Success Stories

Doc Goodbeard Beard Care Products One day in 2015, retired Marine Corps veteran Kevin Gouran ran into his longtime friend and fellow veteran, Jim Dorkins, at church. At the time, Jim was also technically retired, having sustained a disabling work injury that kept him from continuing as a trailer mechanic. Always ambitious and creative, however, Jim was hard at work on a new project: making organic beard products in his kitchen. Although Doc Goodbeard Beard Care Products was officially founded in 2017, that was the day it all really began. 

“We ran into each other at church and started hanging out again after that.” Kevin recalls. “Then one day I gave him a hug and I said, ‘Jim! You smell so good! What is that?’ and he said ‘Well, that’s my beard balm. I make beard care products. This is the first one I made; it’s called Lavender & Lace.’” Impressed and ready for a post-retirement venture, Kevin offered to help Jim launch his business and get his products off the ground. That year, Doc Goodbeard launched their collection of 10 beard balms, 5 beard oils (to match their top beard balm sellers), and a beard wash. 

“Back then, we did all sorts of trade shows,” Kevin said. “We’ve been everywhere, from Vegas to just about every show in Denver. And eventually, we got kind of popular.” Around that time, Jim enrolled in NEWSED’s Retail Business Incubation program at The ZONE, which became one of Doc Goodbeard’s first in-person retail locations. Jim had heard of NEWSED through people he met at various business courses and programs around Denver, and eventually formed a partnership that continues to this day. 

Over time, Jim and Kevin’s one-of-a-kind products, hard work, and charming branding (the Doc Goodbeard logo, which became a fan favorite, is an endearing illustration of Jim himself), took them all the way to present their product to QVC in Seattle. Then, Doc Goodbeard caught the attention of Kevin Harrington of Shark Tank fame. 

“The Harrington’s just got a hold of us one day and asked if we were interested in forming a partnership.” Kevin recalls. “At first we thought this was a joke, because, how does the first Shark just approach you? Don’t you have to go on Shark Tank first? But they just noticed our products and they spoke for themselves!” Jim and Kevin eventually signed a marketing agreement with Kevin Harrington, opening a new chapter for Doc Goodbeard. 

Then, tragedy struck when Jim unexpectedly fell ill and passed away in late 2021. “He was gone in just three weeks, and it was devastating.” Kevin said. “I’m still retired, but now I’m doing this for my buddy—this was his dream.” And certainly, while Kevin is now sole owner of the business that continues to grow and surpass him and Jim’s wildest dreams, Jim’s legacy is at the heart of all things Doc Goodbeard. “I am glad to have had this journey with Jim and to have learned so much from him, but I’m sad Jim missed all this really incredible stuff. I mean, we used to make all our beard bombs and beard oils in the kitchen; now we have it made at Mile High Soap in Denver. But I know that we’re gonna keep moving on for him”

Today, Kevin has a new partnership with Kevin Harrington, has launched Doc Goodbeard products on Amazon, and recently signed a contract with Mammoth Nation, a successful online shopping platform for Veterans. Through it all, however, Doc Goodbeard has remained unwaveringly true to its roots; supporting veterans, continuing to sell their products at The ZONE, and keeping Jim’s likeness on each and every tin and bottle. “You won’t see my name out there, because this is Jim; it’s his story, and I was just along for the ride.” Kevin says. “I still feel him sometimes, I’ll tell you that.” 

Camila Ruiz, homeownerWhen Camila Ruiz was getting ready to graduate college earlier this spring, she never would have imagined she was about to become a homeowner, too. 

Originally from Denver, Colorado, Camila moved to New Mexico to get her Bachelor’s in Criminology with a minor in Spanish. Before graduating, she was working to sustain herself through college, living paycheck to paycheck without much of a plan for the future. Then, Camila Heard about NEWSED’s Lending Circles through her nonprofit job at Del Norte Housing Corporation. 

“When I first heard about the program, I thought it sounded like an amazing opportunity,” Camila recalls, “but I never thought I’d be able to achieve much with what I was making at the time.” It was Camila’s mom, an outreach director and involved Denver community member, who ultimately connected Camila to NEWSED and gave her the idea to buy a home. 

“Once I joined Lending Circles, I learned so much not only about saving, but making it a sustainable habit, too.” She says. “I was in Denver at the time, and because I ended up saving so much with the help of the program, my mom suggested I buy my own place instead of renting when I returned to New Mexico.” 

