Denver Escape Room

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.”

North Line GIS

North Line GIS was founded in October 2006 by Mike George and Trip McLaughlin after seeing a need for a GIS business to service the needs of the local community as well as the western slope of Colorado. Both Mike and Trip were employed full-time by others at the time of the start-up, so they were able to start the company with personal funds while building the business. Although both founders have extensive experience as

Read More »
The Little Bird Bake Shop

The Little Bird Bakeshop opened its doors on December 14, 2010 and in the past year has developed a loyal following. On any given morning, a passerby wandering through Old Town Square in Fort Collins can peer through the bakeshop’s inviting façade and watch customers sipping coffee and enjoying delicious chocolate croissants, chocolate walnut cookies, and other pastries. With its friendly atmosphere and fresh, creative confections, it will take only a glance before you walk

Read More »
JITA Contracting Inc.

With the help of the SBDC, Joel Aguilar was lucky enough to get his 8 a certification for JITA Contracting, Inc. from the SBA and has grown his business tremendously. With the help of the SBDC, Joel Aguilar was lucky enough to get his 8 a certification for JITA Contracting, Inc. from the SBA and has grown his business tremendously. He explains, “It took us over five months of filling out over 1,300 pages of

Read More »
Black Swift Technologies

Boulder-based company Black Swift Technologies was founded by three PhD students from the University of Colorado. The three men were inspired to start the company from their work in the field during their studies. At CU, they learned how to chase storms and collect data using old military equipment, which is relatively complicated to use. They set out to simplify the process with unmanned aircraft systems and Black Swift Technologies was born. Although they are

Read More »
Safe Ride 4 Kids

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,

Read More »
American Wiping Rags, Inc.

Shelley McPherson will be the first to tell you that starting her own business from scratch was very challenging both mentally and physically. Even with Shelley’s past managing experience with a wiping rag business her father started in California, there were still challenges. Incorporating her dream of operating her own business with her desire to make a difference in the world through recycling led her to create a line of unique and practical products she

Read More »
Scroll to Top
Skip to content