Rockies Venture Club and Colorado BioScience Association partner to fund Colorado Life Sciences startups in a new program backed by OEDIT.
DENVER (PRWEB) JANUARY 24, 2020
The Rockies Venture Club and Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) announced a partnership to mobilize Colorado’s capital resources to support early-stage bioscience companies in the state.
“Colorado has a world-class life sciences startup ecosystem, but early-stage startups have struggled to find the funding they need to innovate and grow. This program will mobilize capital within the state as well as through partnerships with investors throughout the U.S.” said Peter Adams, Executive Director of the Rockies Venture Club. “There are over 65,000 accredited investors in the state and fewer than 1,000 of them are active angel investors. Our goal is to engage more of these investors through programs that teach angel investing and venture capital so that investors can achieve above market rate returns on a tax-free basis while creating jobs and innovation in the life sciences sector state-wide.”
“Colorado will remain among the leading states in the country in areas such as job creation, gross domestic product growth, and housing-price increases,” said Brian Lewandowski, associate director of the Leeds business research division. “And much of its growth will continue to come in high-paying fields such as research and development, engineering and bioscience — areas that lead to the creation of products made and sold by other sectors that help to sustain jobs there and generate economic activity.”
Colorado’s economic development agency, the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) is providing a grant to RVC supporting the creation of an early stage angel/VC investing group to focus exclusively on life sciences investments which could include investments in companies that develop drugs, diagnostics, medical devices, and digital health software. OEDIT also provides investor tax incentives through its Advanced Industries Tax Credit to the group to help reduce the risk of investing in early-stage companies. The goal is to engage CBSA members and those from the healthcare and life sciences communities to invest in their own areas of expertise with a group of like-minded people along with the experienced venture capital process that Rockies Venture Club brings to the table.
“Attracting capital to Colorado life sciences companies and promoting growth at all stages of commercialization are top priorities for Colorado BioScience Association,” said, Jennifer Jones Paton, CBSA President and CEO. “We’re pleased to partner with Rockies Venture Club to create new investor pools and connect those investors to promising companies and organizations working on concepts for life-saving treatments, cures and solutions.”
Individuals interested in learning more about investing in Colorado’s life sciences startup ecosystem are invited to join an information briefing prior to the 8th Annual RVC/CBSA Colorado Life Sciences Night on Tuesday, February 11th at 4:00 PM at the Commons on Champa. For registration and information, visit https://rockiesventureclub.wildapricot.org/event-3670971.
About the Rockies Venture Club: Rockies Venture Club (RVC) is the longest-running and one of the largest Angel Groups in the U.S., founded in 1985, whose mission is to advance economic development by actively connecting the most promising entrepreneurial companies with Angel investors, venture capitalists, and other community members. Every year the Rockies Venture Club invests in about 25 companies and offers over 140 educational programs, mastermind groups, Angel investment forums, accelerators and two major conferences for both investors and entrepreneurs.
About Colorado BioScience Association: Colorado BioScience Association (CBSA) creates co-opportunity for the Colorado life sciences community. CBSA champions a collaborative life sciences ecosystem and advocates for a supportive business climate. From concept to commercialization, member companies and organizations drive global health innovations, products and services that improve and save lives. The association leads Capital and Growth, Education and Networking, Policy and Advocacy, and Workforce Cultivation to make its members stronger, together. Learn more: cobioscience.com [cobioscience.com __title__ cobioscience.com]
The goal is to engage CBSA members and those from the healthcare and life sciences communities to invest in their own areas of expertise with a group of like-minded people along with the experienced venture capital process that Rockies Venture Club brings to the table
