By Margaret Hedderman
March was a busy month at Startup Colorado! In addition to launching a Food & Ag focused Founder Coopetition cohort, we also hosted a virtual Idea Factory program. Over the course of four weeks, eight rural founders from across the state came together to refine their business models and strengthen their capacity to grow and fund their ventures.
This cohort represented a wide range of industries—from health and wellness to healthtech and food and beverage—demonstrating the diversity and creativity of Colorado’s rural startup ecosystem. Each founder brought a distinct vision and set of challenges to the table, contributing to a collaborative and practical learning environment.
The program culminated in a final pitch presentation where each founder produced a 90-second video for members of our Advisor Network . After careful review, three founders were selected for their strong business models, growth potential, and compelling pitches.
Diane Bailey, the cohort coordinator for Startup Colorado, said, “The winners were able to tap into the empathy of their audience and showed the WHY behind their startup.” She added that this helped the reviewers understand their potential impact.
Meet the Winners
Jelena Subotic — Mandi —Johnstown
Mandi is the first AI-powered platform designed to simplify TMJ care, guiding patients through diagnosis, treatment, and long-term care with personalized plans and AI-driven diagnostics, creating a clear and accessible path to relief. By partnering with providers, insurers, and researchers, their goal is to build the largest TMJ patient data set in existence, unlocking real-world, data-driven breakthroughs that will transform the future of care.
“The Founder Coopetition helped me grow Mandi from a raw idea into an actionable 90-second pitch and clear plan, shaped by direct feedback from investors and business leaders focused on driving real-world impact.”
Rosie Evans — Evans Early Childhood Center — Fort Morgan
Rosie Evans is the founder of Evans Early Childhood, a childcare center dedicated to nurturing children from 6 weeks to 12 years old through critical stages of early development. Grounded in the belief that early childhood education shapes not just individual futures but entire communities, Rosie’s work supports both families and the broader economy. With plans to expand to a second location at a local hospital, Evans Early Childhood is also addressing workforce challenges by offering on-site childcare to support employees.
“Participating in the Founder Coopetition/Idea Factory helped me refine my business ‘ask’ and set my business in a new direction! The support and the community of mentors and peers was the most valuable part of the experience!”
Jenn Fortin — Pretty Moving — Crested Butte
A kid at heart, Jenn Fortin aims to inspire more authentic connection as a multi-modal artist, adventurer, and educator. With Pretty Moving, she offers nature-based emotional coaching and workshops that deepen emotional intelligence through playful exploration. With a background in education, guiding, ski patrolling, and a Master’s in Play, her work strikes the intersection of psychology, emotional depth, and adventure.
Pretty Moving draws awareness to both emotionally compelling and physically beautiful experiences. Facilitating self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation, Jenn confirms the power of playful curiosity. Currently based in Crested Butte, Jenn is expanding Pretty Moving to collaborate with guide outfitters and non-profits across Colorado mountain communities. Dive into coaching offerings and resources at PrettyMoving.com.
“It’s amazing how much progress can be achieved over 4 short weeks!” Diane said. “At the beginning of the program, all founders could explain their concept, but only after several minutes of discussion. Ultimately they left with a concise, yet informative pitch that will help them clearly convey their business opportunity with customers, partners, and investors.”
Meet the Cohort
Carlos Rocha — TBD — Durango: Carlos Rocha is building a platform that connects business owners nearing retirement with qualified buyers, focusing on those who have struggled to sell after three or more years on the market. His long-term vision is to grow and eventually sell the venture, ideally transitioning it into an employee-owned company.
Joseph Joop Stark — Turn on the SELly — Silverthorne: Joseph “Joop” Stark is the founder of Turn on the SELly, a platform that helps parents, guardians, and teachers turn screen time into meaningful learning moments through curated Social Emotional Learning (SEL) content. Designed to meet kids where they are, the platform offers relevant, engaging lessons that align with their real-life experiences. Joop’s mission is to seamlessly integrate SEL into everyday routines.
PJ Brown — One Sea Wellness — Gunnison: PJ Brown is the founder of One Sea Wellness, a mission-driven organization offering nature-based therapeutic experiences that integrate surfing, rock climbing, ecotherapy, and trauma-informed counseling for women. Through retreats, coaching, and adventure therapy programs, PJ creates healing spaces that foster resilience, emotional growth, and connection to the natural world. With a long-term vision of expanding access to underrepresented communities and becoming a global leader in adventure-based therapy, One Sea Wellness is redefining what healing can look like.
Sandra Thebaud — StressAway — Denver: Sandra Thebaud is the founder of Stress Away, a virtual reality app that helps users practice clinically-proven stress relief techniques in immersive environments. With over 30 years of experience as a clinical psychologist, Sandra created the app to bridge the gap between knowing how to manage stress and actually doing it. Her vision is to scale Stress Away into industries like airlines, hospitality, and veteran mental health, making effective stress relief accessible and engaging for everyone.
Seth Quigg & Nicole Blaser — Karuna Project — Mount Crested Butte: Seth Quigg and Nicole Blaser are the founders of The Karuna Project, an adventure travel company offering philanthropic expeditions that create meaningful impact in the communities they visit. Launched in 2023, the Karuna Project blends exploration with purpose to connect travelers to service-based experiences around the world. With trips planned in destinations like Nepal, Peru, and Tanzania, their vision is to operate in 20+ countries and partner with local organizations to foster global connection.
Join us in empowering rural entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders to achieve even more in 2025. 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?
