Startup Colorado has announced that it is launching a social entrepreneurship program in early 2026.
The initiative, spearheaded by Startup Colorado in collaboration with the Denver Foundation’s Belonging Colorado, will identify and support social entrepreneurs with “innovative, scalable ideas for bringing people together and bridging differences across racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, political or generational lines.”
Startup Colorado will expand its Founder Coopetition accelerator into a year-long pilot. The program will support eight to 10 Colorado founders with mentorship, resources and ecosystem connections. It will also be open to innovators from other states who want to implement their ideas in Colorado.
Rather than scaling a large number of companies quickly, the program will focus on a small, diverse group of founders, designed to test whether “deep, concentrated investment” in these entrepreneurs can generate faster growth, stronger community outcomes and clearer lessons for replication.
Founders in the program reach pitch and investment readiness by year’s end, while Startup Colorado and Belonging Colorado will publish a replicable playbook for scaling inclusive entrepreneurial support.
“This partnership will show how collaboration and thoughtful planning can make Colorado a leader in inclusive economic development,” said Brittany Romano, Executive Director of Startup Colorado, in a statement from the organization.
“For too long, our investment models have overlooked entire groups of founders, geographies, and industries. That is a weakness in our economy. This program is designed to prove that what’s overlooked is essential and by investing in these leaders, we strengthen not only their businesses but also our communities.”
Startup Colorado defines social entrepreneurship as using business strategies to tackle social, cultural or environmental challenges while staying financially sustainable.
“Since 2017, Startup Colorado has worked to bridge the rural/urban divide in access to critical business resources,” Romano said. “Today, with Belonging Colorado, we’re excited to demonstrate the power of entrepreneurship to create belonging across cultures, industries, and communities—and to show the nation what’s possible when you come up with big ideas that can bring all of us together.”
More details about the program will be made available this autumn.
