What was your thought process behind starting your own business?

Starting a business is a commitment and requires dedication, resources and sacrifice. We asked some of the rising stars in our community how they thought through the idea of starting their own businesses.

Garrett Scahill | Partner/COO, Vail Brewing Company

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial drive. To be honest, I was never a great employee. I always thought I had a better way of doing a job or a way to make it more efficient. When I moved to Vail, CO, I knew it was going to be difficult to make a living outside of a “city”, especially in a mountain town in Colorado. Read more>>

Sam Lang | Co-owner & Executive Pastry Chef

When Travis and I decided to start Cacao Chemistry, our primary motivation was to fill a niche in Colorado Springs for high-quality, artisanal chocolate that wasn’t just delicious but also creatively distinct. Read more>>

Christy Lanaux | Founder and CEO of Coast to Coast Surrogacy

I was in an industry that I loved but felt I could do things differently and knew I needed to be on my own to make real changes. Read more>>

Deb Brallier | Tarot Reader, Psychic, Intuitive

This is how I got into reading tarot cards. I would go to the Psychic Fairs and have my Tarot cards read. I was probably about 28 years old and went to a fair. At this time, I had a great job, I had just bought my first house, I had a wonderful boyfriend and a running car. Read more>>

Erin Michelle Gibes | ADHD Writing Coach, Book Coach, and Developmental Editor

I’m a single parent, and I needed flexibility in my schedule, plus enough income to support my household. There weren’t any traditional jobs out there that allowed me both flexibility and a reasonable income. Read more>>

Jannelle Allong-Diakabana | Postpartum Doula

After moving back to Colorado, I had an epiphany—my life’s purpose is to positively impact those around me. Everything I’ve experienced personally or professionally has prepared me to become a doula. Read more>>

Hayla Williams | User Interface and User Experience Designer

My journey into entrepreneurship wasn’t a sudden revelation; it unfolded gradually, marked by moments of self-discovery and resilience. As a young adult, I embarked on various career paths, driven by a genuine desire to help others and a deep curiosity about human nature. Read more>>

Katie Meloche | Conscious Breathwork Facilitator & Senior Sales Engineer

With 10 years in tech under my belt, I’ve seen so much happen in the industry. One constant, has been change. The tech landscape over the last two years has been tumultuous and there’s this feeling of collective burnout. Read more>> 

Lyncy Yang | Inclusive Leadership Coach and DEI Consultant

In all of the facets of work I’ve engaged in, culture plays an integral part in how individuals, teams, organizations, and systems operate. I started MosaiCQ Consulting because I think a strong cultivation and understanding of intercultural intelligence and awareness building is one of the starting points to equity, inclusion and anti-oppression work. Read more>>

Sara Filali | Moroccan-American Artist and Author

I started Filali Studios on accident. I was a broke college working 3 part-time jobs in my freshman year of college to pay rent. On the side I just drew for fun and occasionally posted my drawings on Instagram. Read more>> 

Nate Grabow | Owner, Pin Creatures

My career has always revolved around helping people through creativity. Whether it’s graphic design, building eCommerce sites, or creating a product to share with the world. I believe joy and happiness is what makes the world spin, so I wanted to create a product that brings joy to people while they are doing something they love, golfing. Read more>>

Kelsee Elkins | Creator of So This Is Love Socials

So This Is Love Socials was born in July of 2023. After being on “iPhone duty” (taking behind the scenes photos and videos on my phone) for a few friends’ weddings, I did some research and discovered this process was actually an emerging media service called Wedding Content Creation. Read more>>

Fancy Eldredge | Therapeutic Art Coach

I became a Therapeutic Art Coach completely by accident. In 2019, my mother ended her cancer journey after two and a half years of battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It was a long, hard, traumatic journey for our family. I also lost my dad in 2019. Read more>>  

Judy Doherty | Denver based mixed media artist painting with sustainability topics

I started painting alongside my mom when I was 4, so art has always been a part of my life. I really enjoy bringing the pollinator importance to life in my art and also in bringing joy to people’s walls! Read more>>

Allison Hall | Money Mentor & Nurse

When i was paying down my debt, i actually never sought out to start a business. I just wanted to share my journey paying off my student loans. During that time, i used a few different methods and realized that there were so many pieces missing when it comes to personal finance. Read more>>

Amy Pojunas | CO-Founder and CEO

As a start-up company, we had many upfront details to vet prior to launching our CBD-infused protein bars to the market. We took our vision and conducted market research to validate our concept through primary and secondary research. We applied our learnings to our concept and continued validating along the way. Read more>>

