Colorado, also known as a home to some of the most famous Fortune 500 companies, is rapidly evolving. The state witnessed $2.5B of funds invested into startups through VC firms in 2019.

Similarly, with every passing year, different angel investors and investment firms give new surprises by investing massive amounts. According to rumors, we have often heard that angel investors only fund startups in Denver or Aurora.

However, the following list of top 6 angel investors in Colorado highlights several firms and investors, located throughout the state.

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Top 6 Angel Investors in Colorado

Generally, there are thousands of investors throughout the state. But, not every investor is pitching to.

To ease up your search, I have shortlisted some of the top-ranking angel investors and VC firms in Colorado. 

Keri Gohman

LinkedIn: Keri Gohman - CARET | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: AI, Fintech and Healthcare.

Investment Stage: Seed

As a partner at Bain Capital Ventures and CEO of AbacusNext, Keri Gohman is a well-known angel investor who funds startups in Colorado. He has been funding startups for several years and usually funds fintech and healthcare-related startups.

While investing, Gohman often takes a deep look at the startup model and revenue generation. All of his portfolio companies have shown huge profitability. 

Similarly, once invested, Keri Gohman also guides his portfolio companies, thanks to his entrepreneurship and experience at companies like GE, Capital One, Intuit, and Xero.

The investment range of Keri Gohman can range upto $1M. Some startups he has previously funded are:

Mendel: Mendel is a company that operates in the field of AI and healthcare. They have developed a clinical AI platform for life sciences and healthcare organizations. This company received a Series A investment valued at $15M. 

Pleo: . Pleo is a company that aims to revolutionize business spending. They offer a range of features, such as reimbursements and bills, to make business spending more efficient. Pleo received a Series C investment of $200M.

Range Ventures

Website: Range Ventures: Venture Capital Fund in Denver, CO 2023

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Software, PaaS, and Communication

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Founded in 2020 by Adam Burrows and Chris Erickson, Range Ventures is a venture capital firm that funds seed-stage startups. The network has funded a total of 19 startups, with an average funding of 6 startups each year.

Every year, Range Ventures arranges pitching competitions and allows startups to present their pitch decks. During the screening tests, the investors look for startups that have unique ideas that can present solutions in the form of a product or service.

Similarly, like most other VC firms, Range Ventures also has an experienced network of mentors that guide its portfolio companies when things don't go in the right direction. 

The investment range of Range Ventures ranges from $500,000 to $750,000. Notable companies in their portfolio are:

Abode: Abode is a company that provides an integrated consumer software and hardware solution for home security and automation. Abode has raised a total of $20.3M in funding.

Cascade: Cascade is a company that offers innovative solutions for packaging, hygiene, and recovery needs. The company employs 10,000 women and men who work in almost 75 facilities in North America.

CometChat: CometChat is a communications platform-as-a-service company that helps customers add voice, video, and text chat to their apps and websites. CometChat has raised a total of $17.4M in funding.

Denver Angels

LinkedIn: Denver Angel Investors (denverangels.co)

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Manufacturing, Innovative Solutions, and Consumer Products. 

Investment Stage: Seed

Denver Angels is an investment network headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The network was founded by Kenneth Monfort and Zachary May in 2016. Since their inception, they have funded around 50 startups and continue to expand their portfolio.

Like most other private investment networks, Denver Angels also focuses on companies that are having decent growth and focus on arising problems. They have partnerships with various organizations such as Equity Capital Groupe, SmartCapital, Colorado Startups, and the Rutt Bridges Venture Fund at the University of Colorado Denver.

Moreover, Denver Angels also organizes extra startup events and specific guidance programs for their portfolio companies. The investment range of Denver Angels ranges from $500,000 to $2.5M. Some of their recent investments are:

Steelhead Composites: Steelhead Composites is a manufacturing company that produces lightweight storage and transportation systems for hydrogen and other compressed gases.

Pepper: Pepper is creating a community and products for women with small chests who have been overlooked.

Kick Further: Kickfurther is a crowdfunding platform that connects individuals looking to earn money to small business owners with inventory funding needs.