Now, at only 22 years old and a few months out of college, Camila is proud to call herself a homeowner. “As a young person, this feels like the biggest accomplishment.” She says, “Thanks to Lending Circles, I discovered an incredible opportunity I didn’t even know I had before.” Today Camila feels like she’s continuing to learn in new ways as a homeowner, and is excited to share her experience to encourage other young people with similar dreams. 

“The way I see it, little by little we can always make progress towards our goals. Even if it begins with small steps, like learning how to save, there’s always going to be a reward. I would 100% recommend lending circles to others my age.” And, in fact, Camila is not the only one in her family getting a step ahead financially—her sister enrolled in the Lending Circles program with her, and Camila has recommended it to her cousins as well. “I just think that when it comes to finances and saving, all of those things should be discussed more around young people like me.”

Camila also feels that Lending Circles taught her important lessons beyond finances. The program helped her become much more social and confident, she says, and taught her how easy and important it is to ask questions and reach out for guidance. Now, Camila is excited to have the financial stability to keep dreaming big. “One of my biggest goals now is to travel and experience new places while feeling financially stable and not stressed about money.” She says. “I think I’m on a good path.” 

Bryce SilianoffAs both an acrylic painter and musician deeply involved in the Denver art scene for many years, Bryce Silianoff is no stranger to the city’s many creative communities. It wasn’t until this past year, however, that Bryce—originally from Summit County—found a second home on Santa Fe Drive.

In November of 2021, Bryce got a call from Denver’s Art District on Santa Fe (ADSF), announcing that he had been selected to be their first ever Emerging Artist Resident. The Art District’s new program, designed in partnership with NEWSED Community Development Corporation, was being piloted that fall, and offered Bryce the opportunity to work at a studio in the Art District for three months. He was also to receive an artist material stipend, mentorship and networking opportunities, and a Business Basics course through NEWSED. Thanks to NEWSED’s partnership with the Art District, the 8-week course is built into the program to provide emerging artists with the resources necessary to sustain their art practice as a business beyond the studio. Among a tight-knit cohort and NEWSED’s experienced business coaches, participants learn the basics of marketing, sales, financial management, operations, and more.

For Bryce, the business course was a grounding and refreshing experience. “It was good to find a different kind of structure,” he says. “It helped to see where I’m at versus what I’m aiming for financially with my work, and make plans to bridge that gap. What I learned has been especially useful recently, as I’ve been selling more work. The course gave me a good overview of what’s to come and what else I need to think about if I intend to take my art practice on as a full-time job.”

As Bryce continues to build towards a more established practice, he has also fostered personal and professional connections with Santa Fe Drive’s creative community. Threyda Art & Apparel, on the corner of 9th and Santa Fe, has long been one of his favorite spots to visit. Last May, it became the first gallery he ever showed work in, and as of November Bryce is proud to have joined Threyda’s talented staff. “I always knew I wanted to work there, so I kept asking about opportunities and offering my skills,” he says. “Then when I got the residency, I could see it click—they saw I was really serious about my work, both creatively and financially, and it gave me the extra legitimacy I needed.”

Post-residency, Bryce finds himself seeing his practice from a more holistic perspective “Now that I work in a gallery, I’m seeing more of the work in the art world that doesn’t involve making art,” he says. “The Business Course also made me more conscious of what goes on behind-the-scenes of a sustainable art practice, like budgeting and creating an infrastructure to produce and sell more work.”

Bryce’s goal these days is to continue to build on the body of work he began at the residency, incorporating the feedback he received from his mentors, peers, and visitors to his studio during the program. In addition to setting up his art practice as a business, he aims to show his new work somewhere as a united body of work, like he got to do at First Fridays in his studio at ReCreative. With his job at Threyda and the ambitious spirit that got him here in the first place, Bryce is excited to keep growing and creating with the Santa Fe community.

“I think what makes Santa Fe so special is that it’s a funnel for like-minded people, and yet we’re all doing very different things, which is super inspiring and fun to be around.” he says. “Even people that don’t have studios on Santa Fe inevitably come through here, like I did from Summit County. Since it’s cultivated that creative spirit for a longer time than many other places, as it grows and changes, it does so in its own way, in its own special ecosystem. In the end, everyone here is putting a lot of faith and time into what they think is important, and you get to see the fruits of that labor every day just walking down Santa Fe Drive.”

