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 the mountain resort areas of central Colorado. It started as a Web company, limited to building websites for small businesses in Summit County.

“One of our clients suggested we contact the SBDC and get some help thinking through the growth of our business,” said Jeff McElhattan, Marketing Director.

Tom Fellner, CEO and Creative Director states, “The SBDC has become a very important part of our business. It provides more than just a one-time counseling session; we use the SBDC to help us process major decisions. The wisdom and experience the SBCD brings to the table has helped us avoid doing some negative things as well as understanding the positive things we need to do. We don’t make major decisions without consulting the SBDC first.”

In spite of all the external factors working against a new business startup, Imagine That Creative is doing well. It currently employs two part-time employees and will be adding a fulltime employee in 2011. “We are in the business-growth business; the SBDC has helped us grow so we can serve our clients better.”

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

Read More »
Amber Barbella
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

Read More »
Gracie's Coffee Exterior Shot
Gracie’s Coffee

Gracie’s Coffee is a prime example of how Small Business Development Center services help entrepreneurs over the life of a business: from startup to exit.  In 2022, at only 19 years old, Gracie Rounds reached out to the Northwest SBDC for assistance with legally establishing a 72 square foot walk-up and drive-through coffee hut on a busy corner in the rural town of Gypsum.  After seven months of consulting and preparation, Gracie’s Coffee opened for

Read More »
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

Read More »
Anna Sladek
From Lakes to Mountains

Lake and Company is a socially conscious magazine, carefully curated with a give-back message that supports adventure, innovation, conservation, and community built around lake culture. It has multiple complementary brick-and-mortar retail locations in Colorado and Minnesota selling outdoor clothing and gear. Northwest SBDC was able to help two clients through its work with the company.  Early in 2023, founder Megan Kellin decided it was time to pare down the physical locations and devote more time

Read More »
EcoPoint staff working in the field
EcoPoint

Founded in Rifle in 2017, EcoPoint is a technologically advanced environmental firm specializing in geographic mapping and analysis for large- and small-scale projects. The company employs GIS specialists, botanists, soil scientists, and biologists to complete projects on behalf of a client base consisting of public land users like Oil and Gas, hard rock mines, renewable energy, and right of way in addition to private landholders. All of whom need to meet reporting requirements and restoration

Read More »
Skip to content