Secretary of State Wayne Williams congratulates Colorado's Small Business Person of the Year

DENVER, May 5, 2016 -- Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams congratulates Reed Silberman, founder and CEO of a Denver custom print shop, who was formally recognized today as the Small Business Person of the Year from Colorado.

Silberman and other Colorado winners attended an awards ceremony Tuesday hosted by the U.S. Small Business Administration at the History Colorado Center.  The first week of May is National Small Business Week.

"Reed Silberman is an amazing example of the American dream," Williams said.

Silberman's life story sounds like something out of a movie script. He grew up in a low-income family in New York, still managed to work for Wall Street by age 19 and then left for Colorado to pursue his dream of becoming a professional snowboarder. A decade later, he pursued his new passion for graphic design and large format print. Silberman moved into a van so he could afford to buy his first piece of equipment for Ink Monstr. He continued to snowboard and worked two to three day jobs while growing his print business by working nights seven days a week.

The secretary of state recently toured Ink Monstr, where he watched employees create custom socks for a marijuana dispensary.  At the time, Silberman talked about his commitment to the Sun Valley neighborhood.

Other Colorado winners include the Southern Colorado Small Business Development Center based in Pueblo and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and the city's Office of Economic Development.

"I congratulate Reed Silberman, and the other awardees, for being named Colorado’s Small Business Week winners,"  Edward Cadena, SBA’s Colorado district director, said when the award winners were announced. "Colorado has a rich history of entrepreneurship and innovation, and that is why Denver was selected to host one of four national Small Business Week events on May 4."