Catherine Marquez
Catherine in front of her home in Lochbuie, CO.

Catherine Marquez has known what it’s like not to have a home of her own, but things are very different now. These days, Catherine is a recent homeowner in Lochbuie, Colorado—just a few miles northeast of where she grew up. Born and raised in Denver, Catherine is a proud Coloradan, and is looking forward to building a home she can now share with all her family nearby. 

It wasn’t always so easy. 

As a young adult, Catherine moved into Section 8 Housing, where she remained for many years, very soon after leaving her parents’ home. In those early days, Catherine recalls, she didn’t care much about her credit, and she hopped from job to job without thinking much about savings. Even so, she always knew she wanted more out of the place she called home. “I got tired of people coming in and out of my house,” she says. “Of being worried about inspections or evictions, of having no privacy for myself, and eventually, for my daughters as well.” 

Catherine remembers the day she saw a flier for NEWSED’s Housing Counseling & Financial Education programs as a pivotal moment in her journey. At the time, she was intrigued but cautious. Buying a home seemed like a daunting step, and she didn’t know if she was ready. “I never thought I could buy a home with what I was making at the time, but the workshops made me realize I could still make that dream a reality.” Catherine began to save some money and work on improving her credit, until she was comfortable enough to enroll in NEWSED’s First-Time Home Buyer Program.

“It took me a while to make the leap, but eventually, I decided I was going to start saving up for a house.” She explains. “I just wanted stability for my family. It was hard work, but I knew that I and that my daughters deserved a place to call our own. And I wanted to show them that if I could do it, they could do it, too.”

With coaching through NEWSED, Catherine also successfully closed on refinancing her home in October of 2021. With the refinancing and a recent promotion at SEL, where she has worked as a Payment Poster for over three years now, Catherine is excited to have the resources to really make her house into a home. “My teen daughter is becoming really proud of this place, because we’re making it our own. I have an autistic grandson, and he comes over every other weekend. In apartments it was always difficult, but here he can play and be rowdy all he wants, because it’s our home. I can’t wait to fix up the yard for him this spring.” She says she wants to convince her mom, who still lives in Denver, to move in with her, and even has the spare room in her house already prepared. In the end, for Catherine, home ownership is all about giving back to and taking care of the ones she loves.

Whenever Catherine meets someone who’s trying to take steps towards purchasing a home, she always tells them to check out NEWSED. “The biggest lesson I learned is to be patient. Know it’s going to happen; it’s going to take some work, but in the end it is well worth it. You deserve it, and you’re not alone.”

Debra Thompson outside her new home in Thornton

“Don’t tell me I can’t do it, I’ll find a way!” Debra says as she sits with cane in hand at her large dining room table complete with plastic cover and lace placemats. The table she waited a long time to get out of storage after living at the Savannah Suites hotel on Sheridan Boulevard for years before she was able to afford her new home. 55 year old Debra Thompson now lives in a spacious three bedroom home in Thornton with her two sons. To say that she’s had a hard life would be a complete understatement. Debra was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles she was one of four siblings. Her father was abusive who at one time broke three of her ribs. Her mother was the one who urged her to move out of the state which she eventually did but after that nothing ever came easy. Debra had ten children, mostly boys and three girls. A few years prior to working with NEWSED one of her sons was murdered in West Denver and around the same time she lost her house and became homeless. On top of that she couldn’t work at her long time security job because of a severe on the job injury and was living on disability. “Everything just happened at once, it all came down on me,” Debra recalls while staring down at her table.  “I made it through, but it was hard.”

Debra walks around her impeccably clean house which lingers with the smell of eggs she made herself for breakfast. She’s most proud of her large master suite. “Isn’t it big?” she beams with a big grin. In her living room there’s shelves she had her son put up that hold her limited edition McDonald’s glass collection and ceramic clown dolls. She has a lot to be proud of in this home she can finally be comfortable in, on her own terms.  She found NEWSED through a computer search while working with Mile High United Way’s IDA program. “I saw that there were other agencies but I had a feeling about NEWSED,” she recalled. When Debra and her son first entered NEWSED’s doors on June 3rd 2013 she had no FICO score and several collections. Her son’s collections were double hers with a score in the low 500s. NEWSED Housing Counselor, Mercedes Fuentes, knew that their case would be challenging and would take a long time to get them to the point of home ownership, but in August of 2015 they made it. Debra and her son did it together and now they join the ranks of hundreds of NEWSED success stories. Don’t ever tell a strong and resourceful woman like Debra Thompson that something is impossible it’s not in their vocabulary. As she walks out on her front porch to have her picture taken she takes in a deep breath of cool Colorado fall air and tells us to, “hurry up, it’s getting cold!” Debra is the reason why NEWSED works to build self-sufficiency for people who are considered beyond help. It is her lead that we follow.

