With its 300 days of annual sunshine, easy access to the mountains and high employment rate, Denver has become one of the most popular places to live and work in the U.S
In addition to sensible perks such as good schools and a low crime rate, the city also boasts a thriving cultural and restaurant scene, an abundance of parks, seven professional sports teams and a craft brewery on (practically) every corner. And as if that weren’t enough, Denver also offers a burgeoning start-up community, powered in part by Daniels students and alumni. Here is just a sampling of some of the Denver-area companies that were founded by alumni of the College.
- Brothers Adam (BSBA 1999) and Jon Schlegel (BSBA 1997) are co-founders of one of Denver’s most popular brunch spots—Snooze: an A.M. Eatery. The first Snooze opened in 2006 in Denver, and the company has since expanded to 30 locations in four states (with more coming soon).
- Bart Lorang (MBA 2011) is the co-founder and CEO of FullContact, a technology company headquartered in Denver that provides cloud-based contact management solutions for businesses, developers and individuals.
- Joey Alfano (MBA 2013) and Samantha Holloway (MBA 2012) are co-founders of GoSpotCheck, a Denver-based software company that provides a “simple, uniform way to collect and share field intelligence for beverage, alcohol, restaurant and retail industries.”
- Husband-and-wife team Alex Hasulak (BSBA 2008) and Maddy (D’Amato) Hasulak (BA 2008) started Love Grown, a company specializing in natural breakfast foods, while finishing their undergraduate degrees at DU in March 2008.
- As a student in the MBA program, Jeremy Day launched The Honest Stand with Alexandra Carone (MSW 2015) in 2014. The company makes plant-based comfort foods using all natural, organic ingredients.
- Chris Klein (MBA 2008) is the co-founder and CEO of Rachio—a Wi-Fi-enabled, smart sprinkler control system designed to save users money and water.
- Andre Janusz (MBA 2005) started Logan House Coffee Company in Denver. The small coffee roaster opened its first brick-and-mortar cafe in the Stanley Marketplace (with another location coming soon to Denver’s RiNo neighborhood).
- Frank Bonanno (BSBA 1990) of Bonanno Concepts has opened nearly a dozen dining and drinking establishments in Denver since 2001, including Mizuna, Luca and Osteria Marco.
- Mark Shaker (EMBA 2011) is a founding partner of Stanley Marketplace, a multi-use space featuring more than 50 independently owned businesses.
- Rene Hosman (BSBA 2017) launched Little Bites Bakery while an undergraduate student at Daniels.
- Lauren McNitt Yeates (PMBA 2017) started Mythology Distillery with her husband in Denver’s LoHi neighborhood.
- Nicole Mattson (BSBA 2003, PMBA 2012) opened Denver’s Nocturne Jazz & Supper Club in March 2015.
- Jennifer Larson (EMBA 2016) is CEO and co-founder of Hive Digital Minds, an organization launched in 2016 that specializes in providing effective communication strategies for schools.
- Adam Cookson (EMBA 2013) is CEO and co-founder of TekDry International, a high-tech start-up that recovers water-damaged electronics in 30 minutes. The company also offers technology to vacuum dry and sterilize sensitive medical devices such as endoscopes.
- Stacy Cason (EMBA 2015) is principal and co-founder of Endurance Real Estate Partners. Cason is also the CEO and co-founder of Pioneer Botanicals, which does solvent-free hemp CBD extraction.
- Louis Llanes (MBA 2012) founded Wealthnet Investments LLC after earning his MBA at Daniels.
- Matt Munro (MBA 2014) and Alex Rodas (MBA 2014) are co-founders of GroovyTek—a personal technology training service for all generations, but particularly for people over the age of 40.
- Jeff Volaski (EMBA 2017) is the CEO and founder of StatRoute, a sports technology start-up that provides statistics solutions for fantasy sports and sports-betting customers.
- Aileen Reilly (BSBA 2006) opened Beast + Bottle and Coperta with her brother Paul Reilly.
- Tim Kastle (EMBA 2015) is the CEO and founder of Drawbridge Recruiting & Staffing, which launched in July 2015.
- As a student in the Denver MBA program, TJ Slattery co-founded Zuni Street Brewing, located in Denver’s LoHi neighborhood.
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