An avid gardener, Jason Rider was inspired by his own outdoor experience to create a new product. The typical cages designed to keep plants growing tall and strong proved too hard to use. He wanted something more flexible and sturdy. So he developed a prototype using a 3-D printer in his home. The resulting anchor is shaped like a C and bites onto any rod so growers can create their own plant support systems. C-Bite was born.
What were the seeds of success for his invention? "You need to be market oriented," Jason said. "You can vet ideas with little cost.... [but you also need to] know when to give up." Other advice included having sufficient capital to develop and patent new products, producing enough to be profitable, and, oh yeah, asking for help.
With his patented product design licensed to a national garden supply distributor, read how Jason grew his business from the ground up with help from CEF.
Welcome Borrowers: Each month, the business names of CEF's newest borrowers are posted on our blog so anyone visiting our website can connect with you to learn more about your small business. If you haven't seen these lists, click here to see why these pages are some of the most popular on our website. You might just find what you need!
In the News: Shout outs to the following borrowers who got a media mention since our last issue. Btw, did you know we
love it when you mention CEF helped you get to where you are today? Yup, we do, so share the love and
send us your latest news links (mentioning CEF or not:) so you can be highlighted in the next issue of
Small Biz Builder!
annual impact reporting survey coming to your inbox soon
CEF borrowers will receive an email invitation to complete their required annual reporting via Survey Monkey. This brief annual survey will ask some general questions about how your business performed in 2016 in terms of jobs and revenue, as well as your opinion on how well we met your needs with financing and business technical assistance. Your individual responses will be kept confidential. The data is used collectively as we report to our funders who hold us accountable to making an impact through loans and consulting. Please take a few minutes to complete this annual survey which is required of all borrowers. Thanks in advance for your help!
bas toolkit has a new p&l form for restaurant and bar owners
Are you a current owner of a restaurant or bar, or thinking of buying or starting another one? Then this new profit and loss statement from our Business Acceleration Services (BAS) team will help you understand the
critical ratios required for success. Click here to see the entire BAS toolkit. Then contact CEF's BAS Manager, Robert Anderson, at robert@coloradoenterprisefund.org with any questions or to set up an appointment. We're help to help you succeed!