[ibimage==23671==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-center]

At first glance, Boulder, Colorado, is a pretty typical college town, its roughly 100,000-person population getting a 30,000-student boost every fall when classes begin at CU Boulder. But the bookstores and bike paths hide a surprising fact: Boulder is one of this country’s most vital entrepreneurial hubs. In fact, a 2013 Kauffman Foundation study ranked this city number one in the U.S. in terms of tech-startup density. For comparison, Silicon Valley ranked number three, while San Francisco came in seventh.

But while Boulder is special, it’s not unique. There are dynamic startup communities emerging all over the world. Where once launching a tech startup nearly always meant either a move to Silicon Valley or at least an extended stay there, entrepreneurs are increasingly finding the financial and talent resources they need in their hometowns. And those towns, in turn, are harnessing the power of their homegrown entrepreneurs and investors to transform their local economies, in the same way that, a few decades ago, some small farming towns south of San Francisco turned into one of the wealthiest business centers in the world.

Getting at the heart of this transformation is Startup Phenomenon, an event taking place November 13–15 in Boulder to explore the entrepreneurial, financial, and cultural forces at play in successful startup communities. The gathering of entrepreneurs, investors, and economic developers will cover topics like alternative funding models, the role of incubators and accelerators, the need for entrepreneur-led communities, and the interplay of startups and local governments.

Cambridge University entrepreneur in residence Alan Barrell will lead a panel entitled Attracting Money: Startup Hubs and the Finance Chain. “Startups are critical for future economic growth and development, the engines of future wealth and wellbeing creation,” says Barrell, whose new book, Show Me the Money addresses issues of raising capital for startups. “So what are we doing about it? Boulder is punching well above its weight on startups and is inviting the world to join in at this unique event, which itself will be a phenomenon.”

A topic of much conversation in today’s startup scene is finance. The last several years have seen a boom of entrepreneurial growth, with the number of global startups increasing exponentially. Many of these companies are rapid-growth, needing smaller amounts of upfront capital to launch and scale. As a result, traditional venture capital funding models aren’t always the best fit, or may be best incorporated into a mixed funding strategy.

Barrell will be joined by Brian Meece, co-founder of crowdfunding platform RocketHub, Donna Harris, entrepreneur-in-residence at Georgetown University and member of the advisory board for Global Entrepreneurship Week, and Elizabeth Kraus, co-founder of Impact Angel Group in the panel, which will explore the range of funding options available and the models that successful firms have implemented to get started and perpetuate their growth.

These four panelists, will join more than 30 additional speakers to host conversations about building successful startups and strengthening startup communities around the world.

For more information and a full list of speakers, visit www.StartupPhenomenon.com.