Oct 22 2012

Introducing Colorado Entrepreneurial By Nature

When it comes to the question of nature vs. nurture for entrepreneurs it’s clear that both are important. While great entrepreneurs are born with at least the seed of that entrepreneurial spirit, it takes some encouraging – as well as plenty of guidance, help and support – to see that seed blossom. I’ve had the great fortune to experience the evolution and transformation of Colorado into a community that I believe is one of the most supportive of entrepreneurs anywhere in the country. In fact, Colorado has always had an entrepreneurial spirit – from before its founding as a state as a frontier territory supporting prospectors and pioneers, through its history of ranching, the oil and gas boom, as a hub for telecommunications start-ups, to its leadership in LOHAS businesses and the burgeoning green-tech field, to Internet and related technologies. Surrounding these business trends has been a Rocky Mountain lifestyle that has attracted entrepreneurs to our state since the 1800’s. These factors, combined with a support structure and philosophy of paying it forward, has turned Colorado into one of the best places in the country to start a business.

Today we’re launching Colorado Entreprenurial by Nature – a grass roots campaign created by a handful of entrepreneurs in our community to show support of that ecosystem. The goal is simple. We’re giving members of our community an easy way of showing their pride in the entrepreneurial community we’re building in our state. We hope that this will help us both encourage entrepreneurship in our community and attract new entrepreneurs to come to Colorado to start their businesses.

Joining is easy. Head to the Colorado Entrepreneurial by Nature website and download the badge (it comes in a number of different colors and sizes). Display it proudly on your company or personal website. We’ve made some stickers up as well which you can fly proudly on your laptop/car/bike/etc. They’ll be showing up around Denver and Boulder at a handful of coffee shops and other places where entrepreneurs congregate.

If you feel the way I do about Colorado – about living here and working here to support entrepreneurship – I hope you’ll join me in the movement.