Kate Norris | Lifestyle photographer

I think eventually a lot of people dream about working for themselves and having the freedom to do what feels right and good for them. In a way, starting a photography business was a way for me to expand my love and passion for photography, but also to connect with people on a deeper level. Read more>>

Brad Friedman | Digital Marketing Strategist & Coach

My thought was that I was uniquely qualified to help professional services providers generate revenue online. When I started my business 14 years ago, I looked around and saw that many of the people I had been working with weren’t taking advantage of the internet because of the regulations they have to comply with. My legal background enabled me to help them do this safely. Read more>>

Whitley Ward | Hair Stylist

Well, when I decided I was ready to make the jump to start my own business, I really had to take in consideration of where do I want to see myself in 5 to 10 years. I feel like any stylist starting out it is our dream to one day open a full salon, I am now a decade into my career so I am in the process of figuring out what that means to myself Right now I opened up a salon suite to really just jump in and see if 1. Read more>>

Stephanie Detton | Creator and Co-Host of The Italian American Stories Podcast.

I have always had a fascination with uncovering my ancestors’ stories, which led me to delve into genealogy from a young age. As I researched my own Italian American roots, I stumbled upon captivating articles about other Italian Americans in historical newspaper databases. Read more>> 

Candace Clay | Founder and Owner of Candi Aesthetics and Consulting LLC

When I embarked on the journey of founding Candi Aesthetics and Consulting, my motivation stemmed from recognizing a significant gap in the educational landscape within the aesthetic specialty. Read more>>

Sarah Chatham | Boudoir & Empowerment Photographer

I discovered the healing power of photography first hand in 2006 when I was diagnosed with Non-hodgkins lymphoma at the age of 20. I was a sophmore studying studio art at the time and had to trade my last 2 months of school for PET scans, biopsies, surgeries, chemo, and radiation. Read more>>

Soumya Gogula | Creative Director & Founder Denver Dhadak

Growing up in America, Bollywood dance has been a way for me to stay connected with my Indian heritage and culture. As a young child, I performed at cultural events with friends and enjoyed sharing our passion for dance. As a student in high school and college, I continued to be involved with dance through cultural organizations and events. Read more>>

Mona Gutierrez | Owner of Happy Home Cleaning Solutions

I used to work in an Ortho office as their financial coordinator. For the longest time I thought that climbing up the corporate ladder was going to be my way to success. I was young when I worked there and had nothing but time, but then motherhood came and my priorities shifted. Read more>>

Christina Son | Photographer

Ever since I got out of college, I have been working nonstop for a corporate job that gives me no fulfillment. After 6 years, I can without a doubt say that the concept of ‘cog in the machine’ is terrifyingly real. For society to think consider this a norm makes me question the purpose of humanity. Read more>>

Dana Danielson | Personal Chef

I’ve always dreamed of owning and operating something of my own. Something I put all my blood, sweat and tears into. I also was searching for something in my career that could allow me to still grow, be creative, challenge me but also give me freedom to focus on my personal goals outside of a job. Read more>>

Stevie Aldrich | Hair Artist & Content Writer

I never set out to be a salon owner. I’m a perfectly capable leader, but my passions always lie with hands-on work. I stumbled into self-employment when my salon shifted from commission-based to booth rental, and it’s the best move my career has ever taken.  Read more>>

Casey Wertz | Partner | Director \\ Producer

I have started three businesses so far. In 2016, I scored what I thought was my “dream job.” I left that job in 2018 because it was no different than any other corporate job with its internal politics and red tape. I was asked to use my PTO for my mother-in-law’s funeral and couldn’t do anything to get a real raise even tho I saved them money and brought in new money. Read more>>

Rose Matthes | Co-Founder of Poplight

Caroline and I had just moved in together in an old 1890s house in the Santa Fe Arts District in Denver. The outlets in our old house were in the most inconvenient places – the middle of the floor, in a corner – just super hard to use lighting that wasn’t the overhead light. Read more>>

Mae Yang | Founder & CEO

My journey into entrepreneurship began about a decade ago. Initially, I followed the conventional path; college, a common major, landing a job, and starting a family. But even after achieving these milestones, I realized something crucial. Read more>>

Ian James | Musician and Founder of The StirFry Sessions

The strange part about starting a business is it feels like my whole life has led me to where I am now. I have labored over the decision to start my own business for most of my life. I always felt that I had the grit and hustle necessary to be successful as an entrepreneur, but could never step off the ledge. Read more>>

Chandler Strange | Artist and Flower Farm Owner

It has always been my heart’s desire to be my own boss. When I had my children and they were babies and toddlers, I was always dreaming and working slowley towards my goals, Even when it was just in my head, and built my businesses up while my children grew and grew into bigger people and started school. Read more>>