Over the past few years, Boulder has become synonymous with entrepreneurship. Founders have put down roots, smaller startups have moved into bigger office spaces, local universities have developed more and more programs targeting the “non-traditional” business student, and events that foster innovation have become mainstay.
If you have big ideas — or ideas of any shape and size that you’d like to do something with — Boulder just might be the place where your ideas get the support they need to become realities. You just need to get connected.
While the City of Boulder is only 25.4 square miles, it can be difficult to find the resources that new resident might need to call the area home for their entrepreneurial spirit. We’ve put together a short list of 10 resources especially for startups and entrepreneurs, and they’re all located in that 25-ish square miles.
You can reach them by internet, bike, car, foot, or phone and they’re ready to help your ideas take flight.
- Boulder Startup Week – Every May, the entrepreneurial community comes together for a week of events. From hackathons to meetups and social events, you don’t want this landmark to fall off your calendar. We’ve also mentioned Startup Week in this article on Boulder Startups.
- Silicon Flatirons Center – The University of Colorado, Boulder is home to this program that holds not-to-miss events nearly year-round. From panel discussions to in-depth interviews with local business figures in the entrepreneurial community, be sure to bookmark their events page.
- Boulder Open Coffee Club – We can’t say enough good things about this bi-weekly, relatively informal meeting for the tech, entrepreneurial, and startup community. Held at Atlas Purveyors on Pearl Street beginning at 8AM on alternate Tuesdays (check their Facebook page for the next meeting), it’s a great place for entrepreneurs to connect with talent who can take their ideas to the next phase.
- TechStars – As one of the leading startup accelerators in the world, TechStars is deeply involved in Boulder’s entrepreneurial community. The regularly hold events like Co-Founder Dating, where founders with ideas can connect with other founders so they can pair-up and make even bigger ideas happen. Check out their blog for new events and happenings.
- DeFrag Conference – Every November, great minds come together to do startups — and better than ever before. There’s not much bad you can say about having one of the nation’s leading startup conferences in your own backyard, either. Since inception in 2007, the focus has shifted to “what’s next” in technology and the conference is never a bad place to connect with people who aren’t content with the status quo.
- New Tech Colorado – Want to join over 9,000 geeks who love getting things done? New Tech Colorado is the place for you. They hold monthly meetings in Boulder, Denver, and Ft. Collins, host a message and jobs board, and give techies and entrepreneurs focused events to connect, collaborate, and discuss.
- Startup Weekend Boulder – Curious if you’ve got what it takes to follow and succeed on the entrepreneurial path? Don’t miss this annual event held every May (generally in conjunction with Boulder Startup Week). See if YOU can get your business idea off the ground in under three days. You’ll have 54 hours, great minds, and lots of bandwidth from fellow attendees.
- BoulderBeta – Yes, it’s purely social, but it’s social with everyone you want to know in Boulder’s entrepreneurial and startup community who are making things happen. Every December, BoulderBeta is a rollicking evening of mixing and mingling. Put it on your radar – now.
- The Foundry Group Family of Blogs – The Foundry Group is a early stage venture capital firm here in Boulder. Each of their Managing Directors has a blog and the firm has its own general blog with investment news. Follow these links to get to each of the individual blogs: Brad Feld, Jason Mendelson, Ryan McIntyre, Seth Levine. They’re also the thought leaders behind the Ask TheVC blog.
- EO Boulder – Part of the national network of EO Organizations, Boulder’s EO chapter is just getting off the ground. It’s a national powerhouse for giving ideas room to grow and a great organization for connecting with mentors, potential colleagues, and others who can help your ideas take flight.
