fbpx

We’ve helped thousands of entrepreneurs. Here are some of their

SUCCESS STORIES

Safe Rids 4 Kids

Firefighter. Paramedic. Emergency responder. Over an 18 year career, Greg Durocher spent his days and nights responding to some of the most devastating collisions and catastrophes.

To prevent accidents and injury, Durocher decided to learn as much as possible about child passenger safety. “As responsible drivers we can only do our very best to ensure that our precious cargo is properly restrained with the best options available,” Durocher said, “so that if a crash occurs, we are giving our little loved ones the very best chance at the best possible outcome.”

When presented with the opportunity to build Safe Ride 4 Kids with his wife and two business partners, Durocher decided to take his passion for child passenger safety a step further and start a business dedicated to keeping kids safe. “We help parents keep their children safe during the most dangerous activity they are exposed to every day – driving,” CEO Durocher said.

Safe Ride 4 Kids
Safe Ride 4 Kids offers car seat safety education and innovative product solutions. From conception to birth, Safe Ride 4 Kids protects mom and developing baby with the crash-tested Tummy Shield which redirects the lap portion of the seat belt to the upper thigh/lower pelvis. For children three and older, Safe Ride 4 Kids offers the Ride Safer Travel Vest, a convenient and legal alternative to the booster and car seat.

Developing a Business Plan

While Durocher had 10 years of experience as a child passenger safety technician and instructor, he knew that he and his business partners would need a little guidance when it came to the business side of Safe Ride 4 Kids. That’s when he turned to the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

Durocher had been in business just over a year and had been talking about writing a business plan since the very beginning. He met with a consultant at the SBDC and enrolled in the Leading Edge Business Planning Course.

“What a great experience that was”, Durocher said. “After 11 weeks I finally had a business plan but most importantly, I was able to share what I learned and take my business partners through the extremely valuable process of creating – not just writing – a business plan.

Competing in the Trout Tank

A year later, Durocher was selected to compete in the SBDC’s Trout Tank, where he had the opportunity to pitch to a “school” of 30 lenders, investors and venture capitalists for funding.

“I would strongly encourage any entrepreneur to commit to the process of competing in the Trout Tank,” Durocher said. “It’s not just about getting in front of the School of 30, which is very valuable in-and-of itself, but it’s about the process of distilling your vision down to 10 to 15 slides and communicating your dream in a compelling fashion in just five minutes.”

Durocher continued, “The most valuable part of the entire process is the journey you take to get yourself prepared. Give yourself and your business the gift of playing full out”

What’s Next?

While Safe Ride 4 Kids is still in discussions with lenders about potential funding – namely, First National Denver, presenting sponsor of the Sept. 2015 Trout Tank – Durocher is confident that he will find the right fit in a lender or investor. As a result of Leading Edge and Trout Tank, Durocher has also been able to make other great connections with strategic partners.

Since working with the SBDC, Safe Ride 4 Kids has grown revenue by over 200 percent. “Working with the SBDC has had a significant impact on my business because, as an entrepreneur, I often felt isolated and overwhelmed with all there is it to learn and know about starting and growing a business,” Durocher said.

Safe Ride 4 Kids is at a very exciting point in its business growth journey. “We have achieved some pretty amazing success so far and have done that applying what we knew and had learned along the way.”

YAK Hospitality

Yak Hospitality Group is a unique social club creating a range of activities for party-goers, music enthusiasts, foodies, and beyond. Not only are their entertainment services diverse, but their clients too, serving guests in both Denver and Miami. Learn more about the exciting work of the latest Trout Tank winner, Yak Hospitality Group: Having started other businesses before, founders Yonnick, Antonio, and Khiry were prepared to meet the challenge. They commented on one of the

Read More »
dance2b

Jennifer Tisdale learned early in her years as a consultant that creativity and business opportunity are imperative for a successful startup. Looking for a dance studio to express her own creative outlet, she explored the Denver region to see what dance studios existed and what they offered. The more she searched, the more she realized that a true business opportunity existed. Her idea? Start a boutique fitness studio that provided daily dance classes for adults.

Read More »
Snooze

On any given morning, Snooze’s retro, 50’s-style space is jam-packed with people clamoring to get their names on a lengthy wait list. The draw? A stack of sweet potato or cinnamon roll pancakes, or what some have dubbed “the best breakfast burrito in the world.” A touch of upscale flair makes Snooze owner Jon Schlegel’s fare stand out among fellow bringers of breakfast and lunch. Offerings include “Vanilla Almond Oatmeal Brulée” or “Pork’s Benediction,” a

Read More »
Big Sky Aerial Technology

In business, the sky is the limit for Big Sky Aerial Technology—literally. This start-up company captures high-resolution aerial images for use in precision agriculture, allowing farmers to analyze the health of their crops. Founded in 2015 by Ron Lester and Jerred Lane, the idea to launch Big Sky Aerial Technology was inspired by the years Lester and Lane spent working with land and air-based remote sensing technologies in the Middle East. “With some of the

Read More »
MindCraft Makerspace

“An entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff and builds a plane on the way down.” — Reid Hoffman Entrepreneurs are passionate risk-takers who make an impact on our economy, and they‘ve made Colorado a top-five state for startup activity and for innovation. Entrepreneurs know it takes a lot more than an idea to make a business come to life. Brenda Lane is co-founder of MindCraft Makerspace knows just that. Lane has poured herself

Read More »
Paleo Meals To Go

A few years ago, Ty Soukup went on his first multi-day backpacking trip around the Maroon Bells 14ers in Colorado. But, his biggest challenge wasn’t the terrain – it was figuring out what to eat. He couldn’t find any backpacking meal options that would fit with his Paleo diet. “I thought to myself, why isn’t someone making a backpacker meal that appeals to folks on alternative diets?” Soukup recalled. “It was in that moment that

Read More »
Scroll to Top
Skip to content