The Routt County Economic Development Partnership is launching High County Accelerator, a groundbreaking initiative designed to support entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey from concept to early stage growth.

“This is something where we’re all building something and it’s visible, and because of that, it creates this collective enthusiasm around new ideas and a new community that can develop out of this as well as build investor excitement about what’s happening,” said Aaron Walls, manager of the economic development partnership’s Yampa Valley Entrepreneurship Center.

“Traditionally, all this has been done behind closed doors, and this is really the first time that we’re going to have this open to more folks and from the public eye,” he added.

This new initiative is a collaborative effort between the development partnership, Startup Colorado, National Science Foundation Innovation Corps and the Summit County Economic Partnership. The goal is to foster innovation and business expansion in the region with three components tailored to meet the needs of entrepreneurs at different stages of development.

The program will begin with the National Science Innovation Corps’ Starting Blocks Workshop, which will begin in September. Participants will learn how to transform their concepts into viable businesses using the lean canvas model and customer interviews to fine-tune their offerings and ensure the business is well-positioned to thrive.

The workshop will be followed by Startup Colorado’s Idea Factory, which helps entrepreneurs navigate financing, understand funding models, learn how to access funding and craft compelling pitches to attract investors.

“The Idea Factory helps these entrepreneurs understand the kind of business they have and what kind of financing they should be looking for,” Walls said. “Then they go through to develop a 90-second pitch at the end of it where they will be able to use that to get financing to the next level.”

Startup Colorado’s Growth Challenge will be the final component and is designed for operational companies. It addresses the critical challenges faced by businesses aiming to scale, and participants will benefit from tailored programming, mentorship and connections to financial resources and investors that can help them overcome obstacles and grow.

“The Growth Challenge is a collaboration with the Summit County Economic Partnership for companies in our area that are already doing something — they’ve been around for a year or two, they have some sales, they have some product and they have some traction — but they are not quite at that next level,” Walls said. “This is where the Growth Factory really helps them develop the business and the growth trajectory of that business.”

Programming for the High Country Accelerator’s three components will begin in September and continue through November, with each program lasting approximately four weeks. For more information, go to HighCountryAccelerator.com.

“Previously, we had a business plan competition at the end of every calendar year,” Walls said. “We’re going to be doing something like that, but it’s going to be within all the companies in our cohorts. It’s not going to be a competition so much as it’s just going to be a demo day where new businesses get to pitch all their ideas, and we are inviting investors from across the region to come and watch the pitches, give feedback and ask questions. It will be a chance to meet the entrepreneurs who are doing these incredible things and building these ideas.”