Our city is home to so many incredible businesses and so we asked the founders how they came up with the ideas for their businesses and have shared their responses below.

Laura Hartmann | Photographer & Wedding Videographer

This may sound cheesy, but I think the saying that your purpose will find you is true. I had been creating videos for years as a hobby, but filming a wedding for the first time changed everything. A friend of mine reached out to me asking if I would create a video for a wedding happening in two weeks, because the bride’s family was from Russia and was unable to get a flight to the US. Read more>>

Jenny Diehl | Founder and Love Curator

My business idea stems from searching out the cleanest products for home, bath, body and oral care. In 2007, my mom passed away from Early Onset Alzheimer’s at the age of 59. Years later, I couldn’t think of anything else — I needed to know how and why this happened to her. So that set me on a journey that led me into the field of Holistic Medicine. I learned that everyday toxins and chemicals in our food supply, in our air, and in the products we put into our body are tainted with toxic chemicals that can cause many health issues. Read more>>

Shelby Gray | Licensed Esthetician and Botanical Oil Maker

Beaux Supply Co. came to life after not being able to find a face oil that not only was effective, but also completely clean, organic, smelled amazing, affordable and also looked amazing on my counter. The skincare industry is saturated with so many overwhelming products from serums, moisturizers and oils. I wanted Beaux to be set apart by the effective simplicity of the clean ingredients from nature, but also the smell had to bring the user back to it through daily and nightly ritual of using it. Read more>>

Tony Paramo | Photorealism Artist

I enjoy painting landscapes, probably because I love nature. For my landscapes to be original, I traveled all over Colorado and shot a lot of photography. I created a library for me to choose a photo to paint, or just for ideas. These were the paintings I sold at fairs and shows. Sometimes I combine ideas from one photo or remove items from another, etc. After a while, I had a hard time choosing what to paint. Read more>>

Massiel Pena | Owner and Founder, Executive Producer

I have always been a bookworm, love reading and listening to audiobooks. In 2018 when I started to really enjoy the audiobooks, I realized that there was not a diverse pool of narrators with a Latina background. This is how I started to dip my toes into audiobook narration, I believe that representation is important and diversity is beautiful. After couple years into it I discover that there was very few beside the main publisher houses working with Spanish Audiobook productions, especially with indie romance authors who had no idea how to produce in this market. Read more>>

Samuel Sokol | Human Being

For a LONG time, I’ve wondered why sometimes I feel really connected with others, and other times completely alone. At some point, I realized that since I learned to speak, I hadn’t stopped. I wondered if radical listening might be part of the answer. So, I chose to be silent for a week at a large gathering of humans called Burning Man. It turns out listening is a big piece of the puzzle to human connection…but, there’s also gratitude, curiosity, trust, vulnerability, and playfulness. Read more>>