“Bobo’s Oat Bars are very moist and delicious. When people hear that they are gluten free and vegan that do not expect to have such a tasty product. Most granola bars are crunchy, but not Bobo’s!” Organic, non-GMO, vegan, gluten-free, and fit for athletes… ok Boulder people this one is definitely for you. This week’s budding Boulder business is Bobo’s Oat Bars. Actually Bobo’s is not so “budding” because they are currently ranked No. 2 in the United States behind Kind Bar, and are sold across the country, even into the far-off other country up north (Canada…). You... Read More

Sometimes, as an entrepreneur, it can be difficult to see the light at the end of the tunnel. You craft an amazing idea, map it out on the napkin of your favorite restaurant and now you must take it from concept to reality – but how? Taking an idea from concept to reality seems easy while you’re in the conceptual stage, but as the idea starts to snowball on top of itself you begin to realize how far you truly are from the finish line. So what do you do? I personally, do not have the perfect answer, as every entrepreneurs individual situation has an equally important, individual... Read More

There’s a saying about the cruel effect that money has on the quality of a product: “It eats quality and poops quantity”, William Burroughs. (Ok fine, he uses a different word for poop). For so many expanding businesses, this insight seems to be true. Quality of product is surrendered to the quantity produced, as companies’ main goals are to become as large as possible, while trading in the integrity of their original products. Newton Running Shoes and ROLL Recovery (in my last two posts) have proved to evade this sentence, succeeding based on their commitment to quality, rather than quantity,... Read More

   “Leave the research to us. We’ll leave the training to you.” Admit it. You’ve ordered something online for the sole purpose of getting to look forward to a package coming in the mail. It’s really not that sad or desperate. Getting something specifically sent to you feels awesome and let’s you know someone out there took the time to prepare the thing, send it, and now it’s here. Just for you. Runnerbox, the Boulder start-up founded in 2012 by marathoner and nurse, Staci Dietzel, harnesses a similar concept. Except ordering a Runnerbox requires even less deliberation... Read More

Grab your smartphones and tablets and get ready, because automated learning just got cuddly with this local startup’s toy. Meet Ubooly, the uber cute and unboring toy for your kids ‘guaranteed to outlast any other toy’. At its most basic, Ubooly is an interactive, smart technology based stuffed animal that is powered by your smartphone or tablet.   When you purchase an Ubooly, you receive the adorably furry toy case for your phone or tablet as well as a free membership for Ubooly’s interactive features to provide your child with an engaging and educational play experience. Once your... Read More

Endurance sports are rigorous and demanding, which means athletes are always focused, serious, and mostly boring. “We are purveyors of fun.” -Endurance Conspiracy False. Behind tough and blister-ridden exteriors, endurance athletes like triathletes, cyclists and long distance runners all seem to share a similar light-heartedness and love for their lifestyles. The ability to find joy in the hard work required from these sports makes the endurance sport community closer, faster and stronger. Endurance Conspiracy, an endurance-sport-apparel-retailer in Boulder, manufactures hilarious,... Read More

A kooky philosophy professor of mine used to refer to foods that were vegan, gluten free, and free of refined sugar as “morally pure”. Though he was being a bit silly and facetious, the word “purely” captures perfectly the ingredients, mission and values, and intentions of the now Boulder-based natural food company, Purely Elizabeth. In 2008, Elizabeth Stein was a nutrition student with a dream of opening a natural foods/nutrition company like Nucific and moving out west: the manifest destiny of someone hoping to change the game of healthy gluten-free, vegan foods forever.... Read More

Almost anyone with a dog will tell you that their furry friend is more than just a pet, it’s their beloved best friend and they do everything they can together; walks, runs, hikes and in the case of some of the lucky well behaved and registered support dogs, even errands! And in a city where tech and dogs rule all, its no surprise that one of Boulder’s youngest startups offers smart technology for mans best friend. WÜF is a smart dog collar striving to become the leader in smart technology for animals.  Their mission: to enable better dog owners and provide unique communication with... Read More

  Generally speaking, most companies offer a multitude of benefits for their employees. Benefits can range anywhere from local bus passes to health and dental benefits or 401k matching. But nowadays, with startups and new businesses placing such a heavy emphasis on engaging company cultures, new and unique takes on employee perks and benefits are popping up all over, it’s not just your average health insurance coverage anymore. Major companies like Eventbrite offer employees weekly massage, acupuncture and chiropractic sessions covered by the company; Thrilllist and Foursquare allow their... Read More

“Our story is simple. We thought hummus could be fun. We wanted something organic, made without cutting the good ingredients for cost, as well as something more innovative. We wanted something fresh to dip our veggies into, and voilà! Our Spicy Avocado Hummus was born.“- Hope Hummus    Hope Hummus began much like many other natural foods companies. With an idea for a fun twist on a classic food, and the passion to pursue the dream of turning their fun idea into an actual company.   Hope Hummus offers hummus in vibrant packaging with the mantra “Spread Good Things”... Read More

