Entrepreneurship in Boulder, Colorado is not just business as usual; it’s a way of life.
The city’s locals love nature and the passion for healthy, active lifestyles that runs through their business. Based on the majestic Rocky Mountains, Boulder has become a center for natural food and skin care.
“You might think it’s a little weird trying to change the world through tofu,” says Bill Kapsalis of industry group Naturally Boulder. “But then you meet someone who is trying to change the world through peanut butter.”
Jodi Nagel was just trying to find food that fit her gluten-free diet when she launched Boulder Granola in 2011. The business makes organic, gluten-free, vegan granola using her mother’s 1960s recipe, which fits right in with what some describe as Boulder’s hippie culture. “There is a kind of closeness to nature in the mountains,” says Nagel.
Nagel’s business is not only the city’s namesake; there’s Boulder Organic Foods, maker of gluten-free soups, Boulder Cookie, which makes packaged paleo cookies, and Boulder Organic Ice Cream, which sells its freshly made treats in stores and scoops.