Meet Kari Engen | Owner, Front Range IBN

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

Hi Kari, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I wish I could say there was some “lightbulb” moment where the business idea came to me, but it’s been a long journey. Prior to launching Front Range, I worked for a Fortune 500 company, on-boarding small business clients. Without getting into too much, let’s just say I was struck by the indifference customers were shown after signing contracts and was frustrated by my inability to do much to help within the corporate constraints. Over the years, I dealt with hundreds of small business owners trying to serve their communities and gradually came to realize how many seemed to be swimming upstream…if not just treading water.

As a consumer, I started being more mindful of all the obstacles facing small business owners today. Our system seemed designed to crush local businesses. Nowhere did this seem more apparent than in the marketing space. How many times have you searched for “Coffee near me” only to have every chain within five miles popup before your local cafe two blocks away is listed? In obscuring local businesses, I felt Big Tech was disconnecting us from our communities. Finally, I was meeting with some friends at a local coffee shop (you can tell how much of my life revolves around caffeine!) when one of them mentioned how they had lived right down the street for years and had no idea about this place. I guess that may have been my “lightbulb” moment, because I knew I had to do something.

That’s when I started planning a different kind of marketing company. One that would bring the most effective solutions to businesses of any size. One that would work to create meaningful connections in the communities we were fortunate enough to serve.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Our goal has always been to help local businesses connect with their neighbors. We’re constantly expanding and refining our abilities and offerings, but this is our guiding light. Initially, we started with building a network of indoor digital displays. Our model was simple: place digital displays in popular businesses. This allowed us to build a truly community platform. Find the places a lot of people are already shopping locally, and show people other nearby businesses. Businesses who host our screens receive a free advertising package valued at over $5000 annually, so there’s a large benefit for them that doesn’t require them to have a lot of money. Even as we’ve grown, we’ve continued to focus on making our network as accessible as possible, regardless of size.

Proudly based in Aurora, we learned quickly the need for businesses to be able to communicate in many languages. Production costs often restrict the ability to run advertising campaigns in multiple languages, but because our screens are digital, there’s a lot more flexibility. We can accommodate almost anything, and have an in-house graphic design team, so we can create ads for clients at no additional cost. This helps us work with solopreneurs and other owners who wear too many hats, so they can just focus on running their own businesses.

Today, with all of our partners, we have a network of over 200 screens in more than 150 businesses across the state. We call our network a “Community Advertising Platform,” because it’s truly a community effort to give local businesses exposure. We’ve also continued adding more services, helping local businesses access marketing services that were once only available to the largest corporations.

I’d say if there was one thing I wanted people to know about our business is that we’re always looking for new ways to use our platform.

Our business is about more than profit, we’re trying to create meaningful connections. Since our founding, we have reserved a set amount of our ad space for local nonprofits. These groups often provide the resources and assistance most needed in their communities, but it can be hard to justify any spending on marketing. This often leaves them unable to make their services known to those most in need. Because we’re present in local businesses of all types, we feel uniquely positioned to help broadcast their messaging. We are looking to build on this strategy by partnering with more state and local governments. Our municipalities in Colorado work incredibly hard to bring a lot of resources and other programming to residents. From assistance programs to local festivals, we want to make sure people are aware of what’s going on in their community.

Another initiative we are currently rolling out is the Front Range Arts Partnership. We are reserving additional no-cost ad space for local, independent artists to display their work. The goal is twofold: we want to promote broader engagement with the arts and lower the barriers independent artists face in marketing their work. Members of our pilot class have already seen great results with their art sales and we have a few larger museums looking to collaborate on some larger exhibits. So stay tuned!

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?
When my friends come to visit, I always try taking them straight to the mountains. I fell in love with them the first time I saw them and that hasn’t faded. But don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not some uber rugged backpacker – if it was my itinerary, we’d do some nice day hikes and then we’d find some hot springs and a good bottle of wine!

But there’s some places in Aurora that I highly recommend everyone check out. The first is Cuba Bakery and Cafe on Mississippi. Starting the day off with their pastries and espresso is one of my favorite weekend treats.

Second would be watching a Denver Harlequins game at Cook Park. I never had much experience with rugby until my youngest started to play in college. Since then, I’ve definitely caught the bug and appreciate the dedication and camaraderie it takes. Front Range proudly supports the team and hopes we can bring more attention to one of Denver’s hidden gems!

I could go on and on – one of the best parts of my job is that I get to meet so many small business owners across our city who are so passionate about what they do. Definitely a fringe benefit! The last one I’ll say is Pitcher’s Sports Restaurant in Aurora. Robyn is seriously amazing. Most of her staff has been with her for over ten years, and I think that really speaks to the care you feel when you’re there. I highly recommend catching a game there – fair warning, make sure you bring an appetite.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Like you said, there are so many people behind any success. Each of our Host Partners are amazing. They are the backbone of our business and are doing amazing work to help promote local businesses as well as area nonprofits and independent artists in their locations.

The biggest shoutout I have has got to go to my son Nick. Without him, this business might still be in the planning stages. As others may understand, starting a new business can be scary. There is a lot of risk and early struggles can often be met with well meaning pessimism from those who care the most about you. Having someone working alongside you in the trenches is encouraging. His deep experience with several businesses across many industries has been key to our success. Operating a family-owned company with him has been super rewarding and I can’t wait to see where we go next!

Website: www.FrontRangeIBN.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontrangeibn/

Linkedin: linkedin.com/company/front-range-indoor-billboard-network

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frontrangeibn

Youtube: youtube.com/@frontrangeibn

Other: https://www.pinterest.com/frontrangeibn/

Image Credits
cara lefebvre photography