What happens when you ask twelve founders to transform business into a mechanism for belonging? That’s what we aim to find out in our Belonging @ Startup Colorado accelerator program.
This year-long pilot program helps founders take the germ of an idea and transform it into an investment-ready business. Our participants have now completed the first phase—a four-week Idea Factory sprint—which concluded with a live Demo Day competition.
Each founder presented their business to a panel of expert judges, answering questions about the viability of their business, as well as how it fosters belonging.
The event was both an opportunity for the public to learn about what it means to be a “belonging business,” but also a deciding factor in choosing which founders advance to the next phase of the Belonging @ Startup Colorado program.
“All of our participants demonstrated both strong business acumen and a commitment to belonging,” said Tim Martinez, Director of Program Development and Innovation at Startup Colorado and the program lead. “Ultimately, we chose to advance seven founders to the Growth Challenge.”
“Building connections has never been so important, and Belonging Colorado is eager to support these entrepreneurs who have exciting ideas for how to use the power of business to fuel belonging in our state.”
“Building connections has never been so important, and Belonging Colorado is eager to support these entrepreneurs who have exciting ideas for how to use the power of business to fuel belonging in our state,” said Erika Montes, Belonging Colorado Program Lead.
The selection process took into consideration the judges’ feedback, our team’s internal review, as well as guidance from our program partners at Belonging Colorado.
This next phase of the program will push the participants to develop their go-to-market strategy, growth roadmap, and financial plan. During the thirteen-week program, they will work on preparing for investor conversations and due diligence. The program will conclude with a live pitch event in Denver this September, during which several of the founders will participate.
In that way, we experienced first hand the importance of “meeting founders where they’re at” and providing guidance tailored to their needs.
Meet the founders moving forward to the Growth Challenge
Jourdan DuFort: Sukai in Denver, Colorado
Sukai is a neighborhood app that turns neighbors helping neighbors into nonprofit donations, inspired by the founder’s father who died from loneliness. Needers post a need for a small fee, Deeders are notified and complete the deed. Both parties each direct 37.5% of the transaction to a nonprofit of their choice; Sukai retains 25%. All users pay a $20 background check fee and are peer reviewed. Sukai is building the world’s first centralized, peer-reviewed volunteer background check database, solving why volunteering remains so fragmented and hard to trust.
Justin Simpkins: The Conversation Company in Boulder, Colorado
The Conversation Company helps network leaders save time and grow revenue by turning passive members into active participants through AI-powered small group conversations. Their methodology diagnoses what members actually need, matches them into the right rooms, and delivers insights leaders can act on. Human-focused and AI-enabled, they don’t replace the conversation, they make sure the right ones happen.
Katie Kelly: KnowtifyED in Pagosa Springs, Colorado
KnowtifyED is a social impact start-up with a passion for lifting up children impacted by Adverse Childhood Experiences so they can be handled with care. They combine development experience from one of the largest e-health record platforms in the country with boots-on-the-ground local government and social service leadership experience for a unique, trauma-informed solution to help communities implement Handle With Care.
Kyle Parker: SLED Outdoors in Lakewood, Colorado
SLED is the outdoor follow-through platform for people who want to get outside more often. Instead of simply helping users find ideas, SLED helps them rally their crew, lock in a plan, manage gear, check conditions, and actually get out there. The platform brings together crews, trips, local events, guided experiences, gear tools, and real-time outdoor beta in one place. SLED is different because it monetizes participation, not attention, helping outdoor communities turn intention into real-world adventure.