The past few days in Boulder, we had plenty of “flex time” to explore the city and meet new people. For a lot of this time, I just explored, but I also had some great serendipitous opportunities to meet people who are directly involved in the startup community in Boulder.

Friday afternoon after our first meeting with the Chamber of Commerce, Alexis helped us set up a meeting with Charlie Lindgren from The Studio. The Studio is a co-working space for people of all types of businesses, not just tech like many of the ones we have seen so far in this class. Some of these businesses included hat makers, artists, and even robotics. The space was really interesting, including full size garage doors and even an old renovated trailer. Charlie told us that the space was always full and in very high demand, and we could definitely all see why; everyone seemed genuinely happy to be there and excited about working. It helped that there was also a brewery, Sanitas, and a taco shack right next door! We also stopped into Sanitas after The Studio where we were introduced to one of the founders, Michael Memsic, who talked to us about his experiences brewing beer for other microbreweries and what it was like to operate his own startup brewery. It really amazed me when he told us how much microbreweries help each other out now, because I was expecting more competition between them. However, this really shows what startups are all about; helping the community and eventually getting help back.

During our time on Flagstaff Mountain, we ran into several interesting people. The first were a couple, Sean and Jane Phillips, who started their own dog walking business, Timberline Canine. The couple had previously lived in several different places before landing in Boulder. Along with moving, they also had several different careers before coming up with walking dogs in the mountains. They seemed to me like they fit in perfectly with the Boulder lifestyle; they loved dogs, getting outdoors, and were passionate about what they did for a living. It was great to see how they had created their business around something they loved that also fit perfectly into Boulder.

On our way back down the mountain, we also ran into Jon Balck, a Western Michigan University alumni. Jon was really easy to talk to and even invited us to visit him the next day (Monday) at work at Victors and Spoils, where he is president of the agency. I really loved this because I am studying advertising at Western. On Monday, we got to meet up with Jon and talk with him about his journey in advertising as well as how Victors and Spoils is a startup ad agency itself. Some of the things that I learned from Jon about Victors and Spoils that I really liked were that many of the campaigns were trying to become more socially responsible, as well as that in Victors and Spoils, everyone who worked there worked in the same room with an open layout and atmosphere. Like co-working spaces that we have already visited, the open layout helps everyone collaborate better and actually get to know each other, a different feel from many traditional agencies. Victors and Spoils was a great example of how the old idea of an ad agency can be turned new with new ways of thinking and how that is carried out.

Also on Monday, Elyse, Katie, Fareed, and I serendipitously stumbled upon Atomic 20, a co-working space and marketing agency. The space was different from what we have looked at before because many of the people that used the space worked freelance. Atomic 20 has four employees that help run the space and bring in marketing work for the users of the space. This was new to me as far as co-working spaces go, but I think it was very innovative. Jeff Donaldson, the president and co-founder of the company, told us that he felt that co-working spaces like this one were a good way to go because so many people are turning to working on their own now; he said that as much as 40% of the population could be working at their own companies or freelance in the next few years.

After talking to Jeff, we were pointed downstairs to Boomtown, an accelerator company. There, we were able to talk to the founders of RealTalk, Anthony Haid, Yanni Laloudakis, and Adam Geiger. The company just started in the accelerator about 3 weeks ago but has already made significant changes to their app and their business plan. They said the accelerator has helped them make these changes and meet people that can help them along the way. An interesting twist on their story is that they’re originally from Canada. It was great to hear their perspective on the startup communities in the United States; they said that they were willing to go almost anywhere in the U.S. with a startup community because the startup scene in Canada couldn’t really help them. The group applied to several different accelerators around the country, including in San Francisco, New York City, and Boston, showing their passion and dedication to their company and work, one of the most important aspects to being an entrepreneur.

In Boulder I have learned that it truly takes an entire thriving community to create and sustain a successful startup community. Lifestyle businesses, government support, infrastructure, trust, and the support of other entrepreneurs are just a few among many things that help make Boulder the great startup community that it is. I think that Boulder will continue to be successful because so many people have an entrepreneurial mindset that allows them to support and trust others, along with the help of new people moving in and around Boulder, the existing lifestyle businesses, and the support of the government, such as the Boulder Chamber of Commerce.