Sheets & Giggles: This company’s lyocell fabric is made out of high-quality eucalyptus wood pulp, a sustainable and renewable natural resource.

Chris Onan

LinkedIn: Chris Onan - Private Family Office | LinkedIn

Investor Type: Individual Investor

Investment Interests: Multimedia, Tech, Productive Software

Investment Stage: Early and Seed

Chris Onan is one of the most active individual investors in Colorado and has made several investments. He has a lot of venture capital experience and enjoys working with entrepreneurial management teams.

During the investment, Chris Onan focuses on startups that are related to multimedia and business/productivity software. He also evaluates the growth potential of the startups and funds only those businesses that can at least generate 3-6x ROI.

The investment range of Chris Onan ranges from $100,000 to $1.5M. During the investment stages, Chris can also make additional investments in startups, provided the business has an exceptional idea and growth potential.

Some of his portfolio companies are:

Genies: Genies is an American avatar technology company. Genies’ consumer app allows users to create fully personalized avatars to be used in apps such as Giphy, iMessage, and Instagram. 

Pilotly: Pilotly is the first market research platform built for creative content. Using their Audience Signal Processing algorithm set, they synthesize data into insights to help clients optimize their business strategy, marketing, and even creative execution.

Self Financial: Self Financial (formerly known as Self Lender) is a company that provides credit score analysis tools designed to offer loans and help people build a financial future. They have helped over 4 million customers build credit and save money. 

Access Ventures

Website: Access Ventures (accessvc.co)

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Tech

Investment Stage: Seed

Access Ventures is also one of the most active venture capital firms in Colorado. The network was founded in 1988 and has funded around 100 startups. With headquarters in Louisville, Access Ventures often arranges 2 to 3 pitching competitions every year, funding startups with the highest growth ratio. 

Similarly, Access Ventures also believes in challenging false product narratives and maximizes impact by demonstrating financial return. They also arrange numerous mentorship programs and networking events to boost the startup's growth.

The investment range of Access Ventures is not publically disclosed as they usually make fundings and don't reveal the exact amount. Some of their recent investments are:

Bonusly: Bonusly is a technology company that provides a platform for employee recognition and rewards. Bonusly secured $18.9 million in Series B funding led by Ankona Capital.

CloudCampaign: CloudCampaign is a social media management platform designed to help marketing agencies scale their business. CloudCampaign has raised a total of $6.7M in funding.

Dapix: Dapix is a technology company that developed the FIO Protocol for inter-wallet operability in the blockchain ecosystem. Dapix has raised a total of $8M in funding.

Stout Street Capital

Website: Stout Street Capital - Denver, CO Based Venture Capital Firm

Investor Type: VC Firm

Investment Interests: Cybersecurity, tech, and Consumer Products.

Investment Stage: Seed

Founded in 2016, Stout Street Capital is also among the top-ranking VC firms in Colorado. The firm is headquartered in Denver and has funded a total of 65 startups. 

During the screening tests, Stout Street Capital focuses on startups that are already in the growing stage and need some capital to get a boost. The network of investors focuses on startups that can generate profits and have successful exits.

Aside from their investments, Stout Street Capital doesn't arrange any extra startup events. However, they do arrange mentorship programs and guide their portfolio companies.

The investment range of Stout Street Capital ranges from $200,000 upto several million dollars. Some of their recent portfolio companies are:

HookSecurity: HookSecurity is a cybersecurity training company that provides a complete toolkit for any company to create a healthy security-aware culture. Their services include security awareness training and phishing testing. HookSecurity has raised a total of $3.9M in funding.

Showlabs: Showlabs is a visual commerce solution that provides brands with both an innovative visual content studio and an AI-powered software platform. It secured $3.2 million in Series Seed funding.

Wrap Up

Summing up, there are many angel investors in Colorado that can fund your startup and provide you with additional guidance.

However, when pitching to investors, entrepreneurs are often confused about creating pitch decks and answering the questions of investors. Some short tips to help you out for the first investor meeting include looking at excellent pitch deck examples, researching specific investors, and maintaining confidence.

Good Luck!

Frequently Asked Questions