Monica Selby
I went to a great event here in Memphis this week. Rather than the typical happy hour, the event started at 8–after work, gym, and dinner. (And, in my case, kids’ bedtimes.) It wasn’t focused on any one industry in the city, but rather on 20-30somethings across all areas. There was a great turn out, and lots of new connections made. The very thing a healthy ecosystem needs.
Now, the guy who organized it is very well-respected in Memphis, and it wasn’t hard for him to raise the money for the event and the next few coming up. But, what if Memphis were farther along in the ecosystem-building continuum? What if there were events every single day, hosted by multiple entrepreneurs and for multiple reasons?
According to Brad Feld, that’s exactly what’s happening in Colorado right now. In Boulder and Denver alone, there are often as many as 5 different events in a day. None of these are particularly expensive on their own, but as they scale, the entrepreneurs hosting them have to find money to pay for that. And with that many events in a concentrated area–well, there’s only so much money to go around.
That’s why Feld and several others are creating a $200,000 fund to help. In partnership with Startup Colorado, the fund with support “activities, events, and organizations in the Colorado startup community.”
Each quarter the fund will hand out grants to entrepreneurs organizing events for the community. Those grants will range from $1000-$25,000. This isn’t an investment or a loan. Rather, it plays into Feld’s Boulder Thesis and helps drive the things he believes are necessary for a strong ecosystem. The entrepreneurs who organize these events usually do it on the side; they are also busy building their companies. The grants from the Startup Colorado Community Fund will make it easier on them to also contribute to the state’s ecosystem as a whole.
The fund will offer grants across the state, but focus on Boulder, Denver, Colorado Springs, and Fort Collins. For more information, check out the video below and visit the Startup Colorado Community Fund website.
The Startup Colorado Community Fund from Startup Colorado on Vimeo.
