How can a business scale successfully while staying true to its values and fostering belonging along the way?
That is the big question that we, in partnership with Belonging Colorado, set out to explore when we launched our inaugural Belonging @ Startup Colorado accelerator.
This program began with a cohort of 12 businesses from across the country, each with a business idea designed to bring people together, bridge differences, and ultimately strengthen communities. During their initial Idea Factory accelerator, they sharpened their business strategies and tested their ideas in a collaborative, peer-driven workshop setting.
We were continually impressed by the creativity and intention each founder brought to the challenge of building belonging through business. Their ideas pushed us to think deeply about how connection and community can be intentionally designed into a scalable business model.
Ultimately, seven founders advanced into the next phase: a 13-week Growth Challenge that built upon their previous work. During this session, they’ve been digging deeper into their go-to-market strategies, designing growth roadmaps, and preparing for due diligence and conversations with potential investors.
Now, we are approaching the culmination of all this work: a live Belonging @ Startup Colorado Pitch Competition in Denver. On September 16, three founders will take the stage to highlight how their businesses have evolved since the start of the program, share where they’re headed next, and make direct asks for support to make it happen.
Meet the Founders Taking the Stage:
Katie Kelly, KnowtifyED (Pagosa Springs, Colorado)
KnowtifyED helps communities better support children impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences. Its trauma-informed technology helps schools and community partners implement Handle With Care to create opportunities for these children to receive greater understanding and support.
Kyle Parker, SLED Outdoors (Littleton, Colorado)
SLED Outdoors is a platform designed to help people do more than find another adventure. It helps them actually get outside and meet likeminded people while they do it. This app connects people through trips and local experiences that turn outdoor participation into an opportunity for lasting community and connection.
Nichole Argo, TogetherUp Institute (Dover, Massachusetts)
TogetherUp Institute helps communities build the relationships and infrastructure needed to solve shared challenges. Working alongside municipalities and local leaders, TogetherUp creates civic hub networks that bring together residents across backgrounds to collaborate, build trust, and strengthen their communities.
“What has been most exciting to watch is how these founders have moved from having a strong idea about the kind of impact they want to make to building businesses that can actually deliver that impact at scale. They’ve challenged themselves to strengthen the business model, understand their market, prepare for capital, and still keep belonging at the center of what they’re building. That’s exactly what we hoped this program would make possible.” — Brittany Romano, Startup Colorado Executive Director
Join Us in Denver
This Pitch Competition is an opportunity to see what happens when founders intentionally build belonging into the foundation of their businesses and then put those ideas to the test.
Our community of founders, investors, funders, ecosystem partners, and the press are invited to attend.
Wednesday September 16 | 3pm
at TARRA Co-working Space, Denver CO
Space for this event is very limited. And RSVP is required to attend.
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?
