“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

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

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

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

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

Starting out as a dream in 2012, Valerie Boyd developed her knowledge and contacts within the safety equipment industry to move forward with confidence in 2014. Valerie started to make the dream a reality. Coming from a family working in the structural steel industry, Valerie’s top priority is to keep families safe by keeping workers safe. Colorado Safety Supply does just that, providing safety training and equipment for construction job sites. Located in Aurora, Colorado