We asked some of the city’s rising stars about why they think they have been so successful and we’ve shared their responses below.

Alexandra Stefanec | Abstract Painter

Creating work that is honest and true to my perspective. I never found success when trying to make work that wasn’t sincere or didn’t reflect my creative intuition, and I think gaining the courage to be vulnerable in my work was when I started to see what my idea of success is. Read more>>

Paige Wiese | Website Developer & Digital Marketing Specialist

My success is the success of my company, Tree Ring Digital, and the most important factor behind our success comes down to one ridiculously simple thing – always treat others the way we want to be treated. That’s how we deal with clients, that’s how we interact with one another, and that’s how I treat the team. It’s terrible to be unhappy at work, and it makes it impossible to do your best work. I make every effort to notice not just what each team member excels at, but also what part of their job is most interesting and exciting to them and keeping them focused on that. Creating a culture where our team can thrive so that they enjoy coming to work is essential to me. When they enjoy what they do, they’re happy and motivated to perform at their best and to provide the highest possible level of service to our clients. Read more>>

Hayley Jones | Yoga Instructor

I believe that one factor of my success is leading with authenticity and trust. I have always been an honest person- I say it as it is and I lead with being real and authentic in all that I do. I ask questions- and not always the typical “how are you?”- but the follow ups about people’s families, their bodies, their goals. I try to remember and write down each of my friends and students’ birthdays and in general, I check in with people. I ask people how they’re doing regularly and I try to always lead from a place of truth and groundedness. By building relationships that are more like friendships, I have seen success in the retention of clients as I’ve shifted from different roles or locations and I have built a sense of community among the students I do currently teach. Read more>>

Maria Tyukova | Owner and Director of Rocky Mountain Ballet Academy

When opening our own ballet school, my husband, Alexei Tyukov, and I wanted to give the Denver dance community the best professional training available. We have both had extensive professional ballet careers, so we understand the hard work, passion, and investment that it takes to make this dream a reality. When Alexei retired from Colorado Ballet, we knew it was the right time to create a training program that cultivates well-rounded, technically proficient dancers. Our ballet teachers are all Vaganova trained, therefore we have a set curriculum that dancers advance through. All our faculty have been or are professionals and bring their wealth of knowledge and experience to the program to provide the most current and diverse teaching available. We have three programs: Conservatory Division, Pre-Professional Division, and Youth Division. Each program meets the needs of the dancer’s investment level and properly prepares our dancers for whatever career path they choose with dance. Read more>>

Lisa Franz | Owner, Frank’s Gentlemen’s Salon

The important factor behind Frank’s is the team. I want to work with people who are better than me, who push me to be a better leader. The team at Frank’s is super cohesive and we hold each other accountable everyday. Our culture is focused on goals and being better, as a person, friend, and teammate. Even those who no longer work here have taught me more about my business and leadership. As a team we are not afraid of failing because it means we pushing outside of our boundaries. Another important value is humor, we laugh a lot. We laugh at ourselves loudly and often. It’s refreshing to walk through the doors daily and know there are laughs ahead. I am blessed to have surrounded myself with an amazing support team of professionals from all industries. Their counsel, guidance and support are invaluable to me as an owner. Many of whom are strong women who have broken the mold in terms of leaders and professionals. They have shown in my darkest moments that I am not alone and help me with constructive and honest feedback. Without the support of these people I would have fallen and not returned upright. Read more>>

Blue Grimes | Sultan of Swag

The most important factor behind our success is our company culture and core values. Skillsets and specific position roles can be trained given the right foundation in a team member. Culture and core values cannot be trained. They can only be sourced, brought out, highlighted and maintained to align with the expectations that a company has put in place. We strive to bring on team members that have an established culture and core values that align with our own. Our core values are Family, Community, Loyalty, Honesty, Fun, Accountability, Confidence, Environmental Responsibility and Character. Over the past 17 years, we’ve continued to build and scale the company by putting an amazing team in place that all consistently believe in and practice these core values. Out of the Blue would be nothing without the talented and competent leaders at the helm. Read more>>

Chad Larson | Photographer

Keep learning. Never stop to think that you have learned it all and don’t need to learn anything more, I always learn something new from every shoot I do and others that I work with. Once you stop learning you become stale. Read more>>

