Imaginative entrepreneurs are at work in Southwest Colorado, from elder care – a hire-a-companion program to benefit the elderly – to ranching – sending information via animal ear tags with microchips.
Five of the most promising business ideas made presentations Thursday at the Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs gathering at Fort Lewis College.
The entrepreneurs, singly and in pairs, narrated power points and described their hopes for their products and services:
‰ A companion helps everyone be healthier, and many times the elderly are too often alone. Arrange for a retired teacher or law enforcement officer to spend time with a family member or friend, and the company takes a portion of the hourly rate.
‰ Knowing the temperature, heart rate and level of activity of beef cattle would catch an illness at an early stage, saving money. That is from the battery operated internals of an ear tag.
‰ Need an energy kick, but coffee is too strong? Yerba mate tea from South America delivers an adequate punch and can come in many flavors.
‰ Hand held clippers provide the most accurate plant trimming, but a wrist cannot take that activity for long. Thus a battery powered clipper with light and changeable heads is a solution.
‰ In the publication field, consider E.P.I.C. Magazine that seeks to expand its reach beyond Durango through licensing. With content tied to healthy living, spirituality and community building, its founders said that it was designed to take hold in most communities. There is room for local content and local advertising provides the revenue.
The five had been selected from a larger number of proposals by SCAPE, and had received some initial funding. SCAPE’s organizers also coached to differing degrees the winning presenters, and their content was thorough and to the point. Profitability would come in two or three years for the most part, and every project’s revenue projection chart showed steep growth.
Every project requires additional funding to be financially viable, not surprisingly, and presentations ended with a brief and tactful request for support.
The initiatives that flow through SCAPE’s screening and nurturing are a head above those who try to go it alone. SCAPE’s organizers have done it themselves, sometimes in earlier lives, and have much to offer. SCAPE deserves praise for filling an unusual need which can benefit any community.
An earlier version of this editorial misstated the expansion model for E.P.I.C. Magazine. They are seeking to license rather than franchise their business.
