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

Success Stories

ERC Insulation

ERC Insulation is a local, majority woman-owned and operated business based in Boulder, Colorado, serving Boulder, Denver, Jefferson, Eagle, Garfield and Pitkin Counties. The story surrounding the formation of ERC Insulation began in 2006, when Elton and Christine Randall formed Elton Construction and Design. Elton had difficulty finding a spray foam contractor for his jobs, so he sought a solution to this problem. Elton purchased a trailer with a spray foam reactor, which he could use to do his own spray foam jobs. “Elton used it a few times, and then, this massive piece of equipment sat in our driveway. We started getting more calls for spray foam subcontracting work and what I saw sitting in my driveway was an opportunity”, recalls Christine. Thus, ERC Insulation was born in 2010, and Christine became CEO. The timing couldn’t have been better: “We were intimately familiar with the building codes in Boulder County through Elton Construction and Design, so we benefitted greatly from the Federal grants for the Energy Smart Program since there was a lack of spray foam providers”. ERC became a qualified contractor for the Energy Smart and Smart Regs programs as well as Elevations Energy Loans in Boulder County. They also became a registered contractor for Xcel Energy, including Home Performance with Energy Star. ERC holds a Class-C Contractor’s license and is accredited as a spray foam installer, providing cellulosed foam installations as well. Together, ERC and Elton Construction and Design, offer residents and small commercial businesses a one-stop-shop for energy evaluation and energy solutions implementation.

Early in the company formation process, Christine attended the, “Ramp Up: Make Your Business Profitable and Sustainable” business training series produced by the Boulder SBDC with sponsorship from the Colorado Green Building Guild. Christine was able to build a network of “like-minded” business people through the series, which became invaluable to her and the business: “The class facilitated our connection to a great group and together we helped each other build our businesses”. Since the “Ramp Up” series, Christine has continued to attend Boulder SBDC workshops and events such as the annual “Contract Opportunities Fair”, as well as the Colorado Emerging Ventures programming. Christine takes advantage of the no cost, one-on-one consulting program where she has found Sharon King, Boulder SBDC Director, to be “supportive”, “knowledgeable”, and “inspirational: some people offer consulting from a place of never having done: Sharon comes from a place of personal experience and knows how to help” say Ms Randall.

Three years from launching, ERC has 18 employees and is growing rapidly. Besides great timing, mentors and partners like the Boulder SBDC, Christine attributes their success to a strong focus on quality products, installations and personal customer care. ERC hires employees who understand the thermal envelope and can see the bigger picture of their jobs. Christine does not believe in asking employees to do something she would not do herself. Some days you will find her scrambling in crawl spaces, to help crews with installations. Christine cares deeply about her community, is a mother, business leader and environmental advocate. She is already thinking about their next company venture.

Brewmented

We brew what we teach and we teach what we brew — and we’re gonna have fun. — Bill Campbell, Brewmented Oftentimes, a good business opportunity can be found by looking at an established industry in new and unique ways. For Bill Campbell and partner, Vlad Aleksiev, Brewmented was a solution to converting craft beer drinkers and wine/mead/cider affectionados to home brewers and winemakers. A home brewer since the 1970’s, Bill Campbell has watched the

Read More »
Whitehorse Heart

“Whitehorse Heart is a consulting company dedicated to reinvention and wellbeing from a business, career and physical standpoint. We help you put another oar in the water to make an effective Plan B or help you get a fresh perspective and new direction in your job or career search. If needed, we can guide you to shift your shape physically so that your outside image and your mind’s eye image merge”, says Teri Sanchez. “Since

Read More »
InDevR

InDevR is a small, privately held biotechnology company in Boulder, CO. Founded in 2003, by Dr. Kathy Rowlen, Dr. John Birks and Dr. Laura Kuck, InDevR employs a highly motivated team of individuals dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative technologies that will help fill gaps in the current paradigm for virus-related diagnostics. InDevR develops advanced life science instrumentation and assays for analysis of viruses and other microorganisms. Their goal is to revolutionize microbiological

Read More »
Plains To Peaks Chocolate

Plains to Peak Chocolate Company is run by Sunni Sylvester and her husband Jeff. The two did not always have aspirations to make their own chocolate, but like many businesses today, a simple passion and idea can be all it takes to start something great. The direction of your business career can be random, and that is exactly what happened with Sunni and Jeff. “We started randomly. I would buy chocolate, look at the ingredients,

Read More »
Altitude Spirits

In 2004, Matthew Baris and his father conceived of an idea: to start an organic distillery here in Colorado. Colorado is renowned for its variety of large and small local breweries, so they knew they would see some success with a unique idea like theirs. However, neither family member came from an extensive background in business, so they looked to the Boulder Small Business Development Center to help get their idea off the ground. Matt

Read More »
Boulder’s Best Organics

Sure, visitors to Boulder enjoy the Flatirons, the creek path, and the Pearl Street Mall. But they also enjoy Chocolove dark chocolate, Justin’s peanut butter, and Pangea lotion. Locally made products define the unique character of Boulder just as much as the town’s natural setting. This inspired Arron Mansika to form the company Boulder’s Best Organics. Boulder’s Best Organics creates gift collections of the finest organic items exclusively from Boulder based companies. Mansika chose to

Read More »
Skip to content