Success Stories

For many businesses, being first to market is essential to their success. When owner Brian Lacertosa of the Denver Escape Room began planning his venture, there was nothing like it in the state of Colorado, but by the time he launched he was third to market in Denver. That didn’t stop his momentum though; just a year after opening his first location he has already opened a second location in Phoenix, Arizona, and by the end of 13 months, he is slated to have an additional four locations open. “The challenge with escape rooms is defining what we are,” said Brian, “there’s a disconnect between explaining it and actually doing it.”

Denver Escape Room has four rooms, each with unique stories. You enter a room, receive a debriefing, and use that information to gather the clues to unlock the storyline further. When your time is up, if you haven’t solved the room, staff gives you the complete solution. This is done so there’s no incentive to re-do the room, which could ruin the experience for another guest. About six months after opening, Brian hired Cody Borst as a game designer. “What we really want is for people to have fun. If they don’t, then they’ll have a bad impression of escape rooms and never try another.”

With over 900 hours of work going in to their latest room, Crimson Storm, their testing process helps ensure a great guest experience. What makes the Denver Escape Room unique is their ability to hold corporate training and teambuilding events. They have a large conference room and a certified corporate trainer that helps them create an engaging experience for businesses. “It’s much more than getting people together to play games,” explained Brian. Teams play through a room with a trainer watching via CCTV, then receive feedback on their team dynamics, and try a second room to see if they took the feedback. The process is interactive and can jumpstart a new program or worked into an existing program. While he was planning the business, Brian began working with the North Metro Denver SBDC. “My consultant was such a valuable resource. It was great having someone I could call up and say, ‘Hey, I need some help with this. Got anyone in mind?’” Brian’s consultant even connected him to a group of angel investors, and although the pitch fell short, he learned some valuable lessons. “Trying and failing actually made me better prepared for the pitches that were successful.”

When asked about how they’ve been able to expand so rapidly, Brian said, “I’m very fortunate because I’ve got the right people. My staff has allowed me to expand. We were hitting 3 year goals within 6 months.” Right now, the Denver Escape Room employs 10 people in Colorado, and Brian is excited to see the growth of the business. “It’s great to bring something totally new and very cool to Northglenn. We’ve won several awards, but recently winning the Northglenn People’s choice was the best.”

Firefighter. Paramedic. Emergency responder. Over an 18 year career, Greg Durocher spent his days and nights responding to some of the most devastating collisions and catastrophes.

To prevent accidents and injury, Durocher decided to learn as much as possible about child passenger safety. “As responsible drivers we can only do our very best to ensure that our precious cargo is properly restrained with the best options available,” Durocher said, “so that if a crash occurs, we are giving our little loved ones the very best chance at the best possible outcome.”

When presented with the opportunity to build Safe Ride 4 Kids with his wife and two business partners, Durocher decided to take his passion for child passenger safety a step further and start a business dedicated to keeping kids safe. “We help parents keep their children safe during the most dangerous activity they are exposed to every day – driving,” CEO Durocher said.

Safe Ride 4 Kids offers car seat safety education and innovative product solutions. From conception to birth, Safe Ride 4 Kids protects mom and developing baby with the crash-tested Tummy Shield which redirects the lap portion of the seat belt to the upper thigh/lower pelvis. For children three and older, Safe Ride 4 Kids offers the Ride Safer Travel Vest, a convenient and legal alternative to the booster and car seat.

Developing a Business Plan

While Durocher had 10 years of experience as a child passenger safety technician and instructor, he knew that he and his business partners would need a little guidance when it came to the business side of Safe Ride 4 Kids. That’s when he turned to the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

Durocher had been in business just over a year and had been talking about writing a business plan since the very beginning. He met with a consultant at the SBDC and enrolled in the Leading Edge Business Planning Course.

“What a great experience that was”, Durocher said. “After 11 weeks I finally had a business plan but most importantly, I was able to share what I learned and take my business partners through the extremely valuable process of creating – not just writing – a business plan.

Competing in the Trout Tank

A year later, Durocher was selected to compete in the SBDC’s Trout Tank, where he had the opportunity to pitch to a “school” of 30 lenders, investors and venture capitalists for funding.

“I would strongly encourage any entrepreneur to commit to the process of competing in the Trout Tank,” Durocher said. “It’s not just about getting in front of the School of 30, which is very valuable in-and-of itself, but it’s about the process of distilling your vision down to 10 to 15 slides and communicating your dream in a compelling fashion in just five minutes.” Durocher continued, “The most valuable part of the entire process is the journey you take to get yourself prepared. Give yourself and your business the gift of playing full out”

What’s Next?

