InnovatioNews to launch 1 Million Cups program in Fort Collins starting Jan. 29

By: Steve Monday January 27, 2014 0 comments Tags: 1 Million Cups, Beth Flowers, BizHub, Chris Snook, Fort Collins, Galvanize, Lee Porter, McCabe Callahan, Mike OConnell, Ryan Speir

By Steve Porter

InnovatioNews

FORT COLLINS - 1 Million Cups, a nationwide startup recognition program created by the Kansas City-based Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, will debut in Fort Collins on Wednesday under the auspices of InnovatioNews and Community Funded, among others.

The public is invited to participate in the free business presentations at the Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR), 200 Mathews St., beginning at 9 a.m. Coffee will be provided by Mugs.

Presenters will have six minutes to make their presentation, with 20 minutes of feedback and Q&A to follow.

The presentations are not funding pitches but instead serve to introduce new startup businesses to the community, allowing them to benefit from the experience of audience participants.

Organizers of the NoCo 1 Million Cups programs include Lee Porter, InnovatioNews publisher; Beth Flowers, AIR founder; Chris Snook, entrepreneur and chair of Fort Collins Startup Week; McCabe Callahan, co-founder and Thought Leader of Community Funded Enterprises and owner of Mugs coffee shops; Mike OConnell, director of Larimer County Small Business Development Center; and Ryan Speir, director of UNC BizHub business incubator in Greeley.

"What we're hoping to accomplish is to both encourage and reveal the amazing entrepreneurial and startup community in Northern Colorado," said Porter.

"I view InnovatioNews as a convener for entrepreneurial and innovation activity, and I believe it's a natural partnership between us, Kauffman and our partner organizations to produce a NoCo 1 Million Cups.

"The organizers of this event represent the best in Northern Colorado in terms of innovation, entrepreneurialism and startup energy."

The Fort Collins 1 Million Cups program is the second in Colorado, with a 1 Million Cups started in Denver at Galvanize last year.

In addition to Fort Collins, new 1 Million Cups sites will also be launched in Fargo, N.D. and Provo, Utah on the same day.

The idea behind 1 Million Cups is to be a platform for simultaneous startup business presentations across the nation in a relaxed, coffee house-style environment - hence, the "cups."

More information, including presenters and signup registration, is located at noco.sites.1millioncups.com.

Upcoming presenters in Fort Collins include InteliVideo, an e-commerce payment platform for digital assets, and Fargreen, a company selling socially responsible, eco-friendly mushrooms produced by farmers in Vietnam.