Jose Salas with his granddaughter.

Anyone who has ever owned a home knows that it is much more than walls and a roof. Homeownership is the progression of a life, the setting of roots and the commitment to a community. Jose Salas had been a renter all his life and in his late 50’s he decided it was time to stop paying a landlord and start investing in his own property. The house Jose and his wife Sandra picked is in the heart of Commerce City where they insisted on moving, despite the advice of their realtor. “He said, no no there are no houses available, but he found one!” Jose explained with a wide grin. The house is quant and has blue siding with white shutters with an open kitchen and a large yard where he’s already put up a new fence to keep his granddaughter protected while she plays outside. “It feels good to own. Working with NEWSED was awesome! ” In his voice there’s a healthy amount of satisfaction as he looks around his new home. When Jose came to NEWSED in January this year he was unsure about his ability to purchase but after working through a financial assessment with Housing Counselor, Mercedes Fuentes, she was able to get him on the right path to become mortgage ready. In addition she helped secure down payment and closing costs through National Homebuyer Funds (NHF). This Denver native is happy to call Commerce City his new home for him and NEWSED is happy to have a part of Jose’s story for him. In addition she helped secure down payment and closing costs through National Homebuyer Funds (NHF). This Denver native is happy to call Commerce City his new home and NEWSED is happy to have a part of Jose’s story. In addition she helped secure down payment and closing costs through National Homebuyer Funds (NHF). This Denver native is happy to call Commerce City his new home and NEWSED is happy to have a part of Jose’s story.

Damion, Jackie, Nazario and Anela NEWSED Home Buyer Clients

You can tell just by walking through the front door and seeing the lack of furnishings and blank walls that Damian, Jackie and their two kids Anela and Nazario have just moved in. With their new Aurora home they have much more space than their previous residence. Before their previous home where they were homeowners, but like many families did during the recession Damian and Jackie experienced foreclosure. “We had an ARM, eventually we couldn’t afford our house payments” explains Damian.

During the last three years they were renting a townhome that was barely adequate for their needs plus their landlord was anxious to sell which essentially pushed them out giving them barely enough time to find a home. They had to move fast, fortunately that they were recommended to NEWSED to begin the home buying process. In this current housing market it was challenging finding the right home, in the right area and with good schools. In addition they lacked sufficient savings for an adequate down payment. Fortunately they qualified for an FHA loan and NEWSED Housing Counselor, Mercedes Fuentes, was able to find them much needed down payment assistance through Metro Mortgage Assistance at 4% of the sale price of the new home. “All we had to do was pay for the appraisal and inspection” Jackie explains with a big smile.

“We learned so much through that process. We’ve been recommending NEWSED to our friends and family ever since”. As the family settles in there is a sense of ease and contentment. Anela and Nazario are ecstatic about their new home, one that they helped pick out. For this hard working family, for the time being, their dream of successful homeownership is complete.

Julia’s loving her new backyard with plenty of room for entertaining.

Julia Garcia was at a point in her life without a lot of choices.

Single in the city of New York, laid off from her job with no other prospects or family nearby, she decided to move to Colorado to be near her sister. After moving to Denver, Ella Julia knew she wanted to own a home but she did not know the process and she needed some guidance. So while searching for a job she began researching the available community resources for first time home buying. That’s when she found NEWSED and began her housing counseling process with Mercedes Fuentes. Mercedes was able to assess Julia’s likelihood of qualifying for an Individual Development Account (IDA). Through approval from Mile High United Way Julia quadrupled her savings power in a relatively short amount of time with the IDA product. Julia’s FICO score and credit history required some repair which Mercedes was also able to assist with. It took Julia a total of a year and five months to become qualified for a home loan but along the way she gained a valuable financial education. Now she’s sitting pretty in her new 2 bed, 2 bath bachelorette pad in Denver’s South Park Hill neighborhood.

Do you want to start your own homeownership story? Call NEWSED anytime Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm to set up an appointment. We’ll be happy to see you.