West Slope Startup Week, hosted by Startup Colorado, will return to Durango in late August.
Entrepreneurs and small business owners from across the region will attend the free educational conference Aug. 19 through Aug. 23 at the Fort Lewis College Center for Innovation.
Startup Colorado aims to help rural entrepreneurs make connections within a statewide network of resources, including those that help raise capital, provide education, identify mentorships and offer government aid.
Most notably, Startup Colorado offers a pre-accelerator program called Founder CO-OPetition, which helps prepare entrepreneurs to enter an accelerator program like Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs.
West Slope Startup Week offers over 70 educational sessions led by regional entrepreneurs. Sessions are curated from community-submitted ideas and selected by an objective committee of entrepreneurs.
This year’s topics include expanding and franchising, digital marketing, artificial intelligence and locating investments. Numerous panel discussions with experienced investors and entrepreneurs will also be held, one of which will address how to take advantage of climate prospects in rural regions.
The organization has worked with Southwest Colorado businesses like TripOutside, EsoTerra Cider and Gravity Lab.
“This year’s program is the best yet,” event lead organizer Vanessa McCrann said in a news release. “We have successful entrepreneurs from across the state leading impactful sessions that will benefit the entire startup community.”
It will also offer an expanded selection of Spanish-language sessions via the Latine Program. Startup Colorado will host the Startup Colorado Pitch Competition on Aug. 21, where five rural founders will compete for $280,000 in investment opportunities.
“This event is for everyone,” McCrann said, adding that Main Avenue business owners “will find valuable insights” in workshops about finance, marketing and human resources.
McCrann also said high-growth startups can learn about scaling, fundraising and reaching a global market from a “rural Colorado base.”
“We learn faster and better when we’re together,” she said.
The event serves both serial entrepreneurs, meaning those who start multiple businesses, and first-timers seeking guidance and support.
Startup Colorado started as a part of the University of Colorado Law School, but became a nonprofit last year with a commitment to serving rural entrepreneurs in Durango and other rural areas across Colorado.
tbrown@durangoherald.com
