Mar 4Funding 2.0Debt 2.0 + Equity Funding Grows Up to Become Risk Capital The traditional debt and equity structures of Funding 1.0 are sound options for locality businesses and whaling expeditions. Every day, one of these types of businesses gets started with the help of a traditional debt or equity funder. This…Venture Capital9 min read
Published in Greater Colorado Venture Fund·Jan 7The State of the State of Rural Colorado VCWhen GCVF was conceived in 2017, we seemed a bit crazy. Thankfully, a top-tier group of advisors, investors, and community champions came together to assure us that we were the good kind of crazy. With their support, we embarked on a venture capital model for rural America, which we affectionately…Colorado2 min read
Nov 13, 2021The World’s Greatest Open Air MarketThink of a company that sells its products on the internet. What brands come to mind? Annoyingly, it takes real mental effort to think beyond the likes of Apple, Casper, and Peloton. These are all enormous public companies that depict an extreme form of ecommerce. For example, Casper’s groundbreaking IPO…Ecomm3 min read
Oct 6, 2021Debt 2.0 — Funding the Legos of a Modern BusinessPlus: Better Markets; Transaction Costs Are Dead In the last post, we established two basic business models and the two basic financing options. Locality businesses sell to the customers geographically surrounding them. Their straightforward sales models and tangible assets often make them a good fit for a simple loan with…Debt5 min read
Aug 4, 2021A Crude History of the Debt-Equity ParadigmA Crude History of the Debt-Equity Paradigm I still remember the “Intro to Business” class where I learned the two ways to fund a company–debt and equity. This seemed really rudimentary to me–insultingly “intro” level. Those can’t be the only ways? That is so lazy! Having now invested in over 50 companies (yes, with mostly equity), I…Startups6 min read
Published in Greater Colorado Venture Fund·May 20, 2021Greater Colorado Pitch Series returns for 2021 with $1.3 million in funding for high-growth Rural Colorado companiesAny company located in rural Colorado and serving customers well beyond its locality has until June 18th to apply for over $1,300,000 in available investment through the Greater Colorado Pitch Series. In 2020, the inaugural event drew in nearly one hundred applicants from 24 different Colorado communities for a chance…Startup3 min read
Feb 1, 2021How soona built an 81% diverse team while hiring 50+ people in 2 yearsWritten in collaboration with Liz Giorgi, Co-Founder + CEO @ soona (@lizgiorgi) Over the 2020 summer, Kokopelli Capital surveyed our portfolio, asking our founders how they felt about their company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). While we’re proud of the diversity amongst our portfolio, this survey showed that we, like…Hiring6 min read
Published in Greater Colorado Venture Fund·Dec 18, 2020Regular Update Emails for Your Startup in 5 Steps.As a founder, you will meet hundreds of people who want to see you succeed. They can come from your friends, family, random coffee meetings (when there is not a pandemic), fortuitous email intros, ‘get to know you’ zoom meetings, conferences, and everything in between. These are allies to you…Startup Lessons4 min read
Published in Greater Colorado Venture Fund·Oct 27, 2020What was the impact of Colorado’s first-ever statewide rural pitch event? [Infographic!]>> Download the full report here. GCVF operates like a startup. 2020 marked our first major ‘product release’ – the Greater Colorado Pitch Series. As is our goalsetting dogma, we had one ‘primary goal’ —source at least one incredible founder team to invest in. …Colorado5 min read
Published in Greater Colorado Venture Fund·Jul 20, 2020Greater Colorado Pitch Series FinalistsThe Greater Colorado Venture Fund is excited to announce the seven rural Colorado-based companies to pitch during the Greater Colorado Pitch Series Finals Broadcast, July 30, 2020, 12–2 PM MT. CyberPrivacy, Pueblo — cybersecurity for smart homes. Glade Optics, Breckenridge — premium goggles and helmets for recreational skiers and snowboarders. …Startups2 min read
