Infrastructurefor capitalin ruralColorado
Mobilizing capital is an event. RAIN is infrastructure: a permanent, chapter-based network that sources deals, develops investors and deploys capital in rural Colorado, year after year.
The capital exists. The place to deploy it didn't.
Venture capital accounts for less than 1% of business financing in the United States, and of that, less than 1% reaches rural companies. Before designing RAIN, Startup Colorado interviewed 56 investors, founders and community leaders across 12 rural Colorado counties. The pattern was consistent: rural communities have meaningful investment capital and people willing to deploy it, but lack curated opportunities, trusted diligence and a structured place for founders and investors to find each other. The constraint is infrastructure, not money.
The interviews also showed who makes such a network work: experienced founders and operators who understand startup risk, are comfortable evaluating opportunities and want the next generation of founders in their region to succeed. RAIN is designed around them.
Locally led chapters. Shared standards. One network.
Chapters
Each chapter is led by a chair and vice chair on fixed terms with built-in succession. The chair qualifies members and gates the companies that get presented; the vice chair develops members as investors and keeps them engaged.
Standards
Every company presented has a member Local Lead and a baseline diligence package. Every member is accredited and has been met by the chair. The same rules apply in every chapter, which is what lets chapters trust each other's deals.
Cadence
At least one event per quarter per chapter: pitch events, angel education, portfolio updates, speakers and dinners. Network-wide events and a leaders' summit connect the chapters.
Syndication
Deals a chapter vets can be shared with other chapters or the whole network. For every local company presented, a chapter may present one from elsewhere, so members diversify and founders reach beyond their valley.
Chapter chairs
Founders and operators who have built companies in the regions they now lead. Vice chairs and additional chapter leadership are being added as chapters launch.
Mark Richards
Andris Zobs
Founder of ID Sculpture, a Gunnison-based company that designs playground equipment built around childhood development. Moved to the Gunnison Valley to build a company where creativity, work and outdoor living coexist.
LinkedIn ↗Nick Goodman
Serial entrepreneur and investor with 20+ years in tech and analytics. Founded Bayon Technologies, DynamoBI and Notch Technologies, and led Snowflake University through Snowflake's growth and IPO. A Western Slope native who mentors Durango founders on product, team-building and scaling.
LinkedIn ↗Justin Bradshaw
Founder, investor, advisor and operator. Co-founder of REVER, the VC-backed motorcycle and powersports app company headquartered in Eagle, and of Kopilot.ID. Grew up in Vail and builds companies from Eagle.
LinkedIn ↗Tyler Moebius
Founder and Group CEO of SmartMedia Technologies and a member of the Forbes Technology Council. Builds and leads technology companies from Carbondale.
LinkedIn ↗Brady Becker
Co-founder of DRAM, the Salida-based botanical beverage company founded in 2011 and winner of eight Good Food Awards. A designer by training (Carnegie Mellon; M.Arch, CU Denver) with 25+ years across products, digital and the built environment.
LinkedIn ↗Powered by Startup Colorado
RAIN was created and is operated by Startup Colorado, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting entrepreneurs and ecosystem builders in 53 rural Colorado counties. Startup Colorado recruits and supports chapter leaders, maintains the standards that make chapters interoperable, runs the RAIN platform (events, applications, member and company management, data rooms) and can provide SPV and reporting infrastructure when investments happen. Founders in the network also have access to Startup Colorado's Rural Operating System (RuralOS), which helps founders move from idea to investment-ready.
Startup Colorado certifies process: that companies have a Local Lead and complete materials, and that member standards were followed. It does not endorse investments or validate any company's potential. Investment decisions belong to members.
RAIN launches in October 2026 with six chapters. Find yours →