When we
started the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado (EFCo – http://www.efcolorado.org)
at the beginning of 2007, our goal was to recruit a strong base of initial
companies to form the core of a unique organization that could help all
entrepreneurs contribute early in the creation of their companies to the long
term health and sustainability of Colorado.
Our initial
efforts have far exceeded our expectations. As of the end of the third
quarter of 2007, we officially have 14 companies as members of EFCo, nine of
which have been formally announced. We started with five initial founding
members – Collective Intellect, Me.dium, NewsGator, Rally Software, and Tendril
– and have added additional companies including ClickCaster, Lijit, Solidware,
and TechStars. All of these companies consist of forward thinking
entrepreneurs on the Colorado Front Range who are fully engaging their
organizations in philanthropy at an early point in their lives.
Our initial
goal was to have 2007 be the year where we introduced the program. We’ve
been delighted with the response from the entrepreneurial community and now
aspire to rapidly expand the program over the next 12 months. The
involvement of The Community Foundation has been hugely helpful, as they have
helped us both launch EFCo and have provided much of the early administrative
activity associated with the management of the various gifts.
An
organization like EFCo is an investment – we will spent the first ten years
building up our initial equity via contributions from our member companies –
with the goal of beginning to harvest them as the companies mature and have
successful exits. Like any entrepreneurial investment portfolio, some
companies will provide meaningful returns while others will not, but everyone
will be winners in the process.
Brad Feld, Foundry Group and co-founder of the Entrepreneurs
Foundation of Colorado
