Boulder pioneers pool money, wisdom.

• Author: Taylor, Mike
• Position: Small Biz - Greenmont Capital Partners

OVER THE YEARS, BOULDER'S MARK RETZLOFF GOT USED to people approaching him with ideas for new natural products or businesses. They wanted his opinion or some investment money, or both.

And why wouldn't they? Retzloff helped make Boulder the center of the natural-products industry, co-founding Alfalfa's Market in Boulder 1983, Horizon Organic Dairy in Boulder in 1991, and Aurora Organic Dairy, about 30 miles north of Boulder, just last year.

But Retzloff says he rarely has had time during the past 20 years to listen to other people's ideas.

"You've got your own business to run, and you've got your own interests, and usually a lot of your money's tied up in the business that you're operating," he says.

Still, percolating in the back of Retzloff's mind was the notion of somehow teaming with other key Boulder entrepreneurs from the natural-products industry to pool their money and expertise to help new companies get up and running.

That's the idea behind Greenmont Capital Partners, a $16 million private equity firm formed in November that focuses on emerging companies in natural and organic foods and related industries.

Besides Retzloff, Greenmont's six general partners include S.M. "Hass" Hassan, who co-founded Alfalfa's and London-based Fresh & Wild; Paul Repetto, who co-founded Horizon Organic Dairy; and Barney Feinblum, former president and CEO of Boulder's Celestial Seasonings and Horizon Organic Dairy, founder of Boulder's Organic Vintners and a longtime investor in natural products and businesses. (See story, "The Natural Wonder of Boulder," page 18).

Heading up Greenmont Capital Partners is David Link, who previously was a founding principal of Denver-based Appian Ventures. Greenmont's sixth general partner is Bryan Meehan, co-founder along with Hassan of Fresh & Wild, which last year they sold to Texas-based Whole Foods Market.

In January, Greenmont made its first investment, teaming with Sherbrooke Capital of Massachussetts and Tango, a Boulder-based private investment company, to raise $6.35 million for IZZE Beverage Co., an emerging leader in sparkling juice category launched in 2002 by friends Greg Stroh and Todd Woloson.

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It so happens that IZZE is headquartered in Boulder, but that's somewhat coincidental. Link says Greenmont is not going to...