SBA awards SBDC, Poudre libraries with collaboration recognition

FORT COLLINS — The U.S. Small Business Administration has awarded Poudre River Public Library District and the Larimer Small Business Development Center with the Colorado District Director’s Diamond Award for their efforts to help small-business owners gain the knowledge, skills, and resources to accelerate business growth.  

The two Larimer County organizations collaborated on the first-ever cohort between Colorado and Wyoming for the T.H.R.I.V.E Emerging Leaders Reimagined program. The Diamond Award is presented to an individual or organization that has partnered with the district office to assist entrepreneurs through advocacy. 

“Poudre Libraries and Larimer SBDC share a long history of working together to support local small  businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups,” Diane Lapierre, Poudre Libraries executive director, said in a written statement. “This is wonderful recognition of how important this collaboration is for our entire business  community.” 

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“Small businesses are the fabric of our vibrant community, and when we partner, we can provide more resources for them to grow, sustain and scale their efforts,” said Hope Hartman, Larimer SBDC executive director. 

The T.H.R.I.V.E. Emerging Leaders Reimagined program is entrepreneurship education and training for executives of high-potential, small companies. The executive entrepreneurship series offers opportunities for small business owners to work with professional coaches and mentors, gain skills needed to grow, and develop connections with peers, local leaders, and the financial community. Poudre Libraries and Larimer SBDC worked together to manage the 2023 Colorado/Wyoming  T.H.R.I.V.E. cohort, which included 25 participants from a variety of industries including finance, property management consulting, and digital marketing.  

“The T.H.R.I.V.E. program was of great value to me; it provided me with the energy and resources necessary to take my business to the next level,” said Roxana Toledo, owner of WE Solutions, and a participant in the 2023 Colorado/Wyoming cohort. “Working with (Poudre Libraries and Larimer SBDC) gave me a sense of confidence that the decisions we wanted to take with the business were based on facts and research and not only on gut feeling. As a business owner, sometimes the research and findings backed up my instinct and at other times, research contradicted my theories and pointed to other ways that led to creativity and change.”