Strengthening Entrepreneurship Ecosystems in the San Luis Valley

The San Luis Valley Entrepreneurship Summit held on June 21 in Alamosa was a great success in connecting entrepreneurs to one another and to resources to strengthen regional networks and opportunities to collaborate. The event included a dynamic mix of small business case studies, and an entrepreneurship ecosystem map presented by Startup Colorado.

Small workshops went deeper into the resources, partnerships, and policies supporting recreation and retail, food systems, and experiential learning and shared services. Each group established an overview of needs to further support entrepreneurs in that area. Thank you to all of the leaders who faciliated these conversations from San Luis Valley Great Outdoors, The Wright, San Luis Valley Food Coalition, Nourish Colorado, CSU Extension, Adams State Business School, Boys and Girls Club of San Luis Valley, Community Foundation of San Luis Valley, ActionLab 360, and many more. Following the breakouts, we were pleased to have a lightning round of discussion identifying and considering how to fill gaps in service provision to help entrepreneurs.

The post event survey is underway and preliminary results are showing a strong preference for continued discussion to build a stronger ecosystems for all in the San Luis Valley!

The San Luis Valley Entrepreneurship Summit was partially funded by USDA Rural Development and Colorado Housing and Finance Authority, with additional support from the Boys and Girls Club of the San Luis Valley, Development Resource Group, the Carat app from Kico Marketing, and Adams State University.