Success Stories

Trunk Nouveau /t^nk/ ‘nju:’veo/ noun:  A curated monthly showing and sale from an independent maker who offers handcrafted wares.  Trunk Nouveau in Aurora started with a remarkable dream:  a busy aviation studio, industrial in nature, doused in the smell of engine oil and creativity.  In the back, a room with steam trunks and suitcases filled with forgotten treasures–the kind that people hold on to, handcrafted and meaningful.

A trunk showroom was created at Aurora’s Stanley Marketplace–packed full of love and local, a curious place to discover and explore.  Suitcases are packed with jewelry, cards, charms, gemstones, wooden toys, and other unique gifts from talented local and regional artists.

Although their businesses Pandora on the Hill and Soul Haus have been in operation for over 20 years in Denver, Trunk Nouveau is young, celebrating its third year, and Squadron Co is celebrating its first anniversary at Stanley Marketplace.  Who knew that a business in the middle of a field with no major intersections could succeed, along with 50 other businesses, in the local economy.  In fact, Trunk Nouveau has now exceeded sales over their businesses in Denver.  When a second space became available at Stanley just before the holidays last year, owner Chris Bacorn jumped on it, and opened Squadron Co, a men’s gift and clothing boutique.

Owner Stephanie Shearer recalls, “Before Trunk even had a name, we met with Aurora-South Metro
SBDC to review our finances to make sure that we were liquid enough to open this new venture in a location with zero financial history.  The SBDC helped us trim and tuck, with reserves in place for growth.”

The SBDC gave advice on traffic patterns and location quirks and suggested a rolling suitcase feature filled with products geared toward men.  “It’s that brainchild of Aurora-South Metro SBDC that proved to us that we needed a men’s shop.”  In the Fall of 2018, Squadron Co was born and now has the fastest growth pattern of all four shops.

Trunk Nouveau started with the owners plus two staff on a bootstrapped budget.  Today, the two businesses employ seven full-time, three part-time and several seasonal positions.  Since opening, sales have increased 12% (nearly tripling the national retail growth of 4.6% for the same period), and gross profits increased 11.5%.  Net worth has increased, also.

Stephanie and Chris have community heart in hand demonstrated by their donations to local nonprofit organizations and being an environmentally aware business.  They are both proud children of Veterans, and they built Squadron Co as a tribute to their fathers, grandfathers and Chris’s grandmother, who served our country.  They proudly hire veterans at Squadron and offer military discounts.

Trunk Nouveau and Squadron Co have one mission:  to do business honestly and ethically, while serving the community.  “As we say in our ‘Stanifesto’, we’re here for good.”

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To be declared a U.S.A. Taste Champion by the American Masters of Taste national judging panel, especially when the category is “Gluten Free” baked goods, is quite an accomplishment. Yumbana was selected as a winning product line in 2017 and, since its beginning in 2011, has been committed to making products that don’t require self-discipline to eat and enjoy. ‘Yum’ is in the name and comes from the owner Christopher Lehn’s first creation, a YUMmy BANAna muffin. To quote the judges, “All of Yumbana’s products displayed exemplary quality for appearance, aroma and taste. They have demonstrated extraordinary ability in formulating gluten-free baked products that bake well and are delicious.” It was truly an honor coming from Chefs in America, the oldest third-party professional food judging organization in the U.S.

Chris started out introducing his products locally at Farmers Markets. But “launching a new business can be lonely and intimidating. Having a resource like the SBDC helps you focus on what’s important and lets you know that you are not alone.”

Chris recalls that the Aurora-South Metro SBDC brought the Small Manufacturer’s AdvantEDGE program to Yumbana from day one. SBDC consultants helped develop an initial business plan, including industry and market information, and align Chris with business professionals to keep the business moving forward at little or no cost initially.

With one $250,000 non-commercial loan for the expansion of its manufacturing facility in Castle Rock, Yumbana remains profitable and privately owned, growing by 50 percent each year over the past three years. Besides Chris’ full-time commitment, Yumbana now employs three part-time employees as baker, assistant baker and packager, with additional part-time help as needed for packaging and cleaning.

Since those early days seven years ago, Yumbana has grown organically from repeat sales, with customers choosing Yumbana’s growing list of products over the competition, and the potential is limitless. Extrapolating from trends since 2014, Statista, The Statistics Portal, shows that “In 2016, the U.S. gluten-free products market was valued at $7.28 billion, and is forecasted to reach about $16 billion by 2025. According to a 2017 international study done in India on the demand for gluten-free food, North America’s share of the global gluten-free market is projected at 59%. Unlike other diets or consumer food trends, gluten free is here to stay as the industry continues to increase in size with more consumers making decisions to buy gluten free.

