On June 3rd, our community gathered online for our third Demo Day showcase of the year. This event brought together ecosystem builders, funders, investors, mentors, and resource support providers—as well as fellow entrepreneurs—to cheer on the finalists and learn about the big moves they’re making in rural Colorado.
Our quarterly Demo Day is designed to create visibility and connection for rural entrepreneurs by giving them an opportunity to share their business and receive on-the-spot feedback from experienced judges and community members. It also serves as an entry point to new connections and conversations that may have otherwise defied regional limitations.
The participants each delivered a four-minute pitch, followed by four minutes of questions and feedback from the judges. They were scored on a scale of 1-5, based on their ability to clearly communicate the problem their business addresses and ask for the support they need to scale.
This month’s judge panel included:
- Heather Otter — Executive Director the Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs
- Ashley Nager — Platform Manager, Startup Colorado
- Kyle Klabunde — Client relations Officer, B:Side Capital & B:Side Fund
- Kelsey Parks — COO & Co-Founder, Psyche Digital
Our Demo Day offered a compelling look at the diversity of businesses emerging in rural regions. The event highlighted how digital transformation is expanding what is possible in these regions, helping founders develop scalable companies in remote areas. June’s four founders demonstrated how rural entrepreneurs are building solutions to local and global challenges—and ensuring that our canine companions are dining fine!
Congratulations Sara Jennings of Orion Labs:
Sara Jennings of Orion Labs LLC was awarded the top prizes: a $500 cash prize from Startup Colorado and a Growth Session & Acceleration Plan from Psyche Digital (valued at $950). Orion Labs is a research and development company based in Nunn, Colorado. This small but powerful team specializes in robotics, machine learning, and sensing technologies. Orion Labs has collaborated with name-drop-worthy organizations like NASA and the National Science Foundation. They are currently focusing on SAIPH, a multisensing system that is working to improve traffic and public safety.
SAIPH is a complex camera system that gathers analytics related to pedestrian and vehicle traffic, as well as near-miss events and red-light violations. One of the top priorities of SAIPH is to provide municipalities with proactive safety measures to inform system regulation, rather than reactively rely on historical crash data. The SAIPH system does not collect identifiable information and allows local municipalities to manage their data.
During the event, Jennings shared exciting news: Orion Labs has already secured paid pilot programs in Wyoming and Long Beach, California. Now, they’re looking for additional pilot partners in Colorado to help the company
Additional highlights from the founders:
Marcy Freeburg, ComplyBook
Army veteran Marcy Freeburg fused over 15 years of experience in cybersecurity, risk assessment, and regulatory operations to build ComplyBook, an AI-driven compliance platform created for non-profits and small government contractors. These organizations spend significant time organizing finances and navigating reporting, so Freeburg developed a platform that automates compliance workflow and reduces administrative burden.
“Data is everywhere, accountability is nowhere, and mission time is being stolen.”
ComplyBook is seeking $250K in pre-seed funding to help them expand their compliance suite, launch government contracting pilots, and continue scaling toward a 100K customer base. Learn about ComplyBook here.
Derek Hanrahan, Local Rez
Silt local Derek Hanrahan pitched Local Rez, a booking platform built specifically to rural tourism communities. To combat the monopoly that online travel agencies have on these regions, Local Rez employs a community licensing model that offers a shared subscription model for local businesses and ensures that revenue flows to the owners with genuine community involvement. No high platform commissions. No guest data gatekeeping. No shallow investment. This platform will also host dining, equipment rentals, and activities.
Hanrahan shared that Local Rez is merely 3-months from launching and eager to expand throughout its homebase in the Colorado River Valley and into the mountain west. They’re seeking $100K in pre-seed SAFE investment to support this launch and their anticipated rapid, one-year expansion. Connect with Local Rez here.
Amanda Colamino, DogGurt
As a lifelong animal lover, Amanda Colamino whipped up DogGurt to provide a healthy alternative to overly processed pet treats. DogGurt is an all-natural frozen treat for our canine companions that touts a simple, inoffensive list of ingredients. After launching in Omaha and transitioning to Salida, Colamino mixes her products (by hand!) in her own kitchen to ensure that her product is made with love in every bite. Recently, she took the stage at the Chaffee County EDC’s 2026 Ascent Accelerator Demo Day where Penny, her four-legged Chief Tasting Officer, enthusiastically demonstrated how dogs respond to the product.
DogGurt is sold in over 150 retail stores across the midwest. Now, it is time for Colamino to make this dog delicacy available across the country. They’re seeking investment to facilitate expansion of the production team and nationwide distribution. See where you can find DogGurt here.
Startup Colorado’s Demo Day Series Builds Connections Across Colorado
Visibility and connectivity are essential ingredients for a healthy startup ecosystem. In rural areas, the density of social capital—such as fellow founders, mentors, and investors—is thin. We launched our Demo Day and Pitch Readiness Workshop series to address that issue by providing regular opportunities for founders to participate and engage with a broader rural startup ecosystem.
Our next Demo Day event will take place on September 2nd. Applications will open this summer! If you’re interested in applying, we entourage you to attend our Pitch Readiness Workshop on August 5—this session is open to entrepreneurs at every stage of business.
Join us in empowering rural entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders to achieve even more in 2026. Contributions of any amount directly power our mission to build a sustainable statewide network of resources supporting rural entrepreneurs, so that people and places can thrive and chart their own futures! Will you help us?
