Meet Eric Hagstrom | Entrepreneur / Investor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eric Hagstrom and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Broadly, the most important factor behind my success has been the people I’ve surrounded myself with. A successful company cannot be achieved alone, and the fastest way to success is building a team of “smarter than you” individuals.

Brand success will come if you have one overarching priority: PRODUCT. If you focus your energy on making a great product, building your brand will become second nature because you will have happy customers. If you focus on making your product as good as possible, I promise your brand will have a huge head start.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m the co founder of two companies – in two completely different industries.

Impello is an agricultural biotech company that produces biological and biochemical plant inputs.
We founded the company in 2017 after my partner, Michael – was studying rhizosphere biology at Colorado State University and looking at how beneficial bacteria in the soil help crop growth.

The largest challenge was creating a first viable product. Michael had developed a formula that worked, but we needed to scale it. Over a year later, we finally had product that we could go to market with. At that point, we brought on our third co founder, Adam – who helped launch the product. Since then we have grown into a well established brand in the biostimulant space, pushing the boundaries on what bacteria and plant compounds can do for crops.

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I co founded Mänresa Wood in 2022. We produce high end, all wood butcher blocks for the retail and corporate gifting spaces.

Raised in Wisconsin, I’ve always appreciated the outdoors and economic capabilities of wood/lumber. My grandfather was a Swedish mechanic and passionate outdoorsman from Ashland, WI. Mänresa means journey of man in Swedish and I 100% built this brand to honor him and the legacy of millions of people who immigrated to the United States in search of a better life.

The challenge with building a butcher block company is it’s in a very saturated market. On the other hand, I see saturated markets as opportunities. The only reason a saturated market exists is because the world is already buying those types of products. Think about Starbucks. Coffee wasn’t a new thing in the 1980’s, but they were able to offer a unique experience that differentiated themselves.

With Mänresa, my daily work tackles these questions. How do we stand out among the rest? What type of brand do we want to be?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Fort Collins is an amazing mid size city with so much to do.

When friends and family visit, the typical itinerary over the course of a weekend is a combination of mountain and city time.

I love to go up the Poudre Canyon and sometimes all the way up to Cameron’s Pass where the road gets nearly to tree line. Closer into town, Horsetooth Reservoir is an amazing spot to spend the day.

When back in the city, Old Town Fort Collins is one of the most unique small downtowns I’ve ever been to. It has a European and western vibe all in none. I don’t have any particular restaurants or bars that stand out among the rest because there are so many good ones. Actually, I do – but that’s up to you to decide.

If you live in Denver and haven’t been up to Fort Collins, I highly recommend making a weekend visit.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This shoutout is to my wife, Francesca – the most selfless, supportive and loving person I know.

Website: www.manresawood.com, www.impellobio.com

Instagram: @manresawood, @impellobio, @hagstrer

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-hagstrom-2bb810110/