123. Tierra Encantada Founder/CEO Kristen Denzer

By All Means

Kristen Denzer is the founder and CEO of Tierra Encantada, a Spanish immersion daycare that is on its way to becoming a national brand. Currently there are 11 locations in four states—two of them are franchise centers, and an additional 20 franchise units have been sold. It’s already a $22 million business, and Denzer is just getting started. Tierra Encantada is actually her third startup; Denzer started her career in nonprofits, but saw business opportunity everywhere. When she got engaged and realized how expensive it would be to plan a wedding, she started her own event rental business. As an animal lover, she co-founded a doggy daycare. So when she went looking for a daycare center for her own children and coulnd’t find one that met her criteria: Spanish immersion, inclusive, healthy meals, quality programing, she started her own. Tierra Encantada started in Eagan in 2013 and within a year, Denzer was working on expansion. She shares what went right, the mistakes she learned from, and why she made the decision to franchise. Denzer’s advice on entrepreneurship “Just do it. So many people think about doing something for so long…you’re not going to get everything right and it’s ok because you’ll learn from your mistakes.” Following our conversation with Denzer, we go Back to the Classroom with the University of St. Thomas Schulze School of Entrepreneurship. Associate Dean Danielle Campeau talks about the “entrepreneurial mindset—an individual who able to see opportunity in a space and take it.” Here are some key indicators, and ways to make the most of it. - Curiosity. “A willingness to develop expertise. It’s especially important when you’re launching a business in an area that’s new to you.” - Product-market fit. “You can understand an opportunity based on your own experience, but then you’ve got to do your homework and make sure there’s really a need for what you want to do.” - Diverse viewpoints. “Collaboration with partners is key to success. IT’s another way that individuals can fill in their own knowledge gaps.” - Perseverance. “A no today is not necessarily a no tomorrow. Those that are entrepreneurial thinkers recognize that and they’re going to persevere through the ups and downs.”