Associates of Alexes Hernandez display apparel from Wild Pup & Co., the business she founded while attending the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS). Hernandez moved from New Mexico to Colorado Springs in 2020 with plans to attend college, not expecting to become a business owner with a growing online presence.
With help from UCCS entrepreneurship resources, her products now reach audiences on TikTok and Instagram. Hernandez began her enterprise after becoming frustrated with the quality and cost of dog bandanas. “They’d get wrinkly, muddy and basically fall apart,” she said.
As a high school student, she found it difficult to keep buying expensive bandanas that did not last. She started making her own but did not consider starting a business until after volunteering at the National Mill Dog Rescue. “I wanted to help, but I didn’t have the money to donate,” Hernandez said. “So I thought, why not start a business and give part of the proceeds to dog rescues?”
Wild Pup & Co. launched in October 2024, donating 10% of sales each month to different dog rescue organizations.
Hernandez credits The Garage at UCCS—a campus entrepreneurial hub within the Center for Entrepreneurship—for providing essential support as she developed her business. The Garage offers students regular meetings, mentorship, and goal-setting opportunities. “It’s easy to get stuck in your own head,” Hernandez said. “The Garage gave me outside perspectives that helped me think about my business in ways I wouldn’t have on my own.”
While studying at UCCS, Hernandez managed coursework alongside custom orders, pop-up markets, and a part-time job. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business earlier this year as an accounting major and was recently accepted as a vendor for the Goldens in Golden event scheduled for February 2026. “I’ve never felt like an innovator. I’m just a girl making bandanas and having fun,” she said. “But every once in a while, I step back and realize, wait, this is actually something.”
Her story appears in the CU Innovation and Entrepreneurship Impact Report for 2024-25 alongside other profiles of student entrepreneurs across CU’s four campuses.
Students across all University of Colorado campuses take part in innovation and entrepreneurship education designed around project-based learning approaches intended to improve graduation rates and early career earnings for underrepresented or economically disadvantaged students.
CU Boulder provides nationally recognized programs through its Deming Center for Entrepreneurship as well as an Entrepreneurship Center for Music (https://www.colorado.edu/innovate/). At UCCS, offerings include a unique Bachelor of Innovation degree program along with C3 Innovation—a collaborative hub connecting students with faculty and community partners for research efforts.
CU Denver features Colorado’s only statewide Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship (https://business.ucdenver.edu/ms/entrepreneurship), while CU Anschutz delivers translational training through initiatives such as CCTSI, CU Innovations, and its Healthcare Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative.
More details are available in the full 2024-25 Impact Report: https://www.cu.edu/doc/ie-impact-report-2024-25pdf
