More than 70 founders from Rural Colorado applied to the Startup Colorado Pitch Competition at West Slope Startup Week. We saw applications across industries and regions—east to west; tech to outdoor rec. After a week of careful deliberation, our selection committee narrowed the list down to six founders who will compete for at least $280K in investments on August 21st. Who are they?
Say hello to:
DifferentKind is the experience management leader in oral health, producing data and insights from patients and teams that drive improved outcomes for patients, practices, and payers. Headquartered in Buena Vista, DifferentKind is on a mission to build an industry-defining tech company in rural Colorado that creates meaningful jobs and opportunities for our mountain community.
AnywhereCam is a startup from Fort Morgan, CO that specializes in the surveillance of remote locations. We make solar-powered surveillance cameras that use 4G cellular to connect to the internet. These rugged, weatherproof cameras can operate self-sufficiently virtually anywhere as long as there is a little bit of sunlight and cellular signal. AnywhereCam saves its customers the expense of running hardwired power and internet to remote locations, and we save people time by allowing them to monitor their property from their phone wherever they happen to be. No power? No Wi-Fi? No problem!
Gnara® is on a mission to help everyone Answer Nature’s Call® — quite literally — with its patented GoFly® zipper technology. The award-winning apparel feature has been recognized as a top innovation of 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Forbes, Women’s Health, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, CNN, Outside, Gear Junkie, Backpacker, Outdoor Retailer, and more. The discreet design has scaled from a dorm room floor to the floor of the largest retailers in North America, revolutionizing bottoms and empowering women to comfortably and confidently explore as they are, without removing important safety gear or exposing skin to the elements (or others!). The GoFly® can be found in Gnara’s flagship Go There™ Pant and Short (and soon, Legging) products online and at retailers across the U.S. and New Zealand, as well as a licensed component in products like Overalls from LIVSN Designs. From hiking to serving on the front lines, Gnara helps people “go” on the go — at work and at play.
Partytrick, Inc. is the operating system for the experience economy. Partytrick offers an end-to-end software platform that powers repeatable events at scale while capturing the data to determine ROI as well as to optimize business operations. We empower people to go online to get offline, fostering community and connection through in-person experiences.