Entrepreneur Spotlight: Jessica Liddle
As most entrepreneurs can attest, building a business is anything but linear. For Jessica Liddle, the owner of Little by Liddle, her business growth is inextricably intertwined with the variability of her own personal growth.
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Christopher Hernandez
Christopher Hernadez, Owner and Chief Organizer of Chaos at Spider Lunch, used the skills he learned in RMMFI’s Business Launch Boot Camp to build a business and a life he’s proud of….
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Michelle Garcia
Michelle Garcia owns Heirloom Catering, a vegetable-forward catering company & marketplace located in Denver, CO. Born and raised in Colorado, Michelle’s company specializes in farm-to-table produce and artisanal products sourced from local vendors. She focuses on local goods not only for the sake of the local economy but also to ensure top-notch quality.
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Quiana Jones
Quiana Jones is from Denver, and she started her business, Madam Butterfly, as a direct response to the dry Colorado climate and the effects it had on her skin. She started making homemade moisturizing products for herself and her friends to try out, and that led her to taking a gap year between high school and college to complete an esthetics program so that she could sell her products as a licensed esthetician. The name Madam Butterfly comes from the inspiration of Madam CJ Walker, the first female African American self-made millionaire, and the belief that her great-great-grandmother is a butterfly guiding her.
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Betsey Kiehl
Alpen Flora, which translates to mountain flower, was created by Betsey Kiehl in Vail, Colorado after one of her off-season jobs turned into a passion she couldn’t let go. Betsey and her husband moved to the Vail Valley in 1991 the day after their wedding. They had both been ski instructors in Vermont and decided Vail was a great place to continue their careers. During the off season, gardening became a favorite job for Betsey, so she decided to take a master gardening course through a CSU land grant opportunity, then furthered her craft by taking a course at the Denver Botanical Gardens.
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Daliah Torrez
Daliah Torrez and her husband developed the idea for their business, Coffee Seasonings, a few years ago when they moved from Denver to Alamosa to buy land and raise livestock. Daliah has always enjoyed the atmosphere that comes with a coffee shop, from the friendly baristas to the ability to connect with community members in a cozy spot; one of her hobbies used to be hopping around to various coffee shops in Denver and deciding which ones she would return to. During these coffee shop expeditions, one thing she almost always noticed was the lack of natural coffee flavor offerings. “Not everyone likes their coffee black but that doesn’t mean they should have to mask the entire drink with artificial flavors that take over.”
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Jose Romero
Jose Romero is originally from east LA, where he grew up and lived before moving to Los Lunas, NM, in his mid-forties for a job opportunity with his nephew. After a short time in New Mexico, he ventured north to Trinidad, CO, where he’s lived the last six years. Jose arrived in Trinidad right as it started to re-blossom, creating exciting opportunities for him and his wife.
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Jaime Johnson
Jaime Johnson’s entrepreneurism started as a story of survival. Over 10 years ago she was unhoused and battling addiction. After some turbulent years, she landed at the abused women’s shelter in Trinidad where she was only allowed to stay for 30 days as a single woman without children. Instead of going back to the streets, Jaime decided to get sober.
Entrepreneur Spotlight: Kristen Osborne
Kristen Osborne is the owner and operator of Enchanted Shadows, a small business located in Sterling, CO. Kristen’s spark to open up her business developed from a place of necessity and healing after being diagnosed with a rare illness called Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome that left her disabled and unable to work a traditional job…
Entrepreneur Spotlight: James Grevious
Rebel Marketplace belongs to a group of businesses founded by James Grevious. Rebel Marketplace is technically a farmers’ market, but it does so much more – it’s the first farmer’s market in east Denver to promote urban agriculture while building business capacity and community.