Startup Colorado plans Demo Day for accelerator

DENVER — Startup Colorado, a nonprofit that supports rural entrepreneurs, plans a virtual Demo Day to showcase startups in its first accelerator.

The organization recently launched a year-long accelerator in partnership with Belonging Colorado, a special fund at The Denver Foundation. The accelerator is designed to help founders move from early-stage ideas to scalable, investment-ready businesses.

Founders will preview their business concepts at the May 19 Demo Day, which marks the conclusion of the program’s first stage, a four-week Idea Factory pre-accelerator designed to help participants refine their ideas and strengthen their business models.

Throughout April, founders worked through a series of exercises focused on clarifying their value proposition, exploring belonging in a business context, and developing clear, actionable business models.

“Collaboration has always been a core tenet of the Idea Factory programming, but this cohort has been even more keen to work together on solving problems and joining forces than others,” Tim Martinez, Startup Colorado’s director of program development, said in a written statement. “I think that speaks to the nature of belonging and the types of founders working in the space.” 

The Demo Day will be judged by a panel of experienced entrepreneurs, investors and belonging experts. Their feedback and scores will determine which founders advance to the next stage of the Belonging @ Startup Colorado program, The Growth Challenge. In this next phase, participants will continue building toward scalable, investment-ready businesses.

Presenting businesses include:

• Connor Moynihan, Karmy, Longmont.

• Erick Burgos, Trailhead Strategies Group, Durango.
• Katie Kelly, knowtifyED, Pagosa Springs.
• Jourdan DuFort, Sukai Inc, Denver.
• Justin Simpkins, The Conversation Co., Boulder.
• Kyle Parker, SLED Outdoors, Littleton.
• Megan Flanagan, BelongNow, Lakewood.
• Natalie Ipsen, Holaimpact, Fort Collins.
• Nichole Argo, TogetherUp Institute, Dover, Massachusetts.
• Rebecca Cohen, ShareMyJourney, Steamboat Springs.
• Richard Sherman, Kit, Durango.
• Tyler Miget, Blue-Collar Belonging, Fort Collins.

The event will run from noon to 1:30 p.m., May 19, with registration free and open to the public. Register online at: https://startupcolorado.org/event/belonging-colorado-startup-colorado-demo-day/

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