Entrepreneurs / Small Business  April 25, 2019

Defy Colorado hosts Boulder business pitch event for prisoners

BOULDER — Defy Colorado, a nonprofit group that helps people with criminal records develop legitimate businesses, held a Demo Day event Wednesday in Boulder during which graduates of the in-prison Entrepreneurs-in-Training program pitched business ideas including a platform for selling prison art and a food truck.

The program, a partnership with the Colorado Department of Corrections, “men and women with employee readiness, character development and entrepreneurship training — all of which are critical to reducing the likelihood of returning to prison following release,” according to a Defy Colorado news release.

Pitches at Wednesday’s Demo Day event were directed toward a panel including leaders from Colorado State University, Foundry Group, Google and Techstars.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Business Cares: March 2024

WomenGive, a program of United Way of Larimer County, was started in Larimer County in 2006 as an opportunity for women in our community to come together to help other women.

Defy Colorado also collected more than $70,000 in donations at the event.

“Defy Colorado is powered by an army of volunteers, mentors, families and corporate partners who are helping us break the cycle of generational legacies of poverty and incarceration,” Robert Omer, executive director of Defy Colorado, said in a prepared statement. “More than 400 volunteers have joined us in prison for these programs so far, and with many more opportunities on the horizon, we are incredibly excited about what 2019 has in store.”

BOULDER — Defy Colorado, a nonprofit group that helps people with criminal records develop legitimate businesses, held a Demo Day event Wednesday in Boulder during which graduates of the in-prison Entrepreneurs-in-Training program pitched business ideas including a platform for selling prison art and a food truck.

The program, a partnership with the Colorado Department of Corrections, “men and women with employee readiness, character development and entrepreneurship training — all of which are critical to reducing the likelihood of returning to prison following release,” according to a Defy Colorado news release.

Pitches at Wednesday’s Demo Day event were directed toward a panel including…

Christopher Wood
Christopher Wood is editor and publisher of BizWest, a regional business journal covering Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld counties. Wood co-founded the Northern Colorado Business Report in 1995 and served as publisher of the Boulder County Business Report until the two publications were merged to form BizWest in 2014. From 1990 to 1995, Wood served as reporter and managing editor of the Denver Business Journal. He is a Marine Corps veteran and a graduate of the University of Colorado Boulder. He has won numerous awards from the Colorado Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the Alliance of Area Business Publishers.
Sign up for BizWest Daily Alerts