I had the great opportunity to talk with Sue Kunz, CEO of BioVantage Resources, a Golden-based company that delivers algae production solutions for bioremediation of municipal, industrial and agricultural wastewater. Water is becoming an increasingly important topic both here in the arid Southwest and globally with the increasing severity of droughts and political instability undermining access to clean water. BioVantage Resources aims to solve one of the world’s most pressing environmental problems with a “green” solution, which quickly removes contaminants, excess nutrients, and other unwanted substances from water sources.

BioVantage is one of many of Cleantech companies emerging in the Front Range area, which Sue attributes to this area’s “green gene”.  She said where else would neighbors get excited to hear that you are composting. Colorado has all the ingredients to emerge as a place for thought leadership around Cleantech, especially on the topic of water. Sue says, “Colorado has a talented population, research institutes like the University of Colorado at Boulder Renewable & Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI), the labs: NREL, NOAA and NIST, the climate, and the entrepreneurial community” to extend Colorado’s leadership role in the future.

She does concede that some of the regulatory hurdles can slow the development and growth of startups and early stage businesses, especially those relying on outside funding.  Small businesses, especially in Cleantech, need a longer runway to take off than internet startups as the problems they are tackling are not simple, one-sided isolated issues. CleanTech solutions extend far beyond the initial problem, such as clean water, to encompass energy, storage , distribution, and facility management.

If you would like to learn more about BioVantage Resources, check out how their “green” solutions are being used in different industries

Fortunately, there are enough local people and companies tackling different elements of the problem. And this is why Sue believes Colorado is ideally positioned as a leader in Cleantech.  Colorado’s environment has enabled a critical mass of innovation, a spirit of collaboration between individuals and companies, and the talent to address these global issues.

Cue the trumpets, horns, and iPhone Lighter App!  We’re back with a new group of witty and informed writers to provide a more colorful perspective on the startup community here in Boulder. We will continue to showcase and interview emerging tech companies but we also intend to broaden our focus to include some of the cool things going on in the renewable energy and clean tech space, yummy street food vendors and record some of the insights and wisdom from our seasoned veterans of start-ups.

Do I hear a virtual “whoa, where the hell have you been”??!! If you are meeting the announcement of our glorious return with a little skepticism, we understand. But like any software upgrade, enhancement or fine-tuning, you always encounter unexpected issues. And so it was with our new roll-out.  So, please give us a second chance and if you have ideas on topics, want to contribute a post or want to get more involved in your community, drop us a line at robertsjennifer at gmail dot com.

With a name like dojo4, you would expect quite the story to explain how the Boulder-based design and development company got started. David Clements, one of the founders, did not disappoint. David described meeting with Jeff Larrimore, Justin Crawford, and Ara Howard (the other founders) over drinks at Bacaro when the idea of collaboration was first discussed. Initially, they had hoped to share office space – to create a collaborative environment where they could meet and if not work together then at least share ideas, chat and share. They also wanted to open this area to other designers and developers – friends in the field, to drop in and chat, work and maybe share a beer. But first they decided to name their effort and with the help of the good vibes at Bacaro came up with Death Ninja Squad.

Fortunately, after the hangover wore off they decided upon dojo4. But they kept the swords and a bit of the theme – 4 is the Japanese symbol for death. Then something strange happened. David said once they named their space, the work began pouring in. Now, they are helping start-ups and other more established companies with their branding, video production, development, packaging, photography – essentially any creative development concept. The folks at dojo4 aim to use art and technology to help companies with their development projects. As important as the creative and technical development of a project is the relationship doJo4 establishes with a client. Jeff stressed how important this component of their business is and in many ways builds on their ideas around community space. They want to get to know their clients, understand their needs and figure out how dojo4 can help – they want their clients to be as proud of the end-result as Dojo4 will be to include it in their portfolio!

The dojo4 group is comprised of Corey Kohn, Dave Clements, Jeff Larrimore, Justin Crawford and Ara Howard.

Alchemist is a very new arrival on the start-up scene. If you are looking for athletic wear for both cycling up to Ward or grabbing a coffee, then Alchemist with their unique designs and sustainable fabrics is a great local choice. Jeff, who is the owner and Claire, the VP, opened their online presence in January of this year and they have been really excited by the response. They are receiving requests from as faraway as Australia, Finland and Switzerland but are getting great local feedback, as well. They have been selling at the Louisville Farmer’s Market and had a booth at Community Cycles on Bike to Work day.

Sustainability and performance are key elements to the clothing they produce. The shirts are stamped instead of labeled on the back, and the tags that are safety-pinned to each shirt are wild flower seed tags – soak them overnight and plant. The shirts are printed locally and are produced using phthalate-free and pvc-free water-based inks. Jeff and Claire have really thought through the production of their designs, the choice of fabric and how they market their products to ensure they have the smallest footprint.

Alchemist provides casual, earth-friendly clothing for athletes who live and play in the outdoors. They fuse premium, sustainable materials with smart, original graphics for the active outdoor community. Organic and recycled materials come together to create threads that are buttery soft and comfortable. Green never felt so good.

I’m getting this one for my husband.

Lyn Bain from Chili Interactive is trying to help small businesses better understand their customers to not only improve their Web site but also improve their business. I met with Lyn from Chili Interactive, LLC recently to talk about her consulting group’s new, low-cost, high value product offering called Usable Feedback. Usable Feedback is a service offered by Chili Interactive, LLC.

The goal of the offering is to make usability best practices and user interface design techniques based on 20 years of web usability experience accessible to even the smallest of companies at an affordable price. The Web site review works in the following way:

1. Sign up.
2. Provide some typical customer information.
3. Define a scenario. A scenario is what you want a customer to do when they get to your site
   • For example, a customer visiting a jewelry store’s Web site may search on necklaces and compare prices on two of them in a similar price range.
4. Review the video. After a two to three day turn around, Lyn and her team will provide you with a video, including recommendations.

The charge for this service is $139 and is really tailored-made for small businesses, small design shops or web design groups wanting a second set of eyes to review their work.

According to Lyn, there has been some push back from the usability community regarding the low cost of the offering and assertions that real recommendations can’t be provided without substantial audience analysis. It’s a point Lyn concedes but she asserts that her and her team have over 20 years of experience in the usability and UI field and are applying industry best practices and methodologies to each review. Further, it’s a chance for businesses unfamiliar with usability testing to learn of the real value of testing and user interface design. Unlike the many online “remote usability” sites that are available, usablefeedback.com’s site does not require companies to know how to design research studies, write research questions, or interpret data from the feedback.  But the service can help companies understand why something is happening on their site and how to fix it, which is the key to effectively redesigning a site.