1.
Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in
southwest Colorado

2.
The mission of the Southwest
Innovation Corridor (SWIC) is to bring
together loosely connected efforts in
entrepreneurism and commercialization
to create a purposeful strategy for
moving ideas from consideration and
development to fundable companies,
creating jobs and sustained economic
activity in a geographically disbursed
rural area.

3.
The Area
• 8 counties
• 10, 418 sq.
miles
• 164k
population
• Low per capita
income
• Out migration
due to decline
in resource
extraction

4.
Entrepreneurial and Innovation Eco-system Assets
Accelerators Co-working Government
Community
Foundation

5.
Fort Lewis College (FLC) – located in Durango, FLC is a public, liberal
arts college serving 3,789 students. FLC provides a tuition-free
education for qualified Native Americans and awards approximately
16% of baccalaureate degrees earned by Native American students in
the nation. In 2008, FLC was designated as one of six Native American-
serving, non-tribal colleges by the U.S. Department of Education.
Concentration of native American peoples – La Plata county – 6/9%;
Montezuma county -12.6% of population
Southern Ute Indian reservation – 1059 square miles

6.
What we will leverage
• Mentor group – TVA, SCAPE
• Investor community – TVF, Telluride Angels
• Proven delivery system – Accelerators and Govt prgs
• Partnerships
• Ft Lewis College momentum – 4 new hires in Engineering;
FLC’s new $34 million engineering and computer science
center, including a robotics lab, as well as its strong faculty
expertise in engineering, computer science, and business
6

7.
Model Specifics – Program
Identify and Cultivate Seeds of Innovation:
• Regional meet-ups such as Startup Weekend and Pelotons.
• Fort Lewis College internships and innovation competitions
for students and faculty.
• Regional industry cluster roundtables and mashups.
• Proof of Concept fund supports prototyping, intellectual
property protection, and market research. Pre-acceleration
bootcamp.
• Innovation Think Tank explores technologies and potential
commercialization path.

8.
8
Entrepreneurship:
• Educational programs, workshops and consultation provided
by Regions 9 & 10 SBDCs.
• TVA and SCAPE – accelerator programs providing curriculum,
mentorship and investment.
• NextLaw labs – incubator for early stage bringing legal-based
technologies to market.
• Regional Mentor Network web-based platform to connect
and engage regional mentors.
Model Specifics – Program

9.
9
Regional Connectivity:
• SWIC.me; Telluride.me – web-based platforms to connect
entrepreneurs and businesses to resources and events,
enabling collaboration and information sharing.
• Regional mentor cultivation, networking events, education,
database, and programs.
• Regional investor cultivation, networking events, education
and programs.
• Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Playbook for resort communities.
• Workshop on best practices for creating an entrepreneurial
ecosystem in resort communities.
Model Specifics – Program

10.
Model Specifics - Program
Commercialization of Research:
• Telluride Venture Fund - providing investment funding for
early stage companies.
• SWIC proof of concept fund – Starting with Fort Lewis College
and connectors for pilot studies; in year three will expand to
regional proof of concept center.
• Investor events – competitions, Demo Days, and
introductions.
• Soft Landing Program to facilitate the location of innovation
companies in the region.

11.
Case Study – TravelRecon
TVA 2015
Snapshot
• Tech travel company focusing on creating jobs for vets
• Raised $680k in first round, is now $300k committed in $600k bridge, is
looking at Series A in 2017
• HQ Telluride, operations in Montrose
• 12-15 FTE 75% in Colorado
Opportunities
• Cost of Living – Montrose is affordable
• Warrior Resource Center
• Local City and Economic Development organization benefits – fiber,
signage, help with hiring
Challenges
• VC stigma
• Attracting tech and high end executive talent

12.
Case Study – Element Pet
Nutrition TVA 2016
Snapshot
• Pet food and treat manufacturer
• Started in 2015, $100k 1st year, joined TVA to expand nationally
• HQ Ridgway, CO
• 3 FTE expanding to 5 FTE and additional partner by year end
• Currently raising $350k round
Opportunities
• Close to sourcing
• Close to initial market to prove demand
• Established commercial kitchen in region, could expand within area
• Access to quality kitchen help
Challenges
• Shipping to customers outside area
• Attracting high end executive talent

13.
Case Study – Impyrium
SCAPE 2015
Snapshot
• Controllers for industrial drones – a true six degree of freedom controller
that leverages the tech that Impyrium has proven in the industrial market
• Over $250,000 in sales since formed in September of 2015
• 3 full time employees, one contractor, 2 interns
• 2 patents pending
Opportunities
• Ready to Scale – complete buildout of facilities
• SCRUM model in place
• Supplier relationships established
Challenges
• Need global outreach
• Attracting talented engineers

14.
Impact
Capital invested in TVA companies
• ~ $13m for 22 companies in seed capital in just over 4 years
• 2 companies with revenues in excess of $1m in 2015
• 3 companies have raised in excess of $1m
• Highest is $2.4m
• 2 companies completed Series A
• 2 companies embarking on Series A in 2016
• Average money raised /company of active TVA graduate
companies: $584,000
Jobs created
• ~ 82 FT, 11 PT
• ~ 79% in Colorado
• ~ 43% in west slope region

15.
Impact
Southwest Colorado Accelerator Program for Entrepreneurs
• Public and Private Sector Partnership
~Non Profit SCAPE administers program and local Angel
Investors provide seed funding
• Companies recognized nationally
• 2 companies recruited to move to Silicon Valley chose
to stay in Southwest Colorado
Impact in Region 9 of Colorado
• ~ 15 companies launched
• ~ Over $3,000,000 capital raised
• ~ 40 local jobs created
• ~ 7 interns
• ~ Leveraging curriculum at Fort Lewis College

16.
What we are excited about
• Integrating entrepreneurship into Engineering school at
FLC.
• Innovation competition and internships
• University innovators bootcamp
• Proof of Concept activity
• Working with Ute mountain tribe – significant asset base
and successful business operations
• Industry mash-ups
• Technology think-tanks
16

17.
Measuring Success
Seeds of Innovation
• Source and quantity of ideas
Entrepreneurship
• #s of participants and demographics
• Effectiveness of programs
Regional Connectivity
• Digital platforms dashboard
• Mentors
• Collaboration
Commercialization
• Company performance - $$s, jobs, etc.

18.
18
Economic Impact
Short-term
(during grant
period)
Long-term (after grant
period)
Justification
POC participants 60 25/yr.
Estimate of students attending
informational workshops and
submitting project for competition
Internship 11 3-5/yr.
Based on expressed interest from Ft.
Lewis and budget
Cluster Mash-ups 45 15/yr.
One mash-up per year with 15 people
attending, alternating regions
Think Tank 60 20/yr.
Annual event to be coordinated with
Innovation competition at Ft. Lewis
and Demo Days.
Regional meet-ups 300 100/yr.
Currently meet-up held monthly in
Telluride and 1 start-up weekend per
year regionally. This is expected to
expand.
Company creation
from activity
15 5/yr.
2 companies from new SWIC activities
and 3 from meet-ups and start-up
weekend.
Jobs created as a result
of companies
supported through
SWIC
30 10/yr. Company tracking
Anticipated Project Impacts

19.
Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in
southwest Colorado
Thea Chase, Regional Director Innovation
& Entrepreneurship
Telluride Foundation
thea@tellurideva.com