The College’s Institute for Entrepreneurship and CSU’s Regional Economic Development Institute received a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration totaling $750,000 in funding over the next five years to address economic challenges and opportunities in Colorado, with a focus on traditionally underserved populations and communities.
The funding, which was announced in September, will begin in 2024. Through its University Centers program, the EDA is providing $16.5 million in grants to 23 colleges and universities in 14 states this fiscal year.
CSU’s funding will be used for applied research, technical assistance programing for entrepreneurs, and technical assistance support for communities. The grant leverages many of the University’s strengths by allowing CSU extension staff in the field to collaborate with the Institute and faculty on campus to assist communities and entrepreneurs across Colorado.
‘The entire state is our campus’
The Institute serves as a hub for innovation, taking a zero-barriers approach to entrepreneurship by offering free programming for CSU students and employees as well as community members in Fort Collins and across the state.
“The incredible thing about being Colorado’s land grant university is that the entire state is our campus – and we’re laser focused on ensuring that we’re there to support all of Colorado’s innovators and entrepreneurs,” said Scott Shrake, assistant vice president for strategy and executive director of the Institute.
“We’ve intentionally built bridges internally at CSU and with incredible partners across the state to be able to support those entrepreneurs at every crucial step of their journey.”
From hosting weekly lunches that allow students and faculty to discuss innovation and entrepreneurship to helping community members take their business ideas and make them into a reality, the Institute’s programs and resources were designed to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.
“We have pushed all of our programming on campus and throughout the community with the belief that when communities are empowered to remove barriers, innovative ideas can flourish,” said Sarah Rhodes, the Institute’s entrepreneurship business resident.
“That’s our mission: providing all programming free or as close to free as possible for anyone from any background. As long as they have a computer to log in or they can show up on campus, we welcome them and their ideas.”
Although the College of Business houses the Institute, its staff aim to unite a campus-wide community of people who share an interest in business or entrepreneurship. Faculty representatives in colleges across Colorado State University’s campus promote the Institute’s programs, which are open to all students, not just business majors.
“It’s a matter of being able to help students – no matter what they’re interested in, no matter what their background is, no matter what their major is – come together and ask, ‘What are you interested in? What are you passionate about? And how can we help you take that to the next level?’” said Aubrey Kruse, the Institute’s marketing and events coordinator.
A tiered approach to venture development
Through the Venture Development Pathway – a series of free programs open to students, faculty, staff and community members – the Institute gives aspiring entrepreneurs all the tools they need to get their ideas to market.
With the support of seasoned mentors and coaches, participants conduct customer discovery and market research, create a business model, analyze their competitive landscape, and prototype products with the goal of launching successful ventures. The result is a tiered approach to pursuing an idea and bringing it to life.
The first stage is Venture Validator 1.0, a cohort-based program that takes participants through all the steps to get their ventures off the ground and figure out if there’s a real opportunity there. The two-week, four-session program serves as the starting blocks for an entrepreneurial venture.
A record 84 people registered for the spring 2023 cohort, including 60 community members from across Colorado.
The second stage, Venture Validator 2.0, is a continuation of the customer discovery journey, offered in four sessions over two weeks. The third stage is Venture Jumpstart, a self-paced, modified accelerator where entrepreneurs learn about – and take – the concrete steps needed to begin their business operations. After successfully completing Venture Validator and Venture Jumpstart, entrepreneurs can become part of the Venture RAMS mentorship program.
Student-focused programs, including the annual Venture Rams Business Showcase, allow teams of entrepreneurs to hone their business ideas, sharpen their pitches and compete to win cash prizes that can be used to start their businesses.
In 2023, the Institute also launched the Student Venture Accelerator, a three-month, immersive summer program.
“We took 11 student entrepreneurial teams from start – wherever they were at with their business – all the way to where all of them had the soft launch in some way,” Kruse said.
Building community and fostering innovation
The Institute’s effort to offer resources to entrepreneurs and build a community of innovative thinkers extends far beyond Rockwell Hall and CSU’s Fort Collins campus.
Its community-facing programs include Pivot Jumpstart, an initiative borne out of the COVID-19 to help businesses build resiliency. Institute staff worked with faculty to develop a curriculum for businesses facing an unexpected challenge.
Over the summer of 2023, the Institute also helped launch the Colorado Collision Food Pitch Competition in Denver.
Business owners from across the state – including Sterling, Durango, Grand Junction, Hayden and the Front Range – participated in the competition, pitching products such as coffee, camel’s milk and gluten-free flour.
About CSU’s College of Business
The College of Business at Colorado State University is focused on using business to create a better world.
As an AACSB-accredited business school, the College is among the top five percent of business colleges worldwide, providing programs and career support services to more than 2,500 undergraduate and 1,300 graduate students. Faculty help students across our top-ranked on-campus and online programs develop the knowledge, skills and values to navigate a rapidly evolving business world and address global challenges with sustainable business solutions. Our students are known for their creativity, work ethic and resilience—resulting in an undergraduate job offer and placement rate of over 90% within 90 days of graduation.
The College’s highly ranked programs include its Online MBA, which has been ranked the No. 1 program in Colorado by U.S. News and World Report for six years running and achieved No. 16 for employability worldwide from QS Quacquarelli Symonds. The College’s Impact MBA is also ranked by Corporate Knights as a Top 20 “Better World MBA” worldwide.
