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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. To move that concept forward, Jennifer sought professional guidance to build a successful business.

Her first step was searching for educational opportunities in Denver’s startup community. She was thrilled when she found the LEADING EDGE™ NxLeveL for Entrepreneurs course offered through the Denver Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The 11-week course provided the structure for Jennifer to test the feasibility of her idea, analyze risk, determine her target market and build her business model.

“The Denver Metro SBDC’s course structure, content and process—including access to qualified consultants—helped me create a comprehensive business plan that secured $1.3 million in SBA 504 funding for the purchase of my studio,” Jennifer said.

Her studio, dance2b, opened in February 2014. Classes focus on classic and fusion dance styles for beginner, intermediate and advanced dancers. Dance2b offers a fun, relaxed environment where dancers of all skill levels can learn technique and choreography in hip hop, jazz, salsa, ballet, contemporary, modern and more.

Along her journey, Jennifer recognized the importance of her relationships with consultants at the Denver Metro SBDC and professionals at the Office of Economic Development and Colorado Lending Source. Their assistance helped with everything from her business name and tagline to the location and financing. She continues to maintain these relationships today and looks forward to growing dance2b with their support and guidance.

In talking with Jennifer about what she would recommend to other potential entrepreneurs, she says there are six key elements: “relevant education, genuine partnerships, useful intuition, determination, a playful attitude and flexibility.”

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Create Cooking School has actively engaged with the SBDC community for two years by taking advantage of Leading Edge, Trout Tank, financial classes and multiple consultants within the network. And now, owners Erasmo Casiano and Diego Coconati are on the brink of opening Create Cooking School in the Stapleton neighborhood of Denver.

Leading Edge played an important role in the growth of the company. Casiano learned that adapting and pivoting is beneficial to your business, and how crucial it is to the success of the company in the long run.

“Leading Edge gave me the tools to pave a road to success. It helped me plan-out, in detail, the steps I needed to take to understand my market and write a comprehensive business plan.”

They developed relationships with mentors, leveraged what they learned, and ultimately got approved for an SBA 7a loan through Colorado Enterprise Fund.

“They worked hard to find us a location that matched the specific demographics…they kept an eye on the new Stanley Marketplace and once a space became available, they jumped to show us the space.”

After a couple meetings with the Stanley Marketplace, Casiano and Coconati signed the lease in April, and broke ground at the end of May. They now look forward to going 100 percent live on their website and growing through social media, print media and organically, hoping to be open officially by September.

“There have been a lot of curve balls, but Diego and I both believed in our concept enough to keep our heads down and continue pushing towards our goal.”

When considering starting her own business, Jessica Burke was given the advice, “do something you completely love, even in the tiny details.” The only thing she felt absolutely certain she loved – tiny details and all – was paper products. Jessica’s passion drove her to start CopperTops Paperie, a company that sells personalized paper products, in 2013.

CopperTops is most widely known for their patent-pending bottle wrap, which emerged from a conversation with a customer regarding a better way to wrap a bottle of wine. Customers can choose from a variety of distinctively designed patterns and papers suiting any occasion. CopperTops prints on responsibly sourced recycled paper using vegetable-based inks.

After launching CopperTops and entering her first retail store, Jessica enrolled in LEADING EDGE™ for Entrepreneurs at the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center (SBDC) to craft a business plan and long-term vision for her company.

Jessica was paired with entrepreneurial mentors, providing her with valuable advice and expertise to get her business on the path to success.

“I met with SBDC financial consultant several times. He was invaluable in helping me get started putting together business financials,”

Jessica said. “Through the consultants I was connected with the guys behind The Real Dill pickles. It was also a very helpful for me to connect with them.”

Jessica graduated from the LEADING EDGE™ course – business plan in hand – and was selected to compete in the SBDC’s first Trout Tank. Seeking a $100,000 loan, Jessica gave her best pitch to over 30 lenders and investors and was awarded first place at the event.

