'Never give up — you may be five feet from gold'

By Brian Schwartz October 19, 2011

Gordon Nuttall is currently president and CEO of a Fort Collins-based Colorado C-corporation now known as Couragent. In 2010, working as Rocky Mountain Ventures Co., he and his team released their first product, the Flip-Pal mobile scanner. The patented technology allows photos to be scanned in their albums or frames to create digital images that can be shared and preserved.

Prior to this venture, Gordon worked as program manager at Hewlett-Packard for 32 years. Couragent creates patented solutions that are designed for simplicity.

Q: You completed your first product, the Flip-Pal, in just 9 months. How in the world did you do that?

A: We have a tremendously talented and experienced team that worked well with our supplier. It was the flawless execution on the first design that allowed us to launch just 9 months after winning the Colorado Inventors Showcase Consumer Product of 2009 award. Thanks to new Web 2.0 technologies, we were able to offer our product directly to consumers quickly, at a low cost.

Q: What have been some of the highlights of your venture?

A: We have much to be thankful for at Couragent, but one thing that stands out was getting on the Home Shopping Network and selling out. The team was cheering as