Board Member Spotlight- Dan Caruso

Endeavor Colorado: How did you first learn about Endeavor, and what encouraged you to become a founding member of Endeavor Colorado?

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Dan Caruso: Linda Rottenberg is the CEO and co-founder of Endeavor Global. I was introduced to her in the early 2010s and I was quite lucky when she accepted my invitation to join my Zayo board. Linda and I share a passion for tech scaleups and the entrepreneurs who lead them.

We instinctively know that successful tech scale-ups create enormous opportunities for their ecosystems and, through their collective contributions, enhance the lives of people throughout the world. Linda and I both believe that the talent to create and scale up tech platforms exists in all geographies—and with a concerted effort by those of us who have had success, we can accelerate the development of tech ecosystems throughout the world.

As I was exiting Zayo, I saw the opportunity to expand Endeavor into Colorado to help bolster our scale-up community.

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Endeavor Colorado: What motivated you to serve as Board Chair, and what has been the most rewarding aspect of your leadership role?

Dan Caruso: I am motivated to help the next generations of entrepreneurs in Colorado achieve success—not just within their existing companies but also as leaders in Colorado’s tech ecosystem. I hope to inspire them to be community-minded and highly ambitious. Capital formation on the ground in Colorado is also important, so part of my focus is on developing Colorado’s venture investment community. Finally, I encourage those who have achieved success, like me, to use their platforms to support Colorado’s next generation of entrepreneurs and investors.

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Endeavor Colorado: Your career spans transformative roles in the telecommunications industry, including founding Zayo Group. What lessons from those experiences do you find most relevant for Colorado's entrepreneurial ecosystem?

Dan Caruso: Colorado is a global leader in Digital Infrastructure. Lumen and Zayo are the two dominant providers of bandwidth infrastructure. Vantage and Cologix, both founded by Level 3 veterans, are major data center companies. Lightpath and Vero Networks, both led by Zayo veterans, represent a new generation of bandwidth providers. This is obviously fantastic for the Colorado economy, as well as instrumental in Colorado establishing itself as a top tier startup and scaleup tech ecosystem.

Why and how did this happen in Colorado? Infrastructure-focused entrepreneurs like John Malone, who emerged as the central leader of the Cable TV industry, and Phil Anschutz, who focused on oil and railroads before fiber networks, were the pioneers.

Ecosystems develop by building upon the successes of the past. Inspiration, know-how, talent, relationships, and capital formation collide in geographies that develop unique industry expertise. As Colorado looks forward, we need to cement those areas where we have strengths, while extending these advantages to the next generation of tech, especially in the areas of Quantum, Space Tech, AI, Wellness, and Climate.

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Endeavor Colorado: Can you share a pivotal moment in your career that helped shape your approach to innovation and leadership?

Dan Caruso: Several pivotal moments are shared in my book. The self reflection I did as I wrote it was, at times, both uncomfortable and cathartic.

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Endeavor Colorado: Your upcoming memoir, Bandwidth, chronicles the telecommunications boom-bust-rebirth cycle. What inspired you to write this book, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

Dan Caruso: While I was fumbling my way through college, only one phone company existed; the Internet was not yet “born”; mobile phones were science fiction; and fiber was an ingredient in cereals. In 1983, this all charged – as AT&T was ordered to break apart, the Internet was born, Motorola rolled out its brick phone, and fiber was used to transmit light to carry communication traffic.

These events sparked a revolution that changed the lives and livelihoods of humankind. Yet this history – especially the wild interwoven stories of the leaders (some good; some bad) who created it has never been told.

Like me, thousands of people dedicated their careers – and in many cases their hearts and souls – to the Bandwidth revolution. Together, we built the fiber networks and created the Internet backbones that powered the digital revolution. I wrote Bandwidth to honor them, so they can share their stories with their family and friends.

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Endeavor Colorado: In Bandwidth, you reflect on past cycles of innovation. What parallels do you see between those cycles and today’s emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing?

Dan Caruso: Boom and Bust cycles repeat themselves. In fact, the next one is already ignited, and it entwines the powerful forces of blockchain, generative AI, robotics, space tech and quantum. Learnings from the Bandwidth Boom and Bust will prepare readers to navigate this equally-as-dramatic investment and tech cycle.

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Endeavor Colorado: The book highlights both massive successes and devastating failures. What advice would you give entrepreneurs navigating similar cycles in emerging industries?

Dan Caruso: The big takeaway from the bandwidth fiasco was that the leaders were not focused on durable cash flows. Accounting gimmicks, misleading disclosures, and other bad behaviors were used to fool investors. Eventually, places to hide were too hard to find, and a steep price was paid.

Entrepreneurs, and their investors, should focus on true value creation and building a durable business that provides unique value for their customers.

Heed the words of Warren Buffet, the Oracle from Omaha. Be greedy when others are fearful. Be fearful when others are greedy. Know there are no hands on the clock of a Boom-Bust cycle. Leave the party before midnight strikes the end of the Boom. And always remember, Cash Flow is King.

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Endeavor Colorado: What unique strengths does Colorado’s entrepreneurial ecosystem offer for fostering innovation and growth in these sectors?

Dan Caruso: First, we cannot take for granted our entrepreneurial ecosystem. If we are not rising, we are falling. Though we have strengths, we can lose momentum with bad social policies – such as SB 205, the AI Bill passed in 2024 – or lack of successful entrepreneurs giving back to those who aspire to follow in their footsteps.

Colorado has huge advantages. Our infrastructure roots, a geography conducive to scaling, and a place that talent wants to be are all huge advantages. We also have head starts in key industries like Quantum, Space Tech, Wellness, and Climate. Let’s rally together to build upon our strengths and capitalize on our momentum.

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Endeavor Colorado: You recently launched a podcast, The Bear Roars. What is your vision for the podcast, and do you have a favorite episode so far?

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Dan Caruso: The purpose of The Bear Roars is to celebrate leaders in our community for the impact they are having. Many of them are tech leaders and investors – as their contributions are too often underappreciated. Political leaders such as Mayor Mike Johnson and Attorney General Phil Weiser have also been guests. Restaurateur and Master Sommelier Bobby Stuckey was among the top pods – as his story is meaningful to everyone. University standouts such as Jun Ye of NIST / CU Boulder is another area of focus. And leaders from the non-profit sector, such as Greenhouse Scholars founder Pete Burridge are also recognized.

By featuring these leaders, I hope to inspire many others to walk in their footsteps.

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Endeavor Colorado: If your memoir Bandwidth were turned into a movie, who would you cast to play you and why?

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Dan Caruso: Gerard Butler if present day; Austin Butler if a younger me. Why? Because I am a dreamer.

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