Given the potential, Yumbana has a mission to become a premier supplier of the best gluten-free products on a national scale and offers one of the widest varieties of gluten-free products on the market today. The business will have its official Gluten-Free certification later his year, and hopes to establish strong distribution beyond Colorado soon. While growing, the business maintains a sense of community by donating product to the Task Force for disadvantaged families that need to eat gluten free and supporting several local charities throughout the year. Be sure to visit www.yumbanaglutenfree.com.

Starting out 15 years ago in a basement as a touring theatre group for small audiences, Vintage Theatre has grown from that “tiny” beginning to currently reaching over 20,000 patrons each production season.

“It has been amazing to see the growth,” beams Cr aig Bond, Founder. Since moving to Aurora in 2012 into an existing black box theater, Vintage immediately added a second more intimate theatre to augment the season’s offerings. Creating a greater draw is a challenge in a large city, but one that encourages artistic excellence—and that’s Vintage’s strong suit, with such outstanding productions as “RFK”, “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Grey Gardens”.

Vintage has become a part of the Aurora Cultural Arts District (ACAD), along with other theatre and dance companies, and art galleries, in the northwest Aurora community. After serving 15 years as both Artistic and Executive Director, Bond has hired Bernie Cardell to be the new Artist Director, who will help share the inspiration.

Deborah Persoff, President of the Vintage Board of Directors, not only motivates the staff and Board with enthusiasm, but has won numerous awards including the Henry Award for Lifetime Achievement (theatre’s equivalent of the Oscar). Persoff ‘wowed’ in the recent “Rabbit Hole” production (four Henry Awards presented in 2016 by the Colorado Theatre Guild). She and Bond are participating in the City of Aurora’s and Aurora-South Metro Small Business Development Center’s “Nonprofit Capacity Building Series” designed for nonprofit leaders. The Vintage Board is “laser-focused” on further growth.

The Aurora-South Metro SBDC has also been of assistance to Vintage Theatre through its free and confidential one-on-one consulting in the areas of finance and marketing. Being a part of the City of Aurora’s monthly Arts District Stakeholders meetings along the Colfax Corridor has allowed these leaders to become strategic partners in the growth and success of the arts in the area. Vintage received a Northwest Aurora Arts Grant again this year, which gives the Board more freedom to expand their reach outside of the most culturally diverse zip code in Colorado, 80010, where over 100 languages are spoken—just one indicator of the population’s mix.

As soon as patrons arrive at the theatre, they find convenient parking, a large welcoming lobby, an outstanding bar with drinks matching the theme of the show on stage, and then are blown away by the quality and diversity of the performances. The many awards bestowed upon the Vintage Theatre are listed at their website (www.vintagetheatre.com). Patrons, coming from all areas of the greater metropolitan area, quickly get the feeling that they are part of something bigger in the community than one production.

The subscription base has doubled in the past three years and is at its highest on record. Vintage has one full-time and eight part-time employees, with over 300 contracts with actors and technicians each year.

Persoff sees Vintage as “the hidden gem of Northwest Aurora” and her goal is that it become “the crowning jewel!” From a grassroots touring company to an award winning theatre, Vintage Theatre Productions is a gem attracting much attention in the Aurora-metro theatre community.

After 15 years in the glass industry, Kris and Valerie Petersen opened Petersen Custom Glass, LLC in 2014. Kris has extensive experience designing and installing custom glass products. His specific areas of expertise include high-end frameless shower enclosures, ADA accessible showers and other custom glass projects. With his leadership skills gained from the military and her executive skills, Petersen Custom Glass has become a successful local business in Parker, CO, serving a 25-mile radius in the metro area.

In October 2015, Petersen Glass moved out of the 1100 sq-ft garage into a brick and mortar retail space. Business expanded quickly as capacity grew to include showroom and workshop space. “We feel that starting up slowly and receiving help from the SBDC along the way, we established a solid foundation from which to grow financially in the coming years.”

All three of the consultants in the Aurora-South Metro SBDC Lone Tree office assisted the Petersens with financing questions and concerns, advertising direction and a solid marketing strategy. With the consultants’ guidance and discussing the financial pros and cons of ‘taking the leap’, “we have been able to ‘crack the nut’ with an online presence and a new physical location”.

