Washington Business Spring 2018 | Washington Business | Page 31

Year
what’s working
Recognizes an entrepreneur whose business is less than five years old and has
made a significant impact in their industry.
the company: Located in the heart of downtown Bellingham, Aslan
Brewing Company opened its doors in 2014 and has since grown from
30 to 100 employees with a full restaurant, and has a second location
on the way. Aslan offers several seasonal and year-round varieties
of high-quality, hand-crafted beers made with 100 percent certified
organic ingredients. Before opening their doors, the owners brewed more than 130 original pilot batches of beer
as part of designing their business plan to cater to customers looking for quality and creativity.
focus on sustainability: Aslan relies on locally-sourced goods and crafts its beer using environmentally
friendly practices that, together, offer customers a sustainable product. The environmental footprint of
the facility is small — from sustainable building practices to its steam-fired brewhouse. The brewery is a
Certified B Corporation, which requires a rigorous review and inspection process and takes into account the
comprehensive and transparent social and environmental performance of the entire business. Aslan’s CEO,
Founder and Co-owner Jack Lamb said of the company’s business model, “Every decision made at Aslan
Brewing Company, no matter how small it may seem, must be made with a conscious mind.”
the human element: The company is committed to fostering a strong relationship with its workforce, providing
medical benefits and a robust wellness program that includes covering team fees for soccer, basketball and
softball as well as covered bicycle parking. Aslan is also committed to keeping the company local by preserving
management that live in the area. As part of their community support efforts, the company contributed 8
percent of its total profits to charity last year.
remarks: “We’ve been around for three years now but started off as a handful of friends in a warehouse
making beer for our friends. Now, we proudly have 100 employees with a full restaurant and a new location
on the way. I want to raise a glass and say ‘cheers’ to all the craft breweries, distilleries, wineries, cideries
and, of course, to all the Washington businesses that are striving to make this world a better place. Cheers.”
— gerry jimenez, lead sales representative, aslan brewing company
entrepreneur of the year award finalists
c2s technologies, bellevue schilling cider, auburn
Jagan Chitiprolu, CEO of C2S Technology, comes from an
obscure village in India but always had a dream to be an
entrepreneur. Not one to sit around and wait for things
to come to him, he did odd jobs and sought various ways
to support his family and pursue his passions. Chitiprolu
made the move to America with his wife, Navya, and
overcame language and cultural barriers to start C2S
Technologies in 2005.
Today, C2S Technologies is a global data analysis company
that is growing at 20 percent each year and generates $20
million in annual revenue. The work the company does has
a profound impact, making data and information secure, yet
accessible to clients around the globe. After discovering they would rather work for themselves
than someone else, college friends Colin Schilling and
Mark Kornei joined forces to start Schilling Cider in
2012. But, it was more than just starting a business. Their
goal was to bring pure, natural and quality ingredients to
the hard cider market at a fair price.
Schilling Cider understood that to do that, they
needed to be close to their sources. Located in Auburn,
the manufacturing facility sources all its fresh-pressed
apples from orchards in Washington state. The company
also uses local vendors for its boxes, cans and even the
wood for its custom tap handles, making the company an
example of economic and environmental sustainability.
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