Diversion Designers

Diversion Designers, an environmental sustainability consultancy firm specializing in diverting solid waste from landfills, was founded in 2021 by Eagle County local Amber Barbella. The company implements sustainable waste systems for large public events as well as identifies and solves weaknesses within waste systems, saving businesses money while helping preserve the environment throughout the state of Colorado. 

In only two years, over 150,000 pounds of recyclable and compost waste has been diverted from landfills, contamination to the recycling stream has been minimized, and thousands of pounds of fresh food has been diverted for donation.

In 2023, Diversion Designers sought to submit a bid to a City of Denver project reimplementing reusable serviceware after the need for single use during the height of the pandemic. After COVID restrictions were eased, many restaurants and other food service businesses continued to utilize consumables and the program was being initiated to reduce and control unnecessary waste. 

This is when the company approached Northwest SBDC. A consultant discussed the company’s goals and two different experts reviewed the preliminary bid – the first government contract the company had ever pursued. After learning about government procurement and working with the consultant to refine the submission, Diversion Designers was successful in winning its largest contract to date.

“I probably wouldn’t have applied without the SBDC’s help, and they really boosted my confidence,” Amber said.

Recently Amber has reengaged the SBDC for direction in obtaining a women-owned certification in order to bid on more government contracts that will positively impact both the ecosystem and business communities of Colorado.

Imagine That Creative

A failing national economy, an iffy local tourist industry, businesses being extremely conservative with their marketing dollars…Imagine That Creative, Inc. faced all these obstacles when it opened its doors for business in August of 2008. “We really questioned the wisdom of starting a new business given the local and national economies,” said Eric Ojala, Customer Service and Sales Director. Imagine That Creative is a business-to-business company offering Web and marketing services to small businesses in

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Interior of South + West Provisions retail location
South + West Provisions

Mother and daughter team, Rachael and Jordin Bullock are obsessed with the art of conversation, living on mountain time, and introducing their Southern Charm to the Fraser Valley. Growing out of a prior, small online gift box business featuring local products from their first love, Georgia (South), and new home state, Colorado (West), they formed a new partnership in 2023 and opened the doors to a brick-and-mortar bistro and wine bar in Winter Park. Their

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North Line GIS

North Line GIS was founded in October 2006 by Mike George and Trip McLaughlin after seeing a need for a GIS business to service the needs of the local community as well as the western slope of Colorado. Both Mike and Trip were employed full-time by others at the time of the start-up, so they were able to start the company with personal funds while building the business. Although both founders have extensive experience as

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Dog’s Next Best Friend

Dog’s Next Best Friend is an in-home pet care company. The owner, Liz Clawson, started running dogs in Michigan four years ago, looking for an early morning running buddy for safety purposes. When she moved out to Breckenridge, CO, in 2007, she continued offering dog walking, running, and pet-sitting services. Due to the increasing demand for in-home pet care in Summit County, Liz established an LLC and hired contract workers to fill in when she

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Founder Erwin Germain sitting in the drivers seat of a car
TreadShare

When Erwin Germain immigrated to Summit County from France, one of the culture shocks he observed was the high traffic on I-70. After two winter seasons he was determined to pursue an environmentally- and socially-conscious solution: carpooling. In 2017 Erwin engaged Northwest Small Business Development Center to assist with strategic planning for an app platform connecting drivers and passengers: TreadShare. Over the next few years, he received support regarding entity formation, finding a co-founder, pitching,

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Meier Skis

“The whole idea is to keep it as local as possible,” says Matt Cudmore who started Meier Skis in 2009. “We emphasize home-grown, local wood and a product coming right out of Glenwood Springs.” Matt, who had been making skateboards for several years, began making the skis using primarily Colorado-grown beetle kill pine, working in a one-car garage. As the story goes, he gave up searching for “the next perfect ski” and decided to build

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