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Daniel Strangfeld started at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2016 on a path towards becoming an architect. Early on, Daniel knew that he needed creative freedom, but once he learned that drawing wasn’t his favorite thing to do, he decided to switch into the Technology, Arts and Media program.

In the fall of his freshman year, Daniel taught himself how to develop apps. Interested in this growing skill he joined an app development club where he met Ted Thayer. Ted is well-known in the local entrepreneurial community and the two worked together on an app that sourced free food around campus. 

Another project he worked on was essentially an Airbnb for retail. Have you ever thought about how expensive it is for small companies to rent vacant retail spaces? Daniel helped create a way to connect those two markets through short-term pop-up stores.

Drawn to independence

Daniel’s first leap into the entrepreneurial world was in high school with a small photography business focusing on senior portraits. And he still freelances in photography and design.

Daniel knows entrepreneurship can be a challenging career path. Unlike more traditional industries, entrepreneurs often find there is no specific guideline for doing things. 

“This ever-changing industry is exactly what I was looking for. I didn’t want my potential, impact and how much value I could create capped by a 9-5.”

He “caught the bug” and fell in love with the freedom this career path provides him. 

Struggles of entrepreneurship

In this field, one of the best things you can do is make connections. Being an introvert, Daniel has learned to get comfortable going out and talking to people. 

“A lot of the time we overthink situations we make in our heads, but once you are actually moving through and making the right connections, it begins to get less nerve-racking.”

Although extraversion is his least favorite part about this field, meeting incredible people and creating a network has helped him tremendously. Daniel is not afraid to look to others to push and help him learn.

Seed funding for a collapsible keg

Daniel recently pitched to the Get Seed Funding team here on campus and used this awesome opportunity to see how he can create value and capture an investment for his latest venture, . 

The idea for this collapsible keg came about in an engineering management course where Daniel and a team of five students came up with a unique alternative to traditional stainless steel kegs. After learning how much traditional kegs cost for businesses through shipping, the team started looking into more efficient solutions. Stainless steel kegs are large and heavy which drive up shipping costs, as well as rent costs for storage. Looking to solve these two problems, they designed a collapsible keg that will reduce both shipping and rent costs. 

After receiving funding from the Get Seed Funding team, they have continued to grow and get this idea off the ground. They are currently working on their next prototype, which includes their own enclosure system. And they are focusing on conducting customer discovery to make sure they can create enough financial value.

Some advice

“My number one piece of advice for people wanting to get into startups or entrepreneurship (or anything else) is to always surround yourself with people who are either doing what you want to do or have accomplished things that you want to accomplish.”

This idea inspired , which he co-founded a year and a half ago to bring together a group of individuals that actively push each other to get better on a daily basis.