SCAPE - SW Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs

SCAPE has two very community centric events during West Slope Startup Week! We'd love for you to join us, register: https://whova.com/portal/registration/UNRIEFmZMRD7I2oCb9W1/

Opening Night Party, Happy Hour + Fireside Chat with Seth Levine
Monday, Oct 5 | 5:00-6:30 PM | The Rochester Garden Courtyard, Durango
Start the week with mingling, appetizers from Graze Colorado, and a cash bar. At 5:30, Seth Levine moderates a candid fireside chat with notable rural founders on the evolution of capital, the opportunity in rural entrepreneurship, and how to build lasting investment ecosystems outside major metros. You'll also get a sneak peek at Startup Colorado's upcoming Rural Angel Investment Network and SCAPE's partnership with this new capital opportunity.

It Takes a Village!
Thursday, Oct 8 | 2:00-4:00 PM | UnCommon Scents, Durango
Startup ecosystems don't happen in a vacuum. Join local founders, emerging startups, and business support organizations for a high-energy, delightfully quirky meetup built for connection and fun. Whether you're a longtime company or brand new to startups, come meet your neighbors and find your next collaborator.

Both events are free, but registration is required. Everyone's welcome, so bring a friend or a fellow founder.

This one is for our food/bev companies to add to their West Slope Startup Week agenda - Summit to Shelf: Founder Showcase

This event is design for the specific kind of hard food and beverage founders face. The day will be full of resources with 5 companies having the opportunity to pitch to Naturally Colorado. Thanks to local cheerleaders The Good Food Collective for bringing this programming to the area!

https://whova.com/portal/registration/UNRIEFmZMRD7I2oCb9W1/

Five food and beverage founders. Three judges. One shot to pitch.

That's Summit to Shelf: Founder Showcase, new this year at West Slope Startup Week. Attend the workshop and you could be one of the five founders selected to take the stage, three minutes and one slide to make your case, then five minutes of questions from the judges.

Food and beverage founders know the grind is different. Tight margins, real regulations, and getting from kitchen to shelf takes more than a good recipe. This showcase is built to give you honest, practical feedback from people who get it.

📍 The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave Unit F, Durango
🕡 6:30-8:00pm MT, Monday October 5th

Grab your workshop spot 👉 https://www.naturallycolorado.org/events-programs/

We're one week out from West Slope Startup Week and getting our ducks in a row for a busy, meaningful week ahead! Here's a look at session highlights featuring our very own Heather Otter, plus SCAPE partners and mentors you won't want to miss — be sure to add them to your agenda. Registration is required to add these to your calendar, so get in on the action now!

https://whova.com/portal/registration/UNRIEFmZMRD7I2oCb9W1/

The ROI of Investing in Your People
Mon Oct. 5, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Speaker: Sarah Tober (La Plata Economic Development Alliance)

Opening Night Party: Happy Hour + Fireside Chat
Mon Oct. 5, 5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
Speakers: Seth Levine (Foundry), Ashley Eager (Startup Colorado), Heather Otter (SCAPE), Andrew Zobs & Justin Bradshaw

Does Your Brand Reek of Machine Breath?
Tues Oct 6, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Speaker: Kate Ishay (Psyche Digital)

AI Has Hands: Making Real, Physical Things with AI
Wed Oct 7, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Speaker: Nicholas Goodman (Backlit)

Building Alone, Leading Differently: The New Playbook for AI-Enabled Founders
Wed Oct 7, 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Speaker: Marc Nager (Howdy Partners)

Protecting Creative Work in the AI Era
Thu Oct 8, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Speakers: Heather Otter (SCAPE), Ken Shiau (Melete Legal), Maggie Emerson (Beaucoup Babe), Kathryn Waggener (Durango Creative District) & Paul Spitzer (Verra)

It Takes a Village: A Startup Community Meet-up *Sponsored* by SCAPE and Backlit
Thu Oct 8, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Hosts: Heather Otter (SCAPE) & Nicholas Goodman (Backlit)

Rural Women in Entrepreneurship Networking
Fri Oct 9, 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Speaker: Vanessa McCrann (Startup Colorado)

Fort Lewis College's Four Corners AI for Business Certificate series kicks off next month; six sessions of AI aimed straight at the parts of your business that eat your week.

