{"id":134102,"date":"2021-08-06T07:58:47","date_gmt":"2021-08-06T13:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=134102"},"modified":"2022-04-21T15:33:59","modified_gmt":"2022-04-21T21:33:59","slug":"epiic-venture-attractor-scales-startups-to-1-million","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=134102","title":{"rendered":"EPIIC Venture Attractor scales startups to $1 million"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The EPIIC Venture Attractor, launched by Tom Duening, Associate Professor of Management at UCCS, aims to drive regional economic development and strengthen the startup ecosystem in Colorado Springs. Photo credit: Jacob Boomsma<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A UCCS professor wants to make Colorado Springs the global center for business ventures in the sports and outdoors, health innovation, and human performance industries \u2014 and UCCS students and alumni are helping him get the job done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Duening, Chair of the El Pomar Institute of Innovation and Commercialization (EPIIC) and Associate Professor of Management, started the EPIIC Venture Attractor in early 2020, the first of its kind anywhere in the world. The research initiative was created to attract startup businesses to Colorado Springs through the Scale to $1M Startup Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Scale to $1M Startup Program is an education and mentorship program open to ventures worldwide that represent a desired industry cluster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Scale to $1M program is a 6-month, fully online, startup ecosystem where each venture works to build a foundation that will enable them to scale toward the coveted $1 million valuation level,\u201d said Duening. It\u2019s at that level that startups begin attracting outside investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In May 2021, the program launched its first group of eight participants. Of the eight, five ventures were created by UCCS students or alumni.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Grove Higgins \u201999, a participant in the program, is the owner of NeuroAthlete Clinic, a chiropractic clinic that\u2019s also become a leader in educating practitioners around the world in post-medical treatment and rehabilitation. Higgins points to the experiential learning in the program as a driving force in the growth of the education company portion of NeuroAthlete Clinic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI cannot overstate the value of experience, and that\u2019s what this program is all about \u2014 sharing business experience and mentoring from experienced business people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

John Rubley \u201920, owner of Defender Imports, shares similar sentiments in describing how the Venture Locator program has helped his vehicle importing and restoration business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe mentorship has been invaluable. It\u2019s helped us develop new and scalable revenue streams,\u201d Rubley said. \u201cAs a business owner, it\u2019s easy to get buried in the day-to-day operations, but the program forces me to focus on brainstorming new directions and strategies, which has given me new insights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Duening expects to announce the program\u2019s second round of ventures in February 2022 and hopes the program\u2019s early success is a sign of things to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re able to raise the profile of the Colorado Springs region to the worldwide destination for sports and outdoors, health innovation, and human performance, that will be a success,\u201d Duening said. \u201cWe\u2019re exceedingly interested in testing the portability of this technology to other communities with different natural industry clusters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Program participants are selected by a panel of entrepreneurs with input from a committee of UCCS students. On his company\u2019s selection and advice for anyone interested in the program, Rubley adds, \u201cIt\u2019s demanding. Have an open mind, and be receptive to constructive criticism from peers and mentors. There is a lot of good information out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about the early-stage startups in the Scale to $1M Startup Program below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Scale to $1M Startup Program Participants<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Altitude Ninja Gym<\/strong>
Owner: <\/strong>Michelle Fredolino ’14, ’17<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Altitude Ninja Gym is an indoor obstacle training gym located in Colorado Springs designed for people of all ages. Altitude Ninja Gym has a variety of services, including classes, event hosting, and competitions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defender Imports<\/strong>
Owner: <\/strong>John Rubley ’20<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Defender Imports is a Colorado Springs-based business that specializes in the importation and restoration of Land Rover Defenders. Defender Imports thrives on its intricate knowledge of the vehicles and an established network of fellow enthusiasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EZHNT<\/strong>
Owner: <\/strong>Zachary Galindo (current UCCS student)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EZHNT is a Colorado Springs-based company developing a mobile app that connects hunters, fishers, and trappers with private land owners willing to rent out their land for as little as a day. Galindo hopes to release the app in early 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LeadFoot Racing<\/strong>
Owner: <\/strong>Jett Johnson ’19<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LeadFoot Racing designs, builds and sells an affordable race car called the Little Dipper. Owner Jett Johnson started the business in hopes of combating the high cost of entry to auto racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Momentum Training<\/strong>
Owner: <\/strong>Ian Merrin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Momentum Training is a Colorado Springs-based, post-rehab and performance facility dedicated to delivering safe and effective exercise programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NeuroAthlete Clinic<\/strong>
Owner: <\/strong>Grove Higgins ’99<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NeuroAthlete Clinic is a medical clinic based in Monument, Colorado. The clinic delivers chiropractic care but has expanded services to include virtual education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local Energy<\/strong>
Owner: <\/strong>John Eckhardt<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local Energy is a Boulder-based company developing an online solution that allows local health food providers to promote and connect with customers in their area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Globbr Co.<\/strong>
Owner: <\/strong>Prudence Ogatcha<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lone international participant, Globbr is based in Lagos, Nigeria. Globbr is a sports apparel company that designs, manufactures, and distributes athleisure apparel in Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about the EPIIC Venture Attractor<\/a> and the Scale to $1M Startup Program<\/a> online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A UCCS professor wants to make Colorado Springs the global center for business ventures in the sports and outdoors, health innovation, and human performance industries \u2014 and UCCS students and alumni are helping him get the job done. (More)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":134106,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1,46,429,417],"tags":[370,107,40,332,361],"class_list":["post-134102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all","category-business","category-distinctive-programs","category-strategic-plan","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-relations","tag-college-of-business","tag-more-news","tag-distinctive-programs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Communique-Banner-700x526-4.png","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1mBpJ-ySW","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=134102"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":134139,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134102\/revisions\/134139"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/134106"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=134102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=134102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=134102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}