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

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

The end of an unexpectedly volatile 2020 is a great time to tell the success story about one of Aurora’s prized businesses. David LeVesque spent about a decade perfecting his technique of home brewing with some help from The Brew Hut and visiting Colorado breweries. The idea of opening a business location started ‘brewing’ about six years ago, and Launch Pad’s mission came together after working on the start-up’s financials over several meetings with an

Freddie and Tom Hancock took one look at their new home in Montrose and saw something beyond a magnificent house. Their dream was to transform it into a bed and breakfast, plus a base for their not for profit animal rescue operation. Familiar with SBDC consulting services in Arizona where they had moved from, the Hancock’s contacted the SBDC for assistance in achieving their dream. Reviewing their 5-year financial forecast, the SBDC consultant provided instruction

“Not only did I learn a great deal from these exercises, but I was also able to produce solid projections on productivity, which led to raising seed funding for my business. I even had the luxury of choosing the investor of my choice.” Element Pet Nutrition was born out of the love for dogs and cats and the mission to provide them a better quality of life. While working in a veterinary clinic, Marney Zafi

A small business based in La Jara is proving that a San Luis Valley company can ‘play with the big boys’. Dee Espinoza founded Espinoza Cultural Services, LLC (ECS) in 2010. Espinoza ran the company by herself out of her La Jara home for the first 2 years. She now employs 13 full time professionals (although some are seasonal) and 3 part time. ECS recently purchased and renovated a vacant historic building in downtown La