Ascension Engineering Group reaches for the stars

by Dean J. Miller
djmillercommunications@gmail.com

Fascinated by all things technology in their youth, neither Andrew Dark nor Dan Wilson would have anticipated a future as leaders of one of the hottest space systems engineering start-ups in the nation.

Today the founders of Ascension Engineering Group, LLC. support America’s warfighters with high tech by prioritizing the most basic soft skills. At Ascension, taking care of people is a foundational company priority that includes an emphasis on mentoring, ensuring team member appreciation, and promoting a tailored, fulfilling work experience.

For Andrew, the journey included 10 years of uniformed Army service controlling and delivering crucial satellite communications to warfighters. For Dan it all started when his first job after college brought him to Aurora, Colorado to develop new satellite ground systems for Hughes Aircraft.

After fruitful 20-year careers in the industry, by 2017 the aerospace engineers had a dream to own and operate their own business. The dream, however, was tempered by healthy concerns about leaving the security of regular jobs.

Enter the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center.

“We didn’t know, what we didn’t know – and we would soon find out,” said Andrew. “SBDC was that comforting source for our questions and concerns about standing up our business. It’s a very intimidating process with a lot of moving pieces and SBDC was incredibly helpful.”

As their Pikes Peak SBDC mentor helped answer questions and encouraged development of their business plan, confidence soared.

“Our SBDC mentor was a trusted, reliable sounding board who provided that affirming voice and allowed us to move forward,” said Andrew.

The two recall invaluable Pikes Peak SBDC classes on company formation, hiring employees, cybersecurity, basic accounting, and more.

“Most importantly, networking with other entrepreneurs through SBDC gave us a strong sense of community,” said Dan. “We were all going through the same hardships of building a business – mutually encouraged by shared experience.”

In August 2017, emboldened by Pikes Peak SBDC, and with great support from friends and family, the sole providers to both their families resigned their jobs and took a calculated leap of faith. It was a long leap.

With three-to-four months of living expenses in savings, Ascension landed its first contract in October 2017.

Immediately and since, Andrew and Dan were running at a speed and efficiency they had always envisioned. Early on, their first contractual customer encouraged them to expand their team with as soon as they could.

Just two years later, the service-disabled veteran-owned small business has more than quadrupled earnings, employs 16 people, and manages seven contracts — three with Boeing and four with other major aerospace firms including Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and L3 Harris.

“There is great personal satisfaction in having a business that allows us to make sure our employees feel valued, and allows us to take care of our warfighters,” said Andrew.

“We really want a culture that values individuals in our company; this has been the key to our success,” said Dan. “Our first employees took a risk; now our employees are our best marketing – they love what they do and tell people about it.”

Risk & Reward

Monique Flemings made the biggest risk of her life while experiencing homelessness. To understand how she got there, it helps to first know that she’d started working at age 14, earned a bilingual literacy degree at Metro State University in her hometown of Denver, and originally wanted to be an English as a Second Language teacher. Low pay deterred her from entering the field, so she took a job in insurance. Over the course of

Read Story »

Go Fish! Food Truck

Go Fish Food Truck was established in 2018, opened in 2019, & expanded into Avenue 19, downtown’s newest food hall & entertainment space, in 2023. Go Fish is owned by Christina Voreadis, a Colorado Springs native, who is passionate about sharing her delicious seafood with the people of her hometown. Go Fish loves giving back to the community & being that Christina is a former educator, helping kids & others are motivating factors in the

Read Story »

Potato Potato

Potato Potato Mobile Foods started as a joke between friends. Kevin Johnson, Owner/Operator/Emperor of Potatoes knew that poutine (the mobile food’s specialty), was popular in Canada but not the United States, and mostly unknown in Colorado. It was then; Kevin thought that an “International House of Poutine” style concept would be both successful and unique in the Colorado market. Kevin visited the SBDC to help make his idea a reality. “SBDC counseling has helped me

Read Story »

Accinctus

Brian Siravo thought about starting his own business for a few years. After he was presented with some life challenges (loss of employment due to company cutbacks), it was the last lever that needed to be pulled to launch him into moving in the right direction. With 20 years of experience in business continuity and personal preparedness, Brian wanted to share his passion for these topics with more businesses across the country. Brian started learning

Read Story »
Skip to content