Article by Mel Ulle
BEN Colorado is not your typical nonprofit organization. I think most folks think “nonprofit” then they think “charity” then they think “direct service organization” like a food pantry or a shelter. That is not BEN. The group is singularly focused on supporting Colorado’s entrepreneurs. They tend to the dreamers, risk-takers and empire-builders.
In the nonprofit industry, which is focused largely on the underserved, one might ask, why do these folks even need support and what’s the actual net benefit to society when we help business leaders? And I would argue that the net benefit is so profound that we can hardly get our dang heads around it.
One of the things I love most about this state is our relentless passion for innovation. We are the wildcatters, biotech pioneers, space explorers, beer makers and ag providers. Our state birthed Kong and Crocs. Chipotle and Otterbox. Pretty much the entire cable industry and online greeting cards, (Thanks, Guv!). We’ve practically done it all. But there is darkness in the entrepreneurial journey.
Read the remainder of the article at Urban Life Wash Park.
