INSIDE STORY: The Pagoda Lab builds an ecosystem of entrepreneurs

The Pagoda Lab builds an ecosystem of entrepreneurs

From left: Christian Ortiz, Minty Chinsomboon, and Tai Hunt are the visionaries behind The Pagoda Lab.

By Mary Jeneverre Schultz

Most entrepreneurs start their business with a hobby, such as making jewelry, designing purses, or creating DIY crafts. Starting small is the way to go.

As a one-person team though, it can be overwhelming to juggle all the aspects of a microenterprise—product creation, accounting, advertising, and so much more.

Enter The Pagoda Lab. The company offers community resources to support the solo entrepreneur. Pagoda Lab is as an incubator for small businesses in the Denver community of microentrepreneurs.

Minty Chinsomboon, CEO and co-founder of Pagoda Lab, said: “Pagoda Lab serves as a connector for small businesses and aims to create an ecosystem of local artisans.”

One of Pagoda Lab’s clients, Kimberly Bannick, owner of Toute Douceur Candy, creates sweet candy and chocolates from scratch. Inspired by her family’s chocolate factory in Minnesota, built from the ground up by her great great grandfather, she taught herself how to make candy. “It’s in my blood,” said Bannick.

Reading the Harry Potter books is what first inspired her to make candy. She now creates custom made sweets specifically for a variety of local restaurants and eateries in Denver. For example, she makes truffles for Sweet Cooie’s (which is a part of Little Man Ice Cream), and creates gin truffles exclusively for Deviation Distilling in the Dairy Block. Her Thai peanut butter cup won the gold award for best flavor combination from the International Chocolate Salon in their spicy chocolate competition!

“Working with Pagoda Lab is invaluable,” Bannick said. “It’s like working with the strength of an Etsy website (global online marketplace).”

Working in a commercial kitchen, Bannick believes in quality over quantity or “flavor over flash.” To check out her candy, visit toutedouceurcandy.com.

The incubator isn’t the only project on Minty’s plate. In addition to juggling her family and kids, she is creating subscription boxes in partnership with Locally Hyped filled with Colorado local products for adventurous eaters. The boxes could contain chili sauce, chips, popcorn, BBQ sauces, sweet delights of candy and cookies, even candles and artwork.

Minty comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Her parents owned one of Denver’s first grocery stores, located on Federal Boulevard, during the 1980s. In fact, Minty has taken over a building, owned by her family, to house Pagoda Lab.

She said the building stands as a pagoda shaped structure, which inspired the business name: The Pagoda Lab.

In addition to Minty, her business partners include Tai Hunt, who is also the president of Asian Corporate & Entrepreneur Leaders Denver, and Christian Ortiz, a creative director and filmmaker. The combination of the three owners brings tremendous skills in building a business, producing social media feeds and marketing the business through local fairs, community festivals and cultural night markets.

Pagoda Lab is co-hosting “Culture Collab” in celebration of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with local vendors selling food and drinks and providing cultural information on Sunday, May 15, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at The Pagoda Lab, 1000 S Grove St, Denver, CO 80219.

Visit their website at thepagodalab.com or connect with them on Instagram @pagodalab for more information on upcoming events and subscription boxes.

Owner of Toute Douceur Candy, Kimberly Bannick, partners with The Pagoda Lab to build the local small business network.