By Elise Ertl
Chaffee County in Colorado is the sort of place where you can walk into a restaurant and find yourself seated next to the CEO of a company down the road. Like many mountain communities, Chaffee County prides itself on a diverse range of industries from agriculture to outdoor recreation. Here, investors, mentors, and business owners alike have come together to help Chaffee County become the Rockies Venture Group’s Emerging Startup Community of the Year.
“Chaffee County is humming with energy and potential. It reminds me of other rural entrepreneurial hubs that have experienced tremendous growth and success,” said Taylor Grande, Executive Director of Startup Colorado, “And if that similarity is any indication of what’s possible for the future of entrepreneurship in the region, I’m excited.”
But this hasn’t always been the case for these small mountain communities that often feel isolated and disconnected from vital business resources.
“These entrepreneurs feel like they’re kind of doing this stuff on their own,” said Jake Rishavy, Executive Director of the Chaffee County Economic Development Corporation. “But that really couldn’t be further from the truth.”
While Chaffee County’s entrepreneurial scene has grown significantly in recent years, it didn’t just spring up overnight. The groundwork for its foundation was laid years prior thanks to dedicated ecosystem builders and local business support organizations who saw what was possible for the region.
Laying the groundwork for ecosystem building
Wendell Pryor, former Executive Director of the Chaffee County Economic Development Corporation (EDC), said the economy was initially built in three phases.
The first phase established the Economic Development Corporation, which began by identifying the community’s strengths and weaknesses. The second phase began in 2016 when Startup Colorado hosted a full-day business resource assessment with more than 20 local business owners and leaders. The following year, Startup Colorado partnered with the EDC, local founders, investors and mentors to begin implementing that plan.
“This is when Chaffee County really got serious about the things we needed to develop as a community to become a thriving startup ecosystem,” Pryor said, adding that the initial assessment developed by Startup Colorado eventually became the blueprint for developing more strategic entrepreneurship initiatives.
The third phase was the creation of the State’s 15th Small Business Development Center in Chaffee County, which offers a variety of services to help entrepreneurs succeed, including: confidential consulting, connecting startups with existing businesses, and providing free or low-cost workshops and training. The Central Mountain SBDC organizes nearly 80 workshops per year, as well as two annual conferences — The Power of WE (Women Entrepreneurs) and the Outdoor Industry Summit.
“Then we help with access to capital,” said Jamie Billesbach, Director of the Central Mountain SBDC. “We help with lean business plans, as well as cash flow. We connect startups or existing businesses to capital, whether it’s local lenders, SBA funding, or OEDIT funding.”
Gaining momentum through targeted business development
The creation of the Central Mountain SBDC freed up more resources for the EDC to develop more targeted business development training.
In 2021, the EDC created the Ascent Accelerator program, a 10-week course focused on educating entrepreneurs on the resources available and supporting business growth. The program helps entrepreneurs understand their strengths and weaknesses, and pairs them with mentors and other experts within the community to overcome their challenges.
