Mike Milakovic hasn’t found success in spite of living in a rural community. Living in a rural community has been an essential driver of growth for his company, Mighty Mike’s Foods.
After winning one of the top honors at the Startup Colorado Pitch Competition at West Slope Startup Week, in October 2025, Mike is on-track to expand production and distribution of his delightfully crunchy, flavored kale chips.
His journey has not been a straight line, but as Mike likes to say: You only lose when you stop.
From Bullied Kid to Elite Athlete to Entrepreneur
Mike Milakovic didn’t discover he was an athlete until middle school. Prior to that, he was teased for being overweight. Once he tapped into his natural athleticism, he didn’t look back.
He attended Ball State University on dual scholarships for football and track and field, and graduated with a degree in exercise science. He found a passion for lifting weights, and traveled the world in pursuit of making the Olympic hammer throw team, training with elite coaches in Hungary and Sweden.
Movement, health, and a spark of entrepreneurialism were constants. He became a personal trainer, started a boot camp company, and worked with NFL and Olympic athletes. As he grew older, he became more mindful of how age affected training regimes, dietary needs, and recovery.
In early 2015, he settled briefly in Creede, Colorado. While training a local group, he shared his nutrition philosophy, honed from a decade of elite athletics. When he pointed out how sugar, dairy, and seed oil-based snacks can be problematic, his clients pushed back: “What are we supposed to eat?”
They had a point. At 8,852 feet with a winter population around 300, Creede’s limited winter produce made healthy snacking tough.
Mike’s solution was simple: shelf-stable vegetables. Armed with a home dehydrator, he bought all the kale he could find within about a 70-mile radius and started experimenting. A tasting party for his training group sealed it: his flavored kale chips were a hit. Under the original name Kulture Superfoods, he began selling to clients and at regional markets, selling out every batch.
Of course, as any founder knows, a great product is only the beginning.
Success in Denver, Then a Pandemic
Mike was craving bigger city life and moved to Denver in summer 2015. He was also ready to turn his chips into a real business. He relaunched his farmers’ market model across the Metro area, testing flavors and proving demand. That December, he entered Trout Tank – a (then) food-focused pitch competition hosted by the Denver Metro SBDC. He pitched to 400 people, and won.
Mighty Mike’s quickly expanded into more than 50 stores. Mike ran the business full-time while still taking personal training clients on the side. When Covid hit in 2020, everything stalled and he inevitably shut the business down. “I ran out of money and help and energy and just needed to do something else for a while,” he said.
Durango and a Fresh Start
Wanting to return to Southwestern Colorado, Mike moved to Durango in the spring of 2024. With a full-time job, he devoted his weekends to his passion for making chips.
“I wanted to get back into the business, and the best way that I knew how to do it was to head to the farmers’ markets. It had been a while, and I wasn’t even sure if kale chips were still a thing. That summer proved that people still love the product. It gave me the confidence to pursue the business again.”
Several local natural food stores agreed to carry Mighty Mike’s, highlighting a key advantage of launching a business in a rural community. In these settings, supportive relationships with vendors, mentors, and advisors can help new brands gain traction more easily than in competitive urban markets. After all, strong relationships are the foundation of any thriving rural startup ecosystem.
Through the winter of 2024-25, Mike comfortably supplied his accounts by doing everything himself.
Accelerating with Startup Colorado’s Idea Factory
That winter, Mike joined Startup Colorado’s Founder Coopetition // Idea Factory, a four-week accelerator that helps early-stage entrepreneurs turn ideas into action.
“Tim Martinez was great,” Mike said, referring to the Startup Colorado’s Director of Program Development and Innovation. “I got insight and clarity around the next steps in this restart.”
In the spring of 2025, sales surged—store orders increased, and farmers’ market revenue doubled. Mighty Mike’s was suddenly an “overnight” success once again. He credits the growth in part to the Idea Factory, which helped him clarify his business strategy, as well as a rise in local support. During his second year at the markets, customers began recognizing him, stopping to chat, and cheering him on—turning regular sales into a growing community of supporters.
By the summer of 2025, he committed to running the business full-time and seeing how far it could go.
Another Idea Factory connection soon nudged him forward. Mark Madic, Startup Colorado’s Ecosystem Development and Partnership Director, encouraged him to apply for the Pitch Competition at West Slope Startup Week (WSSW).
“I didn’t think I had enough traction,” Mike said. “I had watched the Pitch Competition at WSSW in 2024. Some of those companies were very successful. They had a lot of sales, and I was still just a one-man show with small, made-to-order deals.”
Madic assured him it was exactly the right moment and he was eventually accepted into the competition.
The Run Up to West Slope Startup Week
Mike hadn’t pitched in years and needed to rebuild his confidence. That’s part of the power of the WSSW Pitch Competition: founders receive coaching designed to help them shine. This year, finalists worked with pitch coach Jolene Collins.
“I had several sessions with Jolene. She helped me dial in my deck, tighten everything, and guided me through practice after practice. She helped me refine my message and elevate it.”
A month before the Pitch Competition, Mike connected with Naturally Colorado, a nonprofit that helps Colorado-based food brands scale. His mentor, who has helped more than 200 companies launch in major grocery chains, helped Mike set a digital and local-first strategy that will provide negotiating leverage when Mighty Mike’s is ready for national distribution.
“All these things came together. It helped me to envision the actual big picture, not just what I think it could be. Now I had some data and some traction. Pulling it together for the pitch gave me the opportunity to focus and put projections together around what this business could actually turn into someday.”
A Winning Pitch
“It was the culmination of a summer of grinding and hustling and building momentum. I was starting to see social proof and validation of everything that I’d been doing, which gave me an opportunity to think bigger for the company, you know? I was ready to think beyond the products, and focus on how Mighty Mike’s can be a top brand nationally.”
His work paid off. Mike made his pitch at WSSW in October 2025 and he was one of the top winners.
As a winner, Mike gained visibility and valuable connections. He was introduced to Kiva, the crowdsourced loan platform. Using a strategy mapped out with Startup Colorado, he fully funded an $11,000 loan shortly after the competition by leveraging WSSW momentum and community support.
“It was a tremendous experience,” said Mike. “I did the product showcase. I spoke on a panel with [other local food producers], and then I did the pitch competition. The support and the positive response that I got from people was just amazing. I was on cloud nine at the end of the week. Exhausted for sure, but the overall encouragement inspired me even more.”
Rural Entrepreneurship as an Opportunity
“Building a company in a rural area is both the hardest thing and the best thing you could possibly do,” said Mike. “When people see you’re doing something that you’re good at and that you love, they’re gonna support you in a smaller town. Fellow business owners want to support other local businesses. It’s been a great experience for me in Durango.”
Prior to the Pitch Competition, Mike had connected with another Durango-based dehydrated meal company, Farm to Summit, to discuss a fulfillment arrangement that could keep his production local. With funds from the Pitch Competition and the Kiva loan, Mike was able to secure the deal. He can now spend less time on production and more time building his business.
He credits ecosystem builders and connectors, like Startup Colorado, as a crucial part of the system. “I want to say a huge thanks to everybody at Startup Colorado and WSSW. They do a top-notch job of putting on the event, the coaching, and organizing everything that goes into it.”
Want to Improve Your Pitch?
Join Startup Colorado mentors at Pitch Practice and Demo Day virtual events in 2026.
Written by Brook Sutton
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