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Denver is a city known for its entrepreneurial spirit. Nestled along the Rocky Mountains, it is a city bursting with natural beauty – a beautiful juxtaposition against the technological endeavors that take place here. But for all its resources, natural and otherwise, Denver lacked a connectivity that other American cities have achieved. Particularly for entrepreneurs, meeting, collaborating, and creating together were more difficult than they should have been in such an active town. That’s why Galvanize was born.
As Denver Startup Week comes to a close, it is more evident than ever that the startup community is large and thriving. Galvanize may be brand new, but it seeks to serve those companies that are such a huge portion of the local workforce.
“Galvanize began through my realization that in order for the Denver startup community to succeed, leadership would would be necessary to bring together the community - develop the connectivity and density that is essential to a thriving community,” says co-founder Jim Deters. He built the model for Galvanize by studying other cities’ tech communities. After learning what he could from Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, he built a multidisciplinary team. Now, he focuses on three ingredients he deems crucial for startup success: early stage capital, a flexible workspace, and an engineering and entrepreneurial school.
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Perhaps the most valuable of Galvanize’s offerings is access to successful entrepreneurs who will be honorary members and mentors to those working out of the space. “We are bringing in those that have gone before...folks like Brad Feld, Luke Beatty, Andre Durand, Nancy Phillips, leaders that have built successful tech businesses that want to be involved to support the next generation of company builders,” Deters says. With regular office hours, individuals have the opportunity to sit face-to-face with these people for undisturbed conversations.
The companies comprising Galvanize are varied. From a person with an idea to a company scaling to 30 employees, every stage of the process is represented. Their industries are diverse yet related; some work in the mobile or consumer internet space, others in cloud computing, and others in the deals market.
As Galvanize gets off the ground, it is teaming up with us here at Built In Denver. Of the partnership, Deters says:
At Galvanize we feel strongly about inclusivity in the startup community – that anyone, or anything – apps, websites, event spaces, or companies that bring the community together in a meaningful and regular are great. We think Built In Denver can become the virtual connector and go-to web convening spot that can further foster galvanizing the community.
Built In Denver and Galvanize should be like chocolate and peanut butter – they go great together. I witnessed this first hand in how 1871 and Built In Chicago collaborate and generate momentum for their startup community. It is our goal to do the same here in Denver.
For Denver, startups are increasingly important to the community and economy. With companies like Galvanize leading the charge, the quality of work is bound to improve even more. So let’s do this. Let’s get connected.