Reinvention is one of life’s quiet constants. It keeps showing up and invites us to grow or imagine something different. The beauty of it lies in our ability to answer that invitation when we’re bold enough to do so, to move forward not because we have to, but because we choose to.

​For Brittany Guzmán Taylor, reinvention has long been a way of moving through the world. She has always tested ideas and created rather than conform. As early as four years old, she tried her hand at selling sparkly, glitter-dipped tapes to passersby. She also loved applying makeup to humans and pups alike. That instinct carried into early makeup work and a design sensibility that took shape well before formal training. Then, as an undergraduate design student, she learned to think about how people move through space, how experiences are shaped, and how intention can be built into what doesn’t yet exist.

​Reinvention, as Guzmán-Taylor understands it, is intentional. Sometimes it’s driven by necessity, other times by a refusal to accept the status quo. That intentionality defined her path as a biological esthetician and spa owner with more than 10 years of experience, and as a current student in CU Denver Business School’s MS in Entrepreneurship program.

When the work meets a wider room

Shortly after joining the entrepreneurship program, Guzmán-Taylor took a leap of faith and participated in THE CLIMB 2025. The Climb hosts a startup pitch competition organized by the Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship at CU Denver Business School. The annual event brings student founders together to test ideas and refine their ventures with the support of mentors and industry voices.

When Guzmán-Taylor won first place, she presented Anchora, an everyone-friendly, at-home skincare brand designed to safely address hyperpigmentation, acne, aging, and scars using spicules and melanin- and pregnancy-safe ingredients.

Anchora grew out of Guzmán-Taylor’s day-to-day work, real testing, and the questions that arose through years of hands-on experience grounded in real needs.

Building spaces and trust

In addition to her keen sense of observation, Guzmán-Taylor’s background in design continues to shape how she builds businesses. As an undergraduate, she learned to think carefully about space and experience, noticing how people move through environments and how design influences experience. As an esthetician, her sensibility prompted the creation of her business Limn Skincare, a boutique spa in Denver. In that space, Guzmán-Taylor grounds her work in skin health, immune support, and calming inflammatory responses. Her practice is shaped by years of working closely with clients and understanding how skin responds over time.

​Launching Limn also marked a deeply personal moment. Guzmán-Taylor’s father had recently moved back to Colorado. She had the skills to design the brick-and-mortar space, but she needed help bringing it to life. Her father stepped in to help engineer and install her vision. Working side by side, they discovered they worked well together, and their relationship grew stronger over time. That experience remains as meaningful to her as launching the business itself.

Through her close, hands-on work with clients, Guzmán-Taylor began to notice gaps in available skincare options, particularly in brightening products. Many ingredients were too harsh and unsafe for certain skin tones or during pregnancy.  She had the unique opportunity to apply her know-how to an unresolved problem; Anchora emerged as the response: an at-home, inclusive skincare brand that uses spicules and safe ingredients to address hyperpigmentation, acne, aging, and scars. By then, she had the practice, the proof, and the product. Next up? The structure.

Choosing learning as a strategy

Guzmán-Taylor returned to school with a clear-eyed understanding of risk. Some aspects of entrepreneurship require tactile and practical lessons, real-world scenarios with real-world consequences. As Guzmán-Taylor put it, “Entrepreneurship is about risk-taking, and sometimes those risks can be devastating. So, if you can take steps to maximize your success, that’s a huge win.”

​By the time she considered graduate school, Guzmán-Taylor had already built a successful boutique spa. Still, she could feel the limits of Limn Skincare’s reach without additional support. She wanted guidance and mentorship to develop a stronger grasp of how to reach the right clientele and staff effectively and to withstand difficult periods of growth. Like many founders, she initially assumed an MBA was the only option and didn’t realize an entrepreneurship degree even existed.

​As she explored her options, two concerns evolved: finances and the right program. Hereligibilityfor the Displaced Aurarian Scholarship helped reduce the cost. The Master of Science in Entrepreneurship provided the perfect space for a current business owner to hone their craft.

The program’s curriculum would help her master current gaps in her business acumen:  financial management, marketing, and scaling best practices. Halfway through the degree, she now sees how much she was missing. The program gave her language; it helped her move beyond a purely micro-level focus and speak more confidently with investors and stakeholders, while thinking more strategically about growth and sustainability.

​And that way of moving through change wasn’t new to her. Guzmán-Taylor grew up in a largely matriarchal family, surrounded by women who took on unorthodox roles. Her mother’s path, in particular, left a lasting impression. She worked in labor unions and at King Soopers, and later joined the Denver Chef Department at age 43. Watching that transformation made reinvention feel possible and even expected.

Confidence, clarified

Taking Anchora onto the CLIMB stage required a different kind of courage. Guzmán-Taylor had to learn to trust that her idea deserved to be heard beyond the spaces where she had quietly been doing the work.

​As she confided, “I knew that Anchora deserved to exist, but I didn’t think people believed in my legitimacy to do it.” Seeing the idea resonate publicly shifted something. “Now that I’ve had the opportunity to share it and see that it connects with people, I’m excited to carry it forward.”

​Winning THE CLIMB 2025 confirmed her readiness and reinforced her decision to choose the MS in Entrepreneurship. Since then, she has been working with mentors to evaluate Anchora’s next steps, including questions around formulation and potential patents, to begin small-batch product development in early 2026.

​For Guzmán-Taylor, growth centers around learning. “It’s all in education,” she said. In that sense, her advice to entrepreneurs who may feel stuck at a crossroads is simple: “If you’re stuck between experience and growth, go get more education or start offering it.”

Her path suggests that reinvention doesn’t always mean starting over. When chosen with purpose, education can reduce risk and help sharpen what’s already working.