I've spent 17 years in the Colorado and it feels like Boulder's startup community peaked around 2013. Prior to that, we were scrappy underdogs and, unlike most other tech hubs, everyone was rooting for one another. You got funding? Heck yes! Maybe that makes it more likely we'll get funding. You got acquired?!? Congrats! Maybe that means we will too someday.
A rising tide raises all boats.
But by 2013, the landscape had dramatically changed. Microsoft and Google had offices in town. Gnip's acquisition the following year would bring Twitter. Uber showed up. More importantly, Boulder was showing up in lists all over the place as one of the best places to start a tech company.
And, suddenly, people started taking success for granted. Ordained by the startup gods. And where people were once excited for each others' successes, zero-sum thinking took over. If you succeed, that means less opportunity for me. Even though there were more founders in town than ever, we saw each other less.
Events, in particular, moved from a celebration of a mutual hero's journey to a grotesque display of who could claim to be killing it the most. Everyone became a target, either to be poached or outclassed.
That's ONE of the reasons I started the Thunderview CEO Dinners. I missed the old days when everyone was just stupid excited to have the opportunity to start a company. I wanted to create a place where founders get together and share their wins and their struggles and actively support one another.
Last week's dinner was exactly that. Lizzie Nelson ran a panel on holistic founder health -- both mental and physical -- with a physical coach, a therapist and a founder who had gone through the struggle himself. I couldn't be prouder of what she brought to the community Thursday night.
Our last dinner of the year is on Thursday, December 7th at 6p at the Mercury Cafe in Denver.
We have a panel of experts around non-dilutive funding, which could be a lifesaver for any number of Colorado startups. It's going to fill up fast, so sign up early!
If you're interested, you can learn more at ThunderviewCEODinners.com
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Chris Oltyan Eric Reinhardt Kyle Shannon Stephen Price Karen Frame Eddy Connors Mike Kaplan Paul Traficanti Jeffrey Williams Rachel Kois Auburn R. Meisner LCSW, CST Caroline Caselli 🔥Schuyler Van Sickle Ori Lotan Helen Xu Brad Paz Eric McClure Tom Kiss Arezou Zarafshan Jason Jacobs Mathias Gran, MBA Maggie Gannon Chris Britt David Sturgeon Kyle White Brian Hurst Monica Norder Ryan Gray, MD Stein Christensen Hayfa Aboukier Peter Roshko Debra Reuben Micah Mador Michael Clark Danny Newman Lizzie Nelson Megan Hanson Mercury Cafe (If you were there, please reshare 🤩)
#colorado #startups #CEO #community