Several months later, Jessica was approved for a line of credit. CopperTops launched a new website, submitted patent applications, expanded their product line and created a more focused brand.
Jessica’s passion – coupled with the tools and contacts she gained from the SBDC –led to a 260% increase in sales and enabled CopperTops to continue to expand into over 30 stores in Colorado including Whole Foods in Boulder.

CopperTops products can either be found in (or are coming soon to) King Soopers, Specs, Central Market and Rouses. Jessica’s hope is to grow nationally. She shared, “We are being considered within several national chains and hopefully will have exciting news to share in the coming months.”

Keaunna Figgers, Denver’s newest fashionista, is raising awareness of Down syndrome and doing so in style through her company The C-21 Project, which refers to the extra 21st chromosome that she was born with.

Born with Down syndrome, Figgers faced obstacles from the start – she had open-heart surgery at just 3 months old and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at a very young age. Growing up with arthritis, Figgers would spend hours coloring in coloring books and doodling. Books of her detailed artwork would stack up. Her father, Phildale Billingsley, encouraged her to turn that creativity into a business.

Figgers launched her business at just 25 years old. She decided she wanted to use her creativity to teach others about Down syndrome and bring awareness.

“I love kids with disabilities. That’s why I want to make my clothing line, to teach kids how much I love them,” she told CBS4.

Figgers says that the best part about owning her own business is getting to work with her parents and the owner of the t-shirt printing company Out of the Blue, Blue Grimes.

The Denver Metro Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has been an intricate part of Figgers getting her business off the ground. She has received help with taxes, inventory, software, trademark, marketing, website assistance and much more.

“We are so fortunate to have such a wonderful resource in our city,” Figgers mom, Jennifer Billingsley, said.

Since working with the Denver Metro SBDC, Figgers has received help from the Denver Vocational Rehabilitation to start her own small business, and is also working with Out of The Blue, another Denver Metro SBDC client, a custom printing shop in Denver to help her merchandise the items she has for sale.

For more information and to see Keaunna’s merchandise for yourself, visit c-21project.com.

The awareness of the connection between health and natural ingredients sustainable for the environment is increasingly popular. Between spin classes, yoga, fitness trackers, and Whole 30, overall health is top of mind. Through her study of human health, molecular biology, chemistry and ecological studies, Bridget Molloy became inspired to start Bridget’s Botanicals, a business designed to promote and educate others of the synergy between environmentally sustainable products and natural health products.

Bridget’s Botanicals offers a glimpse of the benefits that come from the integration of botanical medicine with modern scientific research. Some of the products offered through the company include Awaken – a cacao bitter, an herbal first aid kit and a creamy healing salve.

She began seeing consultants at the SBDC in 2015, and soon joined Leading Edge for Entrepreneurs in spring 2016. “All of the consultants, with whom I have been working with for over a year, have been amazing.”

Through Leading Edge, she learned to focus – for her to make an impact on people’s health and connection to the planet, she had to learn to make her vision into a product. Molloy had to go deep and explore one idea, whether that’s marketing and creative aspects or through financials and logistics.

After she graduated from Leading Edge, Molloy launched three new flavors of herbal cocktail bitters (liquid extraction of herbs to flavor cocktails with digestive benefits). Molloy entered this product into SBDC’s latest Trout Tank Food Frenzy where she found herself to be a finalist. Her company is underway of becoming a certified B Corporation to “minimize environmental impact from partnering with local companies to monitoring energy and water usage during product production.”

Molloy credits her major successes to the resources found in SBDC’s Leading Edge.

“I am so thrilled to have been able to work with the SBDC. It has truly been a pivotal partnership in the success of my business thus far!”

In the next year, she looks forward to producing her product in a commercial kitchen, seeing Wild World Bitters at bars and stores around Colorado and working closely with the coral reef and rainforest conservation organizations that part of her proceeds will benefit.