Angela Death tells me the CEO of the multimedia company where she works is in front of the building planting flowers.
“He likes to make something out of nothing,” Death explained. “He likes to take an idea and see it through to the finish.”
A CEO with his hands in the dirt?
“He’s got a great vision for the workplace,” Death went on. “If only more employers had that.”
He not only plants flowers, he pays 100 percent of his employees’ health care.
“Having good health insurance is obviously really important to me,” said Death.
Her real name is Julie Adams, 26. But when she is not editing videos at Denver-based bieMEDIA, she is the fast-skating Denver Roller Doll known as Angela Death.
“Roller derby, high speed chases, snowboarding, mountain biking, . . . and rocking out harder than you,” she boasts on her MySpace page.
Work hard. Play hard. And if she breaks a leg chasing her dreams, her medical costs are covered.
This is as it should be, says bieMEDIA’s founder Jon Barocas, 53.
Barocas’ video production firm has grown into a multimillion-dollar enterprise over 22 years, producing videos for websites.
He has 30 employees creating video ads and website content in a revamped, 27,000-square-foot brick warehouse on Broadway near Fifth Avenue.
Employees are welcome to bring their families and their dogs, hang out, shoot pool or cook up a communal feast in this architectural marvel that cost an estimated $6 million to acquire and remodel.
And then there’s that rarest of benefits, fully paid health care.
“It’s killing me,” Barocas says of skyrocketing dental, vision and medical plan costs. “But you know what? It’s worth it.”
His board of directors and his investors sometimes argue that the employees should invest something in their health care benefits.
“No,” Barocas responds. “This is my investment in them. I know your philosophy. Now open your minds to mine. . . . People who work for me, I want to be sure that they have a good life. That they don’t live in poverty. That they don’t worry.”
Like the charming, young Angela Death, Barocas lives a double life too.
He is a scout for the Denver Outlaws, our Major League Lacrosse team. And for the past 30 years he’s been coach of East High School’s lacrosse team.
At East, he’s racked up 336 wins and 75 losses. He’s won nine state championships. He’s led five undefeated seasons. He’s produced 29 All-Americans. And he’s coached the sons of Colorado governors and prominent Denver businessmen, including printing magnate and developer Barry Hirschfeld.
“If you didn’t know him, you would think he was a teacher,” Hirsch feld said. “You wouldn’t know he ran a company.”
“I don’t think I could live on a teacher’s salary,” Barocas explains.
So he works as a CEO, instead.
“If my people are happy, they will do what they need to do for this company,” he said. “And I am going to do well. . . . See, I am actually very selfish.”
Al Lewis’ column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Respond to him at , 303-954-1967 or alewis @denverpost.com