Marcia McGilley, Executive Director of the Aurora-South Metro SBDC, explains, “The Petersens took full advantage of the resources offered by the SBDC. They were diligent in their follow-up after consulting sessions and were able to implement changes and grow their business substantially, while staying true to quality craftsmanship.”

The Petersens are 100% owners in the LLC. Originally investing $10,000 of personal assets in 2013, the Petersens invested $30,000 from 2014 business proceeds in order to expand. Their business saw an 87% financial gain in the first year – and doubled again in 2015 to over $100,000. Additionally, Assets and Net Worth doubled in the first year and then doubled again in 2015. In other words, the Petersens took the business from zero to 93% growth in just over two years! And, they were able to do all this without going into debt. As Val Petersen said it so succinctly, “We’ve been blessed to have a thriving business with no loans to pay back.”

THE COLORADO GLASS INDUSTRY IS RELATIVELY SMALL. COLORADO REPRESENTS ONLY 2% OF GLASS AND GLAZING CONTRACTORS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND LESS THAN 1% OF ALL BUSINESSES IN COLORADO ARE IN THE GLASS BUSINESS. SOURCE: REFERENCEUSA

Since glass always breaks, the Petersens found their niche. They remain versatile, accommodating low-end to high-end customers, as well as ADA, restoration and remodeling companies. Their goal in 2016 is to add one employee to help Kris and Val and they continue to provide service to homeowners, home builders and remodeling contractors.

Their website, petersenglass.com, beautifully displays Kris’ custom glass installations, showing the superior quality and elegant results of his handiwork for both commercial and residential services.

Petersen Custom Glass is a veteran-owned and operated company, offering a 10% discount on materials to veteran customers.

To contact Kris or Val Petersen at Petersen Custom Glass, please visit their website at www.petersenglass.com or call the showroom at (720) 810-1160.

It was Laura Neilson’s grandmother who spent hours teaching her children and grandchildren how to bake – while sharing life lessons and family stories. Grandma and her sister-in-law sold cinnamon rolls ‘in town’ to help supplement the farming income. Can you image the commute on horseback during the depression in a Minnesota winter?!

Laura had been making Grandma’s rolls and giving them as gifts and holiday treats for over 30 years. But as Laura’s career in commercial printing was winding down, the idea of baking and selling cinnamon rolls, dinner rolls, monkey bread and other ‘sweet treats’ came to the forefront.

Laura recalls, “Attending the LEADING EDGETM program in 2015 was probably the smartest move we could have possibly made. The curriculum was interesting, detailed and informative.” They learned about a host of resources available to businesses. By the end of the series, Grandma’s Rockin’ Rolls was formed. Rolls are freshly made in small batches, from scratch, all natural with no preservatives.

The Neilsons began with one farmers market in 2016 and grew from there. The beauty of this humble beginning was the ‘face-to-face’ sales experience. Customer feedback, product testing and surveys allowed them to grow their product line, improve packaging, streamline labeling and create a true one-of-a-kind customer experience.

They quickly outgrew the Cottage Industry requirements – as well as their tiny kitchen. Rather than spend money on renting a commissary, Randy Neilson remodeled and installed a commercial kitchen. By the end of 2017, they placed Grandma’s Rockin’ Rolls in 90 markets, and they registered with the FDA, allowing them to ship product in the continental U.S. The business grew by 440% in the first year!

By 2018, they realized that their best fit is selling at special events. Randy did the build out on a concession trailer. Their business model is straight forward: “We bake and wrap items in our kitchen. We then pack, ship and sell rolls and beverages from the concession trailer.” Laura does the baking, purchasing, sourcing and scheduling, while Randy (who still works full time) takes care of taxes, web development, kitchen and trailer repairs, and setting the trailer up at events.

“The Aurora-South Metro SBDC has helped us every step of the way. Their team assists with surveys, financial analysis, and resources for business growth. Sometimes when we are ‘stuck’, we can call, email or stop by for brainstorming, and always leave with a solution or idea.” Their product has been tested at CSU Food labs for shelf life, packaging and product stability.

The Neilsons are currently doing research on automated production to grow business capacity beyond the current 24% growth rate (over 20,000 rolls). They plan to work with the SBDC’s Small Manufacturer’s AdvantEDGE program. This has been the experience of a lifetime for the Neilsons. “Our goal is to leave an indelible impression on the people who enjoy Grandma’s Rockin’ Rolls.” (GrandmasRockinRolls.com)