Capital Resources for your Business
In this section
Business Banking
For more information or assistance with finding a commercial lender, please contact a local professional (see partial list below) or the Boulder Economic Council at 303.786.7567.
Boulder Economic Council Members
Other Boulder Area Other Commercial banks - partial list - include:
- Advantage Bank
- BBVA Compass
- Boulder Valley Credit Union
- Colorado State Bank and Trust Mortgage
- Flatirons Bank
- First Bank
- First Citizens Bank
- KeyBank
- Great Western Bank
- PNC Bank
- United Western Bank
- US Bank
- Vectra Bank
Small Business loans are available from most of the private lenders above, as wells as from these non-profit organizations:
- Boulder Microloan Fund: a consortium of public and private parties including the City of Boulder, Wells Fargo Bank, First National Bank, US Bank and the Colorado Enterprise Fund. The purpose of this loan fund is to address the shortage of available capital in the current financial market.
- Colorado Enterprise Fund: nonprofit lending institution and an alternative lending source specializing in loans for small businesses and start-ups unable to receive traditional bank financing.
- Colorado Lending Source: nonprofit resource for small business lending, serving as a bridge connecting small business owners with the federal loan programs, lenders and other support.
Boulder / Denver Venture Capital
The metro Denver area, including Boulder, consistently ranks among the top regions in the United States for venture capital deal volume and investment levels. A selective list of venture capital firms in the region includes:
- Access Venture Partners
- Boulder Ventures
- Bullet Time Ventures
- Crawley Ventures
- Foundry Group
- Galvanize Ventures
- Greenmont Capital Partners
- Grey Mountain Partners
- Grotech Ventures
- High Country Venture
- Iron Gate Capital
- KRG Capital Partners
- Sequel Venture Partners
- Tahoma Ventures
Early Stage Grants
Competitive grants for early stage, startup companies are available from government and other sources. Slect government grant programs include:
- Advanced Industries Accelerator Programs: promotes growth and sustainability in these industries by helping drive innovation, accelerate commercialization, encourage public-private partnerships, increase access to early stage capital and create a strong ecosystem that increases the state’s global competitiveness. Program is through the State of Colorado.
- Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR/STTR Funding): a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) that has the potential for commercialization.
State Financial Assistance
The Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) has several financing tools for businesses throughout Colorado including debt and equity financing, cash incentives, grants, and tax credits to support economic development activities that improve and support employment opportunities. Please explore the OEDIT website to learn about opportunities for your business.
Other Resources
- Boomtown: accelerator that works with start-ups to take them to the next level.
- Boulder Small Business Development Center (SBDC): offers training and workshops, confidential one-on-one counseling with experienced businesspeople, and access to business resources and financing.
- Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network: through a gift of $4 million from the Blackstone Charitable Foundation, the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network in Colorado (BEN Colorado) will strengthen and grow the networks across the aerospace, bioscience, digital/technology, energy, and natural foods sectors.
- Galvanize: Denver-based start-up focused on coalescing communities of early stage technology companies through the three pillars of Community, Curriculum and Capital. One of the locations is in Boulder.
- Impact Angel Group: angel investment group investing in high-growth, Colorado-based entrepreneurs.
- Innosphere Ventures: Colorado’s leading science and technology incubator, accelerating the success of high-impact startup and scaleup companies. In addition to the program, Innosphere has real estate with office and wet labs, and a seed stage venture capital fund.
- Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute (RMMFI): a non-profit organization that has access to small, low-risk loans to launch or grow a business concept.
- Rockies Venture Club: connects entrepreneurs with angel investors, venture capitalists, service professionals, and other business and funding resources
- TechStars: a mentorship-driven seed stage investment fund located in Boulder. The fund was founded in 2006 and accepts 10 companies each summer to work with, providing advice on product and strategy, as well as connections to potential partners and customers.