About
I’ve Been Building Businesses and Products Most of My Life.
My fascination with entrepreneurship started early — I started my first business at age 12. Since then, I’ve spent my career trying to understand why some ideas turn into successful products and businesses while others don’t. That curiosity eventually led me across product design, entrepreneurship, innovation, higher education, business strategy, consulting, manufacturing, and organizational leadership.
The Story
Design + Business + Entrepreneurship + Education + Strategy.
An unusual combination — and the reason CAMIC sees a business the way it does.
Founder, CAMIC Designs
Founded CAMIC Designs in 2007. Guides organizations through complex strategic challenges — competitive analysis, customer insights, and opportunity mapping — while living with the financial consequences of the recommendations I make.
20+ years, hundreds of products
More than two decades of product design and development experience across multiple industries — from independent inventors to Fortune 100 companies.
Executive Director, Innovation Labs
Led innovation programs, labs, entrepreneurship initiatives, multidisciplinary teams, and community collaborations at the University of Denver.
Years in the classroom
Taught product development, market feasibility, consumer insights, and entrepreneurship in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at DU’s Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science, as adjunct faculty for the Daniels College of Business, and at Metropolitan State University of Denver.
Ph.D., Business Administration
Doctoral research on decision-making, strategy, and entrepreneurship — paired with a Master of Industrial Design.
Why CAMIC works the way it does
Those experiences are why CAMIC looks at the whole business — not only the spreadsheet, and not only the product.
Credentials
Michael Caston, Ph.D., MID
Ph.D. — Business Administration
Entrepreneurship, innovation & strategy
Master of Industrial Design
Industrial design / product development
B.A. — Psychology
Human behavior and decision-making
Founder, CAMIC Designs
Est. 2007
Former Executive Director, Innovation Labs
University of Denver
Professor of the Practice & Techstars Mentor
Entrepreneurship education & startup advising
Board Member, Colorado Maker Hub
Strengthening Colorado’s maker ecosystem
Advisory Board, AREA Health Design
Denver public-health nonprofit
“I don’t look only at the spreadsheet. I look at the products, customers, employees, operations, opportunities, market, and business model behind the numbers — because improving the bottom line usually requires understanding how all of those pieces work together.”Michael Caston, Founder
Let’s Talk
I Should Talk to This Guy About My Business.
That’s the reaction this page is built to earn. If it did, let’s schedule a conversation.