Three Colorado companies who specialize in getting startups off the ground took a dose of their own medicine and secured federal funding for their efforts. According to the Denver Business Journal, the U.S. Small Businesses Office of Investment and Innovation awarded $3.4 million in funding to 68 startup accelerators, which included three in Colorado. Each firm was awarded $50,000. Let’s take a look at these three accelerators and how they contribute to the Colorado Startup Community.
Innosphere, based in Fort Collins, dubs itself “Colorado’s leading technology incubator” and supports entrepreneurs in industries such as digital health, software & hardware, life sciences, and energy & advanced materials. The accelerator has an office in Denver, an incubator space at Colorado State University and the headquarters building in Fort Collins, which is LEED Platinum certified.
On the other hand, MergeLane, located in Boulder, is committed to accelerating women-owned startup companies and “broadens the onramp for women at key stages of the startup and innovation ecosystem.” MergeLane runes a 12-week accelerator every year in order to pair high-growth startups with industry-leading mentors to increase growth trajectory.
Lastly, SCAPE, or Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs, located in Durango, offers an intense six month program in order to educate entrepreneurs on the “science of startups”. In this program, startup founders can expect to learn about product development, marketing, finances and more. Selected ventures will provide up to $30,000 in seed funding.
Accelerators are critical for the growing startup community. They provide invaluable funding and business consulting to entrepreneurs. Out of 400 applications only 68 accelerators secured federal funding.
