We’re excited to introduce our February cohort of inspired entrepreneurs taking part in our Founder Coopetition. This 4-week pre-accelerator welcomes rural startup founders from every industry to create and implement their business plan under the guidance of startup experts.
Let’s meet the February founders:
Charles Green-Worshum III grew up in Denver. After moving to Texas with his wife and young daughter in 2020, he founded Care Beyond Care with the goal to revolutionize care for the aging and elderly. Charles returned to Colorado to launch his senior community in Montezuma County. Care Beyond Care is committed to offering accessible, assisted community living. With personalized care planning and a single story home setting, this community focuses on comfort for each resident. Families can visit their loved ones often and feel confident that they are receiving care specific to their individual needs.
Christine Tullio is a technology enthusiast with a passion for Ag Tech. She is the brain behind B2B platform CannabisTech.com. Tyler Schloesser is an operations exec with a deep background in the cannabis industry.
Christine and Tyler share an interest in sustainable agriculture. This duo developed Grofibr, a hemp fiber substrate that hydroponic growers can use as an eco-friendly alternative to traditional substrates. Grofibr cubes invite growers to improve their yield while reducing their carbon footprint.
Anthony Herrera is a marketing strategist from Aurora, now based in Cañon City. He launched SoCo Eats in 2020 with one thing in mind: connecting good food to the Fremont County community without burdening local restaurants with commission fees. SoCo Eats is partnered with over 50 merchants and services 21,000 households in the region. This revolutionary food delivery service is challenging competitors by valuing community above everything else. SoCo Eats eliminates merchant commissions so every dollar supports local business.
David Heskin is a Colorado native and traditional artist. He has been oil painting for 30 years and has taught internationally for over a decade. SOMA Organic Artist Elixirs developed through David’s disappointment in the quality of modern painting mediums. SOMA painting mediums are produced from 100% certified organic and include hemp seed oil, a substance absent from artist toolkits for generations. As the only brand focused on using organic-only products, SOMA is fueling the future of the art world by providing high quality products and educating artists about the benefits of organic mediums.
Carrie Andrews is an outdoor enthusiast exploring the Rocky Mountains around Dillon, Colorado with her family. Carrie was a successful Salesforce consultant in a boutique firm where she honed her skills as a solutions architect. About 10 years ago, Carrie left her career in pursuit of better work-life balance.
Carrie launched her own practice, Carrie Magnuson LLC, to streamline Salesforce services for organizations that do not have the time or funding to work with consultants. Carrie supports a variety of businesses and non-profits from her backyard office where she can hike and ski between client meetings.
Jennifer Sparks discovered her passion for supporting small business owners after taking over the management of her mother-in-law’s SaaS company. She and her tech guru husband, Witt, partnered to create Agolix – a software that allows B2B SaaS companies effortlessly develop online surveys, quizzes, and assessments that give personal feedback to respondents.
Agolix supports small businesses in over 40 countries around the world as they show off their expertise to clients in succinct and eye-catching ways through their online assessment generator.
Canyon Chile - Sharon Milholland- Cortez
Sharon Milholland is the owner and founder of Canyon Chile, a green and red chile sauce company based in Cortez. When a top-notch chile farmer moved in down the road, Sharon knew it was a sign to start producing delicious pre-made chiile sauces that are gluten-free and vegan. Canyon Chile handcrafted sauces are unique because they are a blend of flame-roasted Colorado heirloom Mirasol Pueblo and Giadone chile peppers with the distinct flavors of the Spanish Colonial and Pueblo Indian traditional cuisines of northern New Mexico.
Sharon values her proximity to fresh, quality chiles and is inspired to make locally-produced, healthy sauces available for the growing consumer demand. She is collaborating with neighboring farmer to sell their produce and her product locally, as well as online.
Monica Plewe is an entrepreneur in Cortez that, in her “free time” between caring for her 5 children, coaching, PTO meetings, and church, created Stowstep. In an effort to stop her 65-year old mother from climbing on the counter to reach inaccessible shelves, Monica designed a step stool that is easy to access and is stored neatly in cabinets or behind doors. Her goal is to offer a safe and convenient household item that won’t create clutter or slide out from beneath your feet.
New West Fly Co. - Mike Kelly - Steamboat Springs
Originally from New England, Mike Kelly chased trout all the way to the mountains of Colorado. The idea for New West Fly Co. was sparked in 2023 when Mike became tired of the lack of unique, quality fishing rods on the market. New West Fly Co. offers a high level of performance, as well as individual styles and stories that connect with product to fly fishermen. Mike Kelly’s company is redefining fishing rods and apparel by blending meticulous craftsmanship with vibrant designs, and sourcing the highest quality US-made components.
Sister duo Kelley and Leanne Wren launched VNTR Birds (Venture Birds) to create a welcoming and educational platform for women, femme-identifying and non-binary people to explore the outdoors with confidence. VNTR Birds celebrates the idea that there is room for everyone in the outdoors. This outdoor adventure initiative welcomes clients that want to work together to build confidence and self-reliance in activities like mountain biking, backcountry skiing and splitboarding, and community meetups. VNTR Birds is combatting accessibility barriers that restrict diverse populations from exploring their outdoor passions by offering free events and scholarship opportunities.
Kiki's Cookies & Cakes - Nicole Garcia - La Junta
Nicole Garcia’s baking company was inspired by a bake sale organized by her three children to raise funds for one of her daughters, KiKi, to join a school trip. The outpouring of support from friends, family, and the community nudged her to launch a vegan baking business.
Nicole and her family developed the perfect vegan shortbread recipe that boasts amazing flavor and texture. Many vegan treats on the market have long lists of processed ingredients, but this recipes uses only 3-4 natural ingredients. Kiki’s Cookies & Cakes aims to create high-quality vegan treats that can stand out in this rapidly expanding industry through delicious flavors, simple ingredients, and transparent labels.
Elizabeth’s story began in Seattle where she worked as a legislative aid, managed a system of independent garden centers across the country, and earned her Master’s in Landscape Architecture. Her unique resume grew the moment her husband asked her to develop a cider company together.
The husband-wife team launched EsoTerra Ciderworks in Dolores where they source apples from the historic orchards of Southwest Colorado. EsoTerra Ciderworks has produced award-winning product and is recognized as one of the country’s top producers.
Listen to our podcast highlighting EsoTerra Ciders and other local beverages.
Kelsey Urie is a Salida mom on a mission to offer UV protection for young adventurers that can’t wear traditional sunscreen. She created Sunsie so that her children and others can have fun in the sun without worry. Sunsie is an everyday wear onesie that consists of UPF50+ UV protection and breathable material. Sunsie is passionate about protecting your child’s skin from damaging sun rays. This unique piece of apparel totes features like a hood, extremity protection, and optional coverage for hands and feet. Kelsey’s goal for Sunsie is to help parents feel confident taking their tiny adventurers any where under the sun.
Cuztom Solutions- Felicia Jarrett - Severance
Felicia Jarrett is a creative entrepreneur with an eye for design. Her background includes work as a nail and makeup artist, a stylist, and a home decorator. After moving to Colorado in 2019, the financial stress of the COVID-19 pandemic inspired Felicia to use her creative skills to refurbish furniture, sew drapes, and tackle a number of other household decoration goals on her own. Her efforts were such a success that she turned this passion project into a business, launching Cuztom Solutions. Her business offers handcrafted furniture pieces, refurbished furniture, and abstract art to meet client requests. Cuztom Solutions reminds us that one man’s trash can really become high quality, unique treasure when given thought and care.