Everyone is very familiar with the rise and dramatic fall of the dot com boom. Now we are embracing a similar rise in technology that people are calling the “startup” era. The main difference between the late 90s – early 2000s and now is that technology is solving true problems. Problem solving is a constant reminder to entrepreneurs and innovators alike that there are still untouched sectors of every market just waiting to be capitalized on. Both people and businesses are faced with seemingly insurmountable problems on a daily basis and startups serve to find innovative solutions. One... Read More

Ever heard of Sir Richard Branson? Chances are, you most definitely have. Richard Branson is the English businessman and investor that created Virgin Group, which currently umbrellas over 400 companies world-wide. Somewhere within his busy schedule, Sir Branson decided to create a tech challenge. Starting in 2014, Sir Richard Branson developed the Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) in order to “bring together targeted resources and world class advisors to help high-energy, wicked-smart entrepreneurs that are executing on big ideas”. The final showdown takes place on Neckar Island (Sir Branson’s... Read More

This week I want to touch on an important topic that was brought to my attention by a colleague of mine, Xavier Lemon. Xavier insists, as I agree, that a big aspect of being an entrepreneur is being able to walk away from failures with a lesson learned. This has been a major driving force in my success and in the success of many others around me. In order to appropriately touch on the topic I thought it would be wise to garnish lessons from those who have truly achieved success. Steve Jobs  Steve Jobs, as many of you know, created Apple. Apple is currently worth more, in liquid cash value,... Read More

“When I was a kid, there was no collaboration; it’s you with a camera bossing your friends around. But as an adult, filmmaking is all about appreciating the talents of the people you surround yourself with and knowing you could never have made any of these films by yourself.” – Steven Spielberg. For this week’s blog, I want to take a step back from the general scope of the Boulder Startup Boom and write about an extremely influential part in becoming a successful entrepreneur – networking. While the quote above pertains to the film industry, we must not look... Read More

It’s that time of the week again, and to kick things off I’m implementing a new topic. Once a month I will be blogging about an up and coming startup in Boulder. For the first “Startup of the Month”, I will be focusing on a recent tea startup called Wu Mountain Tea. Wu Mountain was co-founded by University of Colorado Student, Dylan Rothenberg. Dylan, President of Wu Mountain Tea, originally went to China as a Boren Scholar to study Chinese, and ended-up living and working in the famous Tea Markets of Gungzhou where he learned to source tea for a European premium tea distributor.... Read More

Boulder, Colorado – Most come to hike the Flatirons, saunter down Pearl Street for a bite to eat or simply bathe in the reverent beauty that is, Boulder, Colorado. Originally, that is why I came. The aesthetic pleasure of Boulder drew me in, so in 2011 I decided to move here, attend the University of Colorado at Boulder and pursue a degree in Economics. I soon realized that beauty, or any aesthetic pleasure for that reason, just was not enough to hold me in one place. I thought about leaving time and time again, and then one day, I gave myself a reason to stay. I stayed because of the... Read More

 “We are scholars, artists, musicians, scientists and students. We thrive on exploration and dialogue. Boulder is our home and our inspiration. Our product flavors are representative of local landscapes and seasons and our brewery is located off the bike path and designed to feel like a retreat from the commerce-focused downtown.” – Jamba Dunn, Founder and President of Rowdy Mermaid Kombucha. Before we talk about Kombucha, can we talk about haikus? A haiku is one of the many types of poetry with a strict structure. There are three lines. The first with 5 syllables, the second... Read More

“Quinn Popcorn was started with a very simple mission. We wanted to clean up a classic snack. We dove in head first.” Over two years ago, just shortly after bringing a new born baby boy home from the hospital, Kristy Lewis and her husband Coulter decided to get started on another baby named Quinn. But this Quinn would be an edible, organic, non-GMO start-up natural food with a goal of changing popcorn for the better. Quinn Popcorn was born with the hope of to “cleaning up” a classic snack. Popcorn is a classic snack isn’t it. Who doesn’t like a food you... Read More

Hard-working, innovative, and creative entrepreneurs are not your average joes. But in Boulder, they seem to be around every corner. The start-ups I’ve encountered each week have been full of excited, hard-working and inspirational people that will all say the same thing about their business: “We are still a small company, and we have our values”. And despite sales and outreach being far from small, each remains humble and driven to stick to the Boulder-esque natural food company ideals. Oddly enough, “just around the corner” is quite literally where I ran into Jodi Feinhor-Dennis,... Read More

 “There’s a lot more to coffee than beans” – Pixán founders, Louisa Lombera and Gates Gooding   I’ll take a short break from featuring businesses explicitly endurance-athlete related to focus on a product that embodies other important ideals for Boulder businesses: organically grown, sustainable, environmental management, social responsibility, improving markets for Latin American farmers and something many of us enjoy daily: COFFEE. Were your first thoughts while sipping this morning’s coffee, “I wonder if the entire coffee plant is being used to... Read More