: The final full week of 2025, seems like a fine time to publish an episode looking back not at the episodes of the year, but how we have seen the Entrepreneurial Innovation Ecosystem evolve, for better or worse.
    Links
    • Caffe Genius Hompage https://caffegenius.org
    • HOST Profile Page Linking Everything https://www.buymeacoffee.com/danhugo
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    43 mins