Media pro buys Boulder Digital Arts

The COVID-19 era has been a roller-coaster ride for Boulder Digital Arts, a digital media training provider that formerly operated a co-working space on Range Road in Boulder.

In 2020, the company, founded nearly 20 years ago by Bruce Borowsky and Zach Daudert, moved its educational programming online, got out of the co-working business and eventually gave up its physical location.

Now BDA has a new owner.

Photographer and longtime publishing and media professional Galen Nathanson bought the business this month for an undisclosed sum.

“I really wasn’t looking for this opportunity, but I’ve known Bruce (Borowsky for years) … and found out that he was looking to sell,” Nathanson told Bizwest. “… We made the deal happen, and here we are.”

First priority for Nathanson: Bring back in-person classes.

“My goal is to try to get things back to where they might have been before the pandemic happened,” he said. “… We’re kind of at square one again.”

In-person programming is “what really separated BDA from other online learning (offerings),” Nathanson said. “Having a good teacher in the room to walk you through things and answer questions, and being able to interact with other students, was key.”

Nathanson, who has worked as a photographer and editor for local media operations such as The Denver Post and Active Interest Media, told Bizwest that he’s not sure if he’s “going to lease a space right away necessarily. But I’m looking to partner with local organizations and institutions that might have classroom space available.”

In addition to finding a new physical home for BDA, Nathanson said he hopes to introduce educational programming aimed at kids and students.

He also wants to modernize some of the curriculum to make sure classes “are (providing) the skills that people are really looking for.”

While Borowsky and Daudert may have moved on from BDA, both are still active in the local business and arts scenes.

Borowski, who serves on the Boulder County Film Commission, will continue to produce videos at Pixel Mill Studios, a media company he co-founded, and Daudert is focusing on Vanlife Outfitters, a business he founded to help support doit-yourself van and camper builders.

“This was our baby, so we were sorry to have to say goodbye,” Borowski said in a prepared statement. “Zach and I are just so busy with our other projects, that we simply didn’t have the proper amount of time to devote to it anymore.”

Colorado bankruptcies increased 8.2% in January compared with the same period a year ago, but filings were mostly flat in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado.

That’s according to a Bizwest analysis of U.S. Bankruptcy Court data. Numbers cited include all new filings, including open, closed and dismissed cases. Colorado recorded 343 bankruptcy filings in January, compared with 317 in January 2022.

The state recorded 5,092 bankruptcy filings in 2022, compared with 6,281 in 2021.

Among counties in the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado:

Boulder County recorded 14 bankruptcy filings in January, the same as the prior year. The county recorded 174 filings in 2022, down from 222 in 2021, down 21.6%. Boulder County recorded 13 bankruptcy filings in December 2022.

Broomfield recorded one bankruptcy filing in January, down from five in January 2022. 2022 filings totaled 75, compared with 72 in 2021, up 4%. Broomfield recorded three bankruptcy filings in December 2022.

Larimer County filings totaled 16 in January, compared with 15 a year ago. Filings in 2022 totaled 292, compared with 312 in 2021, a drop of 6.4%. Larimer County recorded 25 bankruptcy filings in December 2022.

Weld County bankruptcy filings totaled 24 in January, down from 30 recorded a year ago, a decrease of 20%. Filings in 2022 totaled 408, compared with 446 a year ago, down 8.5%. Weld County recorded 24 bankruptcy filings in December 2022.

Editor’s note: Bizwest’s Boulder offices operated out of the Boulder Digital Arts space until summer 2020 when the company gave up its lease as staff members worked remotely.

This article was first published by Bizwest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2023 Bizwest Media LLC. You can view the original here: Media pro buys Boulder Digital Arts

This article was first published by Bizwest, an independent news organization, and is published under a license agreement. © 2023 Bizwest Media LLC. You can view the original here: Colorado bankruptcies increase 8% in January