Startup Colorado is joining forces with Belonging Colorado, a bold, new effort housed at The Denver Foundation. Together they are launching a social entrepreneurship accelerator program in 2026. Startup Colorado will spearhead this new effort to identify and support social entrepreneurs with innovative, scalable ideas for bringing people together and bridging differences across racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, political, or generational lines.
“This partnership will show how collaboration and thoughtful planning can make Colorado a leader in inclusive economic development,” said Brittany Romano, Executive Director of Startup Colorado.
“For too long, our investment models have overlooked entire groups of founders, geographies, and industries. That is a weakness in our economy. This program is designed to prove that what’s overlooked is essential and by investing in these leaders, we strengthen not only their businesses but also our communities.”
“By investing in these leaders, we strengthen not only their businesses but also our communities.”
Startup Colorado will expand its flagship Founder Coopetition accelerator into a year-long pilot focused on social entrepreneurship. The program will support 8–10 Colorado founders with mentorship, resources, and ecosystem connections. It will also be open to innovators from other states who want to implement their ideas in Colorado.
Social entrepreneurship uses business strategies to tackle social, cultural, or environmental challenges, creating positive impact while staying financially sustainable. By investing deeply in a small group of founders, the pilot will test whether targeted support can accelerate business growth, capital readiness, and measurable benefits for communities.
“Startup Colorado brings a unique ability to connect rural and urban communities, elevate entrepreneurs who are too often left out, and create infrastructure that lasts,” said Erika Montes, Belonging Colorado Program Lead. “Their track record of building statewide networks and supporting founders across diverse geographies makes them the perfect partner for this work. Together we can demonstrate how entrepreneurship can strengthen both our economy and our sense of community.”
This partnership aims to reframe entrepreneurship as a community development and connection strategy, addressing broader socioeconomic challenges and inevitably building stronger, more resilient communities. Together we hope to inspire other states to consider entrepreneurship as a viable lever in solving the complex problems affecting society at large. Additionally, Startup Colorado will document the methodology, outcomes, and lessons learned in a playbook for inclusive acceleration.
“Since 2017, Startup Colorado has worked to bridge the rural/urban divide in access to critical business resources,” Romano added. “Today, with Belonging Colorado, we’re excited to demonstrate the power of entrepreneurship to create belonging across cultures, industries, and communities—and to show the nation what’s possible when you come up with big ideas that can bring all of us together.”
The program will launch in early 2026, equipping social entrepreneurs with high-impact business ideas to reach pitch and investment readiness by year’s end. Startup Colorado will leverage its extensive network of business experts, investors, and mentors to guide a diverse cohort of founders from across the nation.
“Social entrepreneurship is about more than starting businesses — it’s about building bridges between people, addressing systemic challenges, and creating spaces where everyone belongs,” said Montes. “We believe this program can be a model for how entrepreneurship can be a force for connection as much as for economic growth.”
SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP ACCELERATOR DETAILS
Launch: Early 2026
Cohort: 8–10 social entrepreneurs from Colorado and beyond
Model: Rather than scaling a large number of companies quickly, the program will intentionally focus on a small, diverse group of founders and surround them with a much denser layer of mentorship, advisory support, capital readiness training, and storytelling resources. Like a controlled environment in a lab, this approach is designed to test whether deep, concentrated investment in a few entrepreneurs can generate faster growth, stronger community outcomes, and clearer lessons for replication.
Outcome: Founders reach pitch and investment readiness by year’s end; while Startup Colorado and Belonging Colorado will publish a replicable playbook for scaling inclusive entrepreneurial support.
Sign up for our email updates, follow us on your favorite social channels, and help spread the word by sharing this announcement with your network. For additional information and press inquiries, contact Margaret Hedderman. You can also learn more about Startup Colorado’s existing Founder Coopetition program, pitch competition, and storytelling efforts at StartupColorado.org.
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ABOUT BELONGING COLORADO
Belonging Colorado is an ambitious new effort made possible by a special fund at the Denver Foundation that brings Coloradans together to foster a greater sense of belonging in our state.
ABOUT STARTUP COLORADO
Startup Colorado is a 501c3 nonprofit that supports rural entrepreneurs in 53 rural counties across Colorado. We believe that anyone should have the ability to start and scale a business in the place they call home. We help entrepreneurs access the human, social, and financial capital they need to build thriving businesses.
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?