While Safe Ride 4 Kids is still in discussions with lenders about potential funding – namely, First National Denver, presenting sponsor of the Sept. 2015 Trout Tank – Durocher is confident that he will find the right fit in a lender or investor. As a result of Leading Edge and Trout Tank, Durocher has also been able to make other great connections with strategic partners.

Since working with the SBDC, Safe Ride 4 Kids has grown revenue by over 200 percent. “Working with the SBDC has had a significant impact on my business because, as an entrepreneur, I often felt isolated and overwhelmed with all there is it to learn and know about starting and growing a business,” Durocher said.

Safe Ride 4 Kids is at a very exciting point in its business growth journey. “We have achieved some pretty amazing success so far and have done that applying what we knew and had learned along the way.”

On any given morning, Snooze’s retro, 50’s-style space is jam-packed with people clamoring to get their names on a lengthy wait list. The draw? A stack of sweet potato or cinnamon roll pancakes, or what some have dubbed “the best breakfast burrito in the world.”

A touch of upscale flair makes Snooze owner Jon Schlegel’s fare stand out among fellow bringers of breakfast and lunch. Offerings include “Vanilla Almond Oatmeal Brulée” or “Pork’s Benediction,” a divine take on Eggs Benedict.

Nearing its third anniversary, the morning restaurant – open until 2:30 p.m. daily at 2262 Larimer St. – has fast become a staple for dining-out enthusiasts. Entrepreneur Schlegel cooked up the idea with his brother Adam after working for some of Las Vegas, San Diego’s and Denver’s most popular establishments.

Schlegel said he honed in on the first and second meals of the day because, “Everybody eats breakfast and lunch.”

With a near-perfect business plan in hand, Schlegel turned to the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center, where counselor Jim Olp provided help with business plan analysis, twice-a-month business counseling and assistance to secure funding.

Today, in part due to the SBDC’s services, Snooze is “revitalizing the way you think, feel, and ultimately eat breakfast in Denver.”

Kevin Molick is a custom cabinet contractor and outdoorsman. The idea of building a teardrop trailer for his camping adventures intrigued him, so he built one to suit his needs. It wasn’t long before he was getting inquires on social media about how one of these trailers could be purchased. By the end of 2016 he had built and sold 12 of these custom made trailers.

“The consulting and direct assistance from the Small Manufacturing AdvantEDGE Program was instrumental in streamlining our processes as we continue to grow.”

“We are proud to present a product that we are enthralled to make,” says Kevin Molick, Timberleaf’s founder. Inspired by the clean and elegant design of mid-century, handmade American teardrop campers, Timberleaf Trailers combines vintage design and contemporary functionality seamlessly. Each trailer is built to order with optional features and customizable interiors.

In September, 2016 Kevin began receiving international inquiries and sought consulting assistance to help navigate the international sales arena. He met with the Small Manufacturers Advantedge team who agreed, but determined it would be beneficial to optimize his processes before proceeding.

The Small Manufacturer’s Advantedge team worked with Kevin, providing assistance in implementing lean manufacturing techniques and streamlining the assembly process. In addition, they implemented a Kaizen process to help resolve manufacturing issues with the hatch assembly. Together, they developed a training matrix for new employees that sets expectations, defines skill attainment and can be used as a performance assessment tool. By harnessing employee involvement they created a highly motivated and talented staff which has become one of the company’s greatest assets and a cause for their success.

As demand continued to escalate Kevin expanded the assembly space and added staff to handle this influx of volume in 2017. Kevin says, “We build these because we believe that the road is rewarding—that adventure does not stay in only one location. We make these teardrops to open up new horizons, to allow you to bring comfort with you, and to help you make lifelong memories”.

Mallory Logan has moved from employee to owner of RoShamBo, a marketing and design shop. This out of the box creative business is celebrating its seventh year in business in Gunnison at 144 North Main Street, Suite B.

The creative firm was founded by Delaney Keating who mentored Mallory to eventually take over the business.”I started as an intern when I was a graphic design student at Western in 2008, I have loved every minute of being here.” says Mallory. They have worked for two years in the transition and called on the Small Business Development Center located at Western State Colorado University. SBDC assistance included coaching the new owner and laying out the steps to acquire a loan for the buyout. “Marilyn Laverty was so helpful in answering all my questions and so enthusiastic!” states Logan.

“Mallory is creative and bold in her ideas, with a great level of commitment to customers and the end project, “ Keating said. Mallory will continue to focus on the core business of devising marketing strategies, branding packages, graphic design, website development, digital printing and supporting clients to attract more business.

A major portion of RoShamBo’s business is outside of the Gunnison Valley. The firm won the statewide tourism award for their design of the Lake City Visitor’s Guide. Assisting Logan, the gal on the right, is the dynamic redhead, Keela Gendron. Mallory hired Keela full time and she is excited to take on the training role and give back the mentorship that she received.