Dissolving a Business Partnership

While that idea was more feasible, circumstances beyond their control quickly nixed it. When environmental protesters set fire to a lodge in Vail, the chances of opening another ski company there

Still dedicated to starting a business together, Hemmerling and Blackman spent their Christmas vacation scouting new locations. Their determination paid off when they found a mom-and-pop snowcat ski operation for sale in Steamboat Springs.

Hemmerling and Blackman spent a lot of time discussing the "what ifs" of the company — and because of those discussions, they were able to weather all the setbacks they encountered. "We continuously talked about what if," says Hemmerling. "What if we couldn't find a location? What if we couldn't get a permit? What if having two MBAs running the company was too top heavy? What if an investor only liked one of us? What if we had to give up control of the company to get the business off the ground?"

With those questions in mind, the pair went looking for seed financing.