Two grassroots organizations dedicated to building better entrepreneurs won the initial grants from the Startup Colorado Community Fund last week.
[ibimage==23427==Medium==none==self==ibimage_align-center]
House of Genius, which was founded in Boulder and has expanded worldwide, and the Denver branch of the Kauffman Foundation’s 1 Million Cups program each will receive grants of $6,000, which should be enough to fund about a year’s worth of activity.
Startup Colorado is an entrepreneur-led organization that wants to connect entrepreneurs throughout Colorado, with a focus on Boulder, Denver, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs. It created the $200,000 fund this summer to support grassroots organizations throughout the state and to create a single place they could turn for funding requests, co-chair and Colorado Technology Association CEO Erik Mitisek said.
The vision of the two recipients align with Startup Colorado.
House of Genius puts together monthly “genius sessions” where three businesses present their businesses and talk about a challenge they’re facing to a select group of 20 or so entrepreneurs and businesspeople. Each member of the group gives the presenter insights and suggestions over the course of about 45 minutes.
“The specific purpose is to help three entrepreneurs move forward on what they’re working on in some fashion. Those entrepreneurs might be working on a startup, a nonprofit, a traditional business,” said Bing Chou, who organizes House of Genius in Boulder.
