Front Range Entrepreneurship and Product Development

Do you have amazing ideas for starting a business or developing a new product? This Winterim invites students to explore the world of entrepreneurship right here on the Front Range—and possibly in Denver. We’ll visit local for-profit and non-profit businesses to see how ideas come to life, learning from people running real-world enterprises. Each day, we’ll also dine at local restaurants to explore one of the largest industries and employers in the country: food service and entertainment.

Students won’t just observe—they’ll put their own ideas into action. We’ll begin by improving existing products or services, then move on to designing something entirely new. Using creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving, students will develop, market, and pitch their original product or service ideas by the end of the week.

Day 1

We visited Popsockets. This business was started about ten years ago with one employee. Now, Popsockets employs over 200 people worldwide.

We learned that Dawson parent David Barnett, the founder, had a problem with his phone earphone cords always getting tangled so this led to his invention! We learned about raising capital, testing a product, and marketing and selling. Our Dawson "production team" assembled their own products!

We ate at, and compared, two food establishments. Firstly, Zeal in Boulder, and then Dairy Queen in Lafayette. Most small family businesses in America are either restaurants or franchises.

At school, we are working on ideas to improve products, and then invent totally new products and/or services.

Day 2

Today we visited Cornerstone Farm in Longmont. The owner, Jen Shannon, toured us around her 35 acres facility hosting 40 horses. We learned about running a business with live animals. Her business is divided into two categories: horse boarding, and horse training and riding lessons. We saw a horse getting a teeth cleaning, horses getting shots from the vet (a Dawson graduate), and a horse getting new shoes. Jen told us about how much it costs to feed and board a horse. Horses eat about 10 pounds of food per day, and drink about 40 gallons of water.

Next we visited two food establishments in Lyons, namely La Mariposa mexican food restaurant, and the Lyons Dairy Bar. We learned that the businesses in this town are seasonal with most income coming in between May and September owing to the millions of tourists passing through on the way to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park each summer. The owners reminded us that they have to save for the quiet months, and for taxes in April each year.

Day 3

This morning, we focused on speciality retailing. First we visited GW (Great Wall) supermarket in Broomfield. What a treat it was to see so many exotic offerings. One of our students shops here regularly. Next we visited Five Below which has a unique price point offering layout - one dollar up to five as you progress towards the back of the store!

We visited some stores in the Flatirons Mall discussing store placement. This is a similar concept to shelf space layout in a supermarket. The firms paying the highest rent or with the most offerings (usually large chains/manufacturers) get the prime spots both in malls, and on supermarket shelves.

We finished off with a little thrifting at Goodwill to see how we can reuse materials rather than having them find their way to dumps.

Day 4

Today, we finished up our posters on reimagining existing products, and considered products/services that nobody has thought of before!

We continued our thinking on recycling by visiting Boulder County Recycling Center followed by Goodwill Boulder.

This afternoon, we visited Time Warp comics as a specialty local business. We also visited and compared McGuckin Hardware and Home Depot. How can one store compete with a huge chain? Well, McGuckin focuses on expert customer service and offering a huge array of enticing products.

Day 5

Today we visited the Emergency Family Assistance Program (EFAA) in North Boulder. This non-profit provides a lot of food each year to over 400 families. Families save an average of $525.00 per month on their food bills. EFAA provides reduced rent living with their 60 apartments in the area. They additionally provide cash assistance to many local families.

We visited the Boulder Bookstore to see how an independent bookseller can survive in the age of Amazon. The answer lies in customer service, selection, and the physical nature of the store.

We visited the Ku Cha House of Tea on Pearl Street which is owned by a Dawson family. It is located on Pearl Street as this provides an enormous foot traffic all year long!

We had a wonderful week exploring the various aspects of being an entrepreneur!

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