One Minnesota company’s colors truly run maroon and gold.

As a student at the University of Minnesota, Casey Profita followed his dream and founded a company with Gopher roots.

“It was a lot of luck,” Profita said.

In 2010, Profita needed to create a name for his new business, building custom video game controllers, which he founded in Pioneer Hall. Profita didn’t have to look far.

“Goldy the Gophers,” Profita said. “We’re doing custom stuff. Gophermods. That’s really how it came to be.”

After graduating, Profita decided to skip grad school and expand the company.

“We were one of the first repair shops in the cities to offer iPhone repairs outside the Apple store,” Profita said.

What started in a dorm room has turned into a multimillion-dollar company with nearly 50 employees and three stores in the metro.

“We’ve fixed about a half million devices since we started,” Profita said. “We repair about 50,000 devices annually right now.”

For Profita, Pioneer Hall was the right place at the right time.

“I was very lucky to be at the University of Minnesota and have supportive friends and supportive family,” Profita said.