In partnership with Startup Colorado.
Emerging companies are job creation engines that draw creative class individuals to concentrated areas of innovation. Much discussion and study surround new companies launched within innovation hubs such as Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, Austin, Seattle, and Boulder/Denver. But what about rural areas and small towns? What does entrepreneurship look like outside of thriving startup scenes?
Join Silicon Flatirons for our annual entrepreneurship conference where we will examine efforts to support entrepreneurs and launch new companies in rural America. Discussions will be led by Delaney Keating, Managing Director of Startup Colorado, as well as Brad Bernthal, Director of Silicon Flatirons’ Entrepreneurship Initiative.
Sessions
CONFERENCE KICKOFF
- Brad Bernthal
Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School; Entrepreneurship Initiative Director, Silicon Flatirons - Delaney Keating
Executive Director, Startup Colorado
Snapshot #1: A Strategy for Supporting Entrepreneurs in Rural Areas
- Enoch Elwell
Chief Executive Officer, CO.STARTERS
Snapshot #2: Building a Company - Vistabeam Case Study
- Matt Larsen
Chief Executive Officer, Vistabeam
PANEL: RURAL ENTREPRENEURIAL STRATEGIES WRIT BROAD
- Brad Bernthal — Moderator
Associate Professor, University of Colorado Law School; Entrepreneurship Initiative Director, Silicon Flatirons - Enoch Elwell — Panelist
Chief Executive Officer, CO.STARTERS - Matthew Kaufman — Panelist
Partner, Hathaway & Kunz, LLP - Delaney Keating — Panelist
Executive Director, Startup Colorado - Matt Larsen — Panelist
Chief Executive Officer, Vistabeam
BREAK
Snapshot #3 – Building a Company: Bonsai Design Case Study
- Sarah Shrader
Owner and Co-founder, Bonsai Design
Snapshot #4 – Building a Company: Fine Line Industries, Inc.
- Kelly Cox
Founder, Water Widget
PANEL: POSSIBILITIES FOR URBAN - RURAL COLLABORATION
- Stephanie Copeland — Moderator
Partner, Four Points Funding - Jeff Kraft — Panelist
Director of Business Funding and Incentives, Colorado Governor's Office of Economic Development and International Trade - Paul Major — Panelist
President & Chief Executive Officer, Telluride Foundation - Erick Mueller — Panelist
Executive Director, Deming Center for Entrepreneurship, University of Colorado Leeds School of Business - Sarah Shrader — Panelist
Owner and Co-founder, Bonsai Design
BREAK
Snapshot #5 – Teaching Entrepreneurship to Youth and Underserved Constituencies
- Surin Kim
Assistant Professor and Entrepreneurship Specialist, University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Snapshot #6 – A Novel Capital Strategy
- Kent Curtis
Chief Executive Officer, First Southwest Bank, President of First Southwest Community Fund, and Co-founder, HelloBello.biz
PANEL: ACCESS TO CAPITAL AND TALENT
- Laura Pinnie — Moderator
Associate Director, ZOMA Capital - Kelly Cox — Panelist
Founder, Water Widget - Kent Curtis — Panelist
Chief Executive Officer, First Southwest Bank, President of First Southwest Community Fund, and Co-founder, HelloBello.biz - Surin Kim — Panelist
Assistant Professor and Entrepreneurship Specialist, University of Nebraska – Lincoln - Andrew A. Schwartz — Panelist
Professor of Law, University of Colorado Law School