To Colorado’s Rural Founders:
We talk a lot about building something out of nothing. Disrupting the status quo. Assuming risk without any guarantee of reward because we believe in something.
We could be describing the entrepreneurial spirit. We could also be talking about the founding of America.
Entrepreneurship is profoundly American. It is rooted in innovation, optimism, perseverance, independence, and self-reliance. But it is also rooted in community and collaboration. After all, nothing truly great is built alone.
This Independence Day, we celebrate what our country has achieved and acknowledge the challenges it faces. The divisions and tensions that threaten to tear us apart will not be easily overcome. We believe, however, that the power of entrepreneurship is a unifying force.
Entrepreneurs understand what it means to see possibility where others see limitation. You know what it means to keep going when the path is unclear, when resources are limited, and when the odds are not obviously in your favor. You know how to build, adapt, listen, take risks, and try again.
Across our state, rural founders like you are starting businesses at an impressive rate. But, more than that, you are transforming your local communities: creating jobs, expanding access to services, and building community gathering places. Your businesses preserve the unique identities of your towns, strengthen main streets, and help people feel like they belong.
You are the coffee shops, manufacturers, food producers, tech companies, childcare centers, outdoor brands, creative businesses, service providers, and local employers that shape the daily life of a community. You are often the first to notice what is missing and the first willing to build in response.
That’s why, when we support entrepreneurs, we support American communities.
At Startup Colorado, we believe rural entrepreneurship is not a side story. It is not an afterthought. It is not a niche issue. It is one of the clearest pathways to building stronger, more resilient communities across our state.
We also know that building a business in rural Colorado comes with unique barriers. Access to capital, educational resources, mentorship, broadband and other essential infrastructure, housing, childcare, and local leadership capacity can determine whether a founder has a real chance to grow or is forced to build against unnecessary friction.
But we also know this: Rural founders are building differently and when given the right resources, relationships, and capital, rural entrepreneurs can compete with their urban counterparts. In many cases, they can lead.
That is why our work is ongoing.
Startup Colorado is actively working with founders, funders, and ecosystem partners to address the challenges that give rural businesses an unfair disadvantage. Since emerging as a nonprofit, we have leveraged our local partnerships to strengthen rural startup infrastructure and support founder education. Through events like West Slope Startup Week and Rural Startup Days, we have helped founders build community connections and increase network density. And our storytelling efforts have helped shift beliefs about what is possible in rural places.
Now, our work is evolving to address one of the ultimate challenges founders face: capital access.
To the founders building across rural Colorado, we see you. We believe in you. And we are here to serve as a bridge to the resources, relationships, visibility, and capital you need to keep building.
This Independence Day, we encourage Coloradans to support their local entrepreneurs. Shop from them. Invest in them. Tell their stories. Open doors for them. Buy their products. Recommend their services. Invite them into rooms where decisions are made.
Because when we support entrepreneurs, we support America. We support the people building something out of passion and grit. We support the communities that give this country its character, resilience, and future.
And we know that’s something we can all get behind.
A similar version of this letter was also sent to our state’s leaders. You can read it here.
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?
