Many times a month I get asked for ways to plug into the Boulder/Denver startup scene. While working as an Associate at Techstars, Julie Penner shared a list with me of great resources to get plugged into the startup scene here. I’ve since shared this list with dozens of people (with Julie’s permission of course) and added to it. That list only lived in email, so I figured it was time to spruce it up and share it with the community. Please let me know what I’ve missed in comments so I can attempt to keep it updated.
Shotouts to Joshua Baer for the idea/framework, Julie Penner for some of the original content and Paul Foley and Rachel Beisel for their iterations of this list that can be found here and here (<-they both have some great content not found below).
Meet these people, follow these Twitter accounts, join these Facebook groups, and attend these Meetups to get instantly plugged into the Boulder/Denver Startup Scene!
1. Sign up for the Boulder/Denver Startup Digest
This is an easy one that will pay dividends. Go to startupdigest.com/boulder (don’t worry, I’ll wait) and click the “Subscribe” button in the upper right-hand corner.
2. Follow these people on Twitter
Follow these movers and shakers below that often tweet gold nuggets of information, events, etc. If these below aren’t enough, here is a handy Twitter List from BuiltinCO with even more people to follow.
Co-founder of Techstars Global Accelerator, Founder at Foundry Group, Author of Startup Revolution Series, Co-Author of Venture Deals, Marathon Runner, Philanthropist and much more. Follow him to find out what’s happening with the CO startup community.
Founder and co-CEO at @Techstars. Proud first round investor in startups that are today worth $80B+. Geeky to the bone.
David is the Founder of Techstars along with Brad Feld, David Brown, and Jared Polis. Techstars has invested in over 1,000 companies across the globe. Follow him to find out what’s happening with Techstars locally, globally and happenings in Boulder.
Founder of Startup Weekend and Startup Week. Celiac. Coffee shop owner. Tall. Travel. Wordy. Looking for the next thing…
Seth is a co-founder and partner at Foundry Group. He is “a little geeky. a little funny. a lot opinionated. saving the world one tech investment at a time..”. Follow him to keep a pulse on the startup scene in Boulder and around the globe as well as some occasional coverage of current events.
Andrew is the most prolific community organizer in Boulder — responsible for starting Startup Week and Startup Weekend (launched here in Boulder), organizer of TedXCU and many other great meetups. Follow him to get the insider scoop on the Boulder community.
Explorer of lean vulnerability, outdoorswoman, traveler, dog mom, ceramist, native Montanan, lover of startups, @pledge1co champion, director @techstars boulder
Julie is the Director of Techstars Boulder program and helps support community. Julie is one of the people most plugged into the regional startup scene in Boulder. Follow her to find out what’s going on with TSB and other great community events.
Fletcher was one of the first super-connectors I met in college and he quickly showed me the way to navigate the Boulder startup community. You’ll find him at many of the events and posting about the latest and greatest gadgets, apps, hacks, and events around town.
3. Join these Facebook groups
Facebook Groups seem to be a popular online forum these days. You’ll find vibrant groups on many different topics where people post news, jobs and discuss the topic of the day.
A great group to start with is Boulder/Denver Startups – A community for Colorado startup enthusiasts to help one another, learn from each other, and contribute to the growth of entrepreneurship in the state. #givefirst
If you’re looking for a job, check out Luke’s Circle and Built in Colorado Jobs page. You might also get noticed by volunteering in the community for Startup Week/Weekend or other events.
4. Get your news here
The traditional news source is the Denver Business Journal. Part of the national BizJournals network, they publish a print edition, online edition, daily news emails, and a great Twitter feed.
There are also a number of online-only media outlets that cover the startup scene and are worth watching.
BizWest (@bizwestmedia) | Twitter
5. Hang out at these places
Coffee shops, co-working spaces, taco places, and hiking trails, these are all natural meeting places and are high traffic so you’re more likely to just bump into someone there. The places to hang out in downtown Boulder are Gather in the beautiful Galvanize Building, Amante on Walnut or in North Boulder. If social enterprise and impact are more your flavor, check out the Impact Hub Boulder.
6. Go to these Coffee Clubs/Happy Hours/Events
Sometimes it’s easier to meet people over beers or coffee, check out some great events to connect with folks:
- 1 Million Cups – A weekly event for local entrepreneurs to meet and present their startups to the thriving peer network of founders. The coffee is highly encouraged.
- Are you fundraising for your startup? Are you an active angel investor looking to meet the newest startup that no one else has found yet? Come mix and mingle with everyone who is in the market. Seed Angel Forum happens once a quarter in Denver and Boulder. View upcoming events and apply to participate here.
- Built In Brews is a monthly social celebration hosted by an innovative startup that gathers digital technologists, entrepreneurs, and influential minds making headway in the industry. Join to see the inside of some of the Colorado’s most inspiring startup offices, meet the teams, and get to know other members of the tech scene.
- Geeks Who Drink is a homegrown Pub Trivia Quiz modeled after those in Ireland and the UK. Find them all over Boulder, Denver and in between.
- Flatirons LGBTQ Tech Happy Hour and Networking – The goals for creating this meetup: community building, service work, and professional networking/socializing for LGBTQ folks and allies in the tech/startup space in Boulder and beyond. As of September 2014, we are an official National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) Affinity Group member.
7. Go to these Meetups
Meetups are a great and easy way to tap into the Boulder/Denver Startup Community and you can find a half-dozen going on any given night on Meetup.com.
Boulder Open Coffee Club, moderated by Bing Chou, an informal meetup that serves as a great way to take the pulse of the startup community. BOCC begins with newcomer introductions followed by job and event announcements. The balance of the hour is a group discussion about startups, with topics including new products, industry trends, and other current events.
8. Go to the next hack-a-thon or Startup Week/Weekend
A super common question I get asked is how to find a co-founder. I think that hack-a-thons are one of the best places. The people who attend are self-selected startup types and you get to really see what people are like and how hard they work under pressure. {any examples of companies started from Startup Weekend?}
Boulder Startup Week – Boulder Startup Week is an independent, free, five day event that celebrates the unique community in Boulder, Colorado.Denver Startup Week – The largest startup week ever right down highway 36. Join over 15,000 others at the largest startup even in the country.
Startup Weekend – In just 54 hours, you will experience the highs, lows, fun, and pressure that make up life at a startup. As you learn how to create a real company, you’ll meet the very best mentors, investors, cofounders, and sponsors who are ready to help you get started.
9. Sign up for a Co-working Membership at Galvanize or Impact Hub.
Surround yourself with entrepreneurs by getting a membership at a co-working space that caters to tech startups. Bump into like-minded people in the kitchen and at events. Sign up for “office hours” to meet with mentors and investors.
10. Learn to code
Teach yourself to code on CodeAcademy or attend a 3month+ intensive course. Attend meetups and hack-a-thons and work on side projects at Amante or Gather.
RefactorU: RefactorU was founded in 2013 in response to the growing need for skilled, early-career JavaScript developers. While there were a handful of coding bootcamps in the United States, RefactorU was one of the first to offer full-stack JavaScript training. Since 2013, RefactorU has graduated over 250 full-stack web developers from our 10-week immersive bootcamp.
RailsBridge: Free Ruby on Rails workshops for women and their friends.
11. Get Accelerated
Also published on Medium.
Thank you – as somebody who is looking to possibly relocate to Boulder I find this to be very informative and hope inducing 🙂
Dan