Startups can be a driving force in a healthy economy, and some of the youngest local entrepreneurs took the stage recently to pitch their products.
Three recent companies that graduated from the Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs represented a broad range of industries including health, music and robotics.
They are part of the fourth batch to complete the SCAPE program, which has helped jump-start 10 companies in two years.
Before graduates took the stage Friday, Marc Nager, chief community officer of Techstars, offered some advice to the crowd at the Startup Showcase at Fort Lewis College.
To foster startups, it requires a community to rally around entrepreneurs and support them through some of the inevitable failures, he said.
Nager called on the audience of about 100 to work toward an even stronger community for young businesses locally.
Creating this environment takes talent, density, culture, capital and a friendly regulatory environment, he said.
Fort Lewis College blesses the community with plenty of talent, and the U.S. in general has a good regulatory environment, he said.
Density and culture are ideas that are closely tied. Density is creating an environment where many would-be entrepreneurs have space to run into each other to exchange ideas and connections, he said.
This density helps lead to a culture where entrepreneurship can flourish. But it also requires creating an atmosphere where talking about failure is OK.
This culture also requires founders who are willing to take great risks.
“Entrepreneurs by definition are crazy: Accept it. Own it. ... We are here to support you,” Nager said.
A founder for each team outlined the progress they have made so far and their plans.
Here are a few of the highlights from pitches of the youngest local companies:
Bona Dea Products
VISION: Ellen Golden, a business woman with 25 years of experience was inspired to create instant relief for hot flashes after she experienced one while meeting with a client.
“It was incredibly embarrassing and really drained my confidence,” she said.
Her solution is a cold pack covered with nylon called Pretty Cool. Similar to some kinds of cold packs in first-aid kits, it doesn’t require refrigeration.
It’s designed to be placed against the skin to provide relief.
PROGRESS: She is piloting the product in local stores, and she has ordered 2,500 12-packs of product from her supplier in China to sell.
PLAN: She hopes to market the product to major chains, and she is in discussions with a Rite Aid.
PARTNERS: Dr. James Irish, a gynecologist with a doctorate in human physiology, and Sarah Shaw, a marketing adviser.
Unlimited Controls
VISION: Easton LaChappelle, a 3-D design specialist, and his team plan to build intuitive operator-control units for robots and other machines. Their goal is to replace the joy-stick style controller, with a unit that can control more than a dozen movements at once and provide tactile feedback. LaChappelle is a young prodigy from Mancos who has garnered national and international media attention for his robots, including brain-controlled prosthetics.
PROGRESS: They have raised almost $200,000 to fund the project.
PLAN: They are going to design the software and the hardware and sell the control units at the wholesale level.
PARTNERS: Tim Schneider, electronics engineer; Jim Mackay, head of business development; Aaron Blue, team member focusing on legal matters, organization and computer-assisted design.
Sit-Ins
VISION: A solution for those who have trouble practicing their instrument alone. Sit-ins is a player created by musician James Bowers and software developer Leann “Lily” Weisbecker that allows students who play string instruments to practice with a recorded quartet.
PROGRESS: The player has been downloaded by musicians across the U.S. and internationally.
PLAN: The player is free, but users must pay a fee for each song. The two hope to expand their offerings to include music for flutists and pianists soon. In the future, they will likely expand their offerings to include more instrumentation.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