Valerie Alvarado | Agave Ambassador

The most important factor behind my success is constantly challenging myself with creativity. I love coming up with creative solutions to everything in life and challenging myself to look at situations with a fresh lens can be difficult, but I often find those are the most rewarding and exciting results. For instance, working as an Agave Ambassador during quarantine, trapped at home when I’d usually be out visiting other cities to share spirited times with others was quite the change. I think we all had to pivot in countless ways, and finding solutions to shift my day to day work was a monumental task. Creating ways to engage and interact virtually was (and still is) an exciting challenge and I’m in awe of how many innovative solutions came from it!. Read more>>

John Campbell Brooke Oliphant | Co-founders of Wild Monkey Snacks

Simply connecting with people and building a community behind the brand. We decided early on that without a community our product would have no soul and without soul you have no brand. We wanted Wild Monkey Snacks to convey to people that healthy food doesn’t have to taste bad. When you combine good food with an active lifestyle, you’ll feel like the best version of yourself. In essence, we wanted to change hearts and minds about how crucial it is to live a healthy lifestyle one Wild Monkey Bar a time. Read more>>

Kyra Coates | Artist, Author, and Clothing Designer

This was a tricky lesson to learn in life, but I can now clearly say that the most important factor for my success is to stay inspired and have fun with what I’m doing. Our society is very based on the Protestant ethic of work hard, toil, and sacrifice and you will be rewarded. Truth is, that’s just not how it works. The universe brings all of us everything we put out. When I have put out struggle and worry, I get more of the same outcomes that contributed to my struggle and worry. When I stay inspired, creative, and joyful, even when the circumstances in my life may not be ideal, then suddenly everything flows, and problems find solutions, and business thrives. It seems like an oversimplified perspective, but I swear it has worked every time for me. The moment I decided to throw all doubts out the window and just focus on doing what I love, success found me. And when things get stressful. Read more>>

Sharon Simpson-Dogon | Wellness Therapist & Esthetician

Although I don’t spend time thinking about success, I do look at my goals and put elements in place to achieve them. Why have goals if they’re just going to sit on a shelf? That sounds easy, right? As anyone who has had big dreams (any dreams) knows, there are always saboteurs along the path. The thing is to have tools or strategies in your toolbox to neutralize them. If something tries to derail me, I analyze it. Why is it happening? What do I need to learn from it? How can I overcome it and prevent a repeat of it? Once addressing the problem, I take the necessary steps to move forward. If those steps don’t give me the anticipated result, I try another approach. So what’s the most important factor behind my achievement? I’d have to say that it’s a two-shot. It’s my analytical nature and my persistence. Read more>>

Sara Walsh | Lead Photographer | Owner of Soulshine Photography

Being a good technical photograher is very important, but that doesn’t translate when working with people. Being a “people person” is SUPER important when working with families, young children, and weddings. There is a psychological component to making it work so that you capture the most honest photos. This is even more important when it comes to weddings because tension, anxiety, excitement, etc. all become part of the equation. Your job is to capture it all, not just the first kiss! You HAVE to gain the trust of those you photograph, so that takes people skills. You’re going to be dealing with personalities from across the spectrum, so you need to know how to roll with the punches. That, coupled with good technical skills, is a good recipe for a successful photography business. Read more>>

Summer Luman | Owner & Esthetician

I think that the number one factor behind the success of Sanctuary Wellness Spa is first and foremost the quality of service we provide. We know the experience we want given to each individual that walks through our door and strive to maintain that consistency weather a brand new guest to the spa or a returning guest that has been with us for years. Read more>>

MIKE RAMPI | ENTREPRENUER

BY FAR THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR TO OUR SUCCESS HAS BEEN OUR WILLING NESS TO FAIL , AS MUCH AS SUCCEED! WHEN YOU ARE FIRST STARTING OUT FROM SCRATCH, YOU HAVE TO LOVE LOSING, AS MUCH AS WINNING! THIS WAY THE FEAR AND APPREHENSION OF THE UNKNOWN, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF FAILING DOESN’T STOP OR KEEP YOU FROM JUMPING AND TAKING CHANCES AND FOLLOWING THRU ON CALCULATED RISKS. YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE AND NETWORK AND NOT BE SCARED TO ASK FOR HELP! THERE ARE MANY FACETS TO RUNNING A CLOTHING BRAND. THE GRAPHIC DESIGNING, THE MANUFACTURING, THE SHIPPING, THE TAXES, THE TRADEMARKS, ETC…. A BIG PART OF OUR SUCCESS HAS BEEN OUR ABILITY TO SURROUND OURSELVES WITH MENTORS AND OTHER PROFESSIONALS WHO KNOW WHAT THEY ARE DOING IN THOSE AREAS! NOT ONLY IS IT IMPORTANT TO SURROUND YOURSELF WITH GOOD PEOPLE. Read more>>