This isn't theory. From session one, you're hands-on with the latest AI tools, building working parts for your business, not just learning concepts. Think: projects that remember your business, agents that handle multi-step work on their own, and something real built by the end of every session.

Learn more & register:

Four Corners AI for Business - Fort Lewis College

Storytelling, one of the oldest forms of connection! This session in Startup Colorado's Capital Bootcamp series will help you define what's important in your pitch and how to tell a compelling founding and company story. Join us for an in-person watch party at the Center for Innovation tomorrow!!

In this 5-week bootcamp, Colorado business owners will receive technical assistance to complete their application for state funding programs. Drop-in for a single session that you specifically need help on, or attend all 5-weeks and receive a “Capital Ready” certification along with all the tools needed to complete your application. Additional office hours available for 1-1 support.

Week 4: Pitch Prep: Telling your Story

Learning outcomes:
•How to articulate your business story in a clear, lender-focused pitch
•How to tailor your narrative to the specific program your pursuing
•Identify common pitch mistakes and correct before approaching a lender

Join us tomorrow at 12pm!

RSVP: https://startupcolorado.org/event/capital-bootcamp-pitch-prep-telling-your-story-learning-outcomes/

Wow — and we mean WOW — Pact Minis won 1st place at the Hy-Vee Opportunity Supplier Impact Summit Series! The Series connects innovative small businesses with Hy-Vee category managers, merchants, and leaders in domestic product manufacturing.

We'll let the numbers speak for themselves: 1,200 suppliers applied, 80 were selected to attend, and only 3 got the shot to pitch. Pact Minis was one of them — and they didn't just show up, they took home first place and $15K!

We're so proud to see a local company represent SW Colorado on a national stage like this. This is exactly the kind of growth and momentum SCAPE loves to champion — congrats to the whole Pact Minis team, Brooke and Chaz Shelton, you earned this one!

We are big believers that rural founders CAN follow their passion and stay rooted in their community. So happy to see SCAPE company, BOPA- Precision Agriculture, kicking off the Center on Rural Innovation's new series, Against the Grain. Join them tomorrow to hear Sarah Hinkley's founding story and get inspired by a local entrepreneur building an ambitious company from rural America (and why you can do it too!).

Join us tomorrow for the first live recording of 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻: 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

This new monthly series spotlights the entrepreneurs building ambitious companies from rural America and what becomes possible when talented people have the opportunity to build, grow, and innovate from the places they call home.

Our first guest is Sarah Hinkley, CEO and co-founder of BOPA- Precision Agriculture, who is building autonomous farm technology in rural Colorado and tackling some of agriculture’s most persistent challenges.

You'll hear from Sarah about how she got started, what she’s learned along the way, the challenges she’s navigating now, and what’s next for BOPA.

Don’t miss the conversation!

Register now → https://ow.ly/mhYb50ZOh8y

Got a concept for OEDIT's Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant (up to $250K for CO advanced industries companies)? Come talk it through with us.

SCAPE's hosting a local deep-dive with committee members, previously funded companies, and companies who leveled up after not getting funded the first time. We've helped 12+ companies land this grant — learn from folks who've been through it.

It's competitive, so come prepared. RSVP:

Deep Dive & Local Conversation - OEDIT AI Grant — SCAPE - Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs SCAPE is hosting a local conversation for anyone interested in deep diving into the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant . The Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant helps Colora

We're half way through the Startup Colorado Capital Bootcamp and there are still a few session to jump on. SCAPE and the Colorado SBDC serving Southwest Colorado are hosting in-person sessions at the Center for Innovation. Watch and hang with your boots on the ground experts! More info below.

Founded by former GitPrime Engineer, Ray Karnes in Durango, auditRAMP AI was created to address the friction in the auditing process. Not by measuring the work, but by comparing the sticky points. In this Q&A he uncovers how he landed on his entrepreneurial trajectory and proves that the startup ecosystem in Durango is always creating.

Company Roundup, auditRAMP(AI) — SCAPE - Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs Founded by Ray Karnes in Durango, auditRAMP AI was created to address the friction in the auditing process. Not by measuring the work, but by comparing the sticky points. In this Q&A he uncovers how he landed on his entrepreneurial trajectory and proves that the startup ecosystem in Durang