SOBA Dean receives $10,000 Startup Champion Award

Steve Elias, dean of the School of Business Administration, has been awarded the inaugural Anchor Point Foundation’s Startup Champion Award in partnership with the Greater Colorado Venture Fund and Startup Colorado. The award was presented during a virtual session with Techstars’ Brad Feld and David Brown during West Slope Startup Week in July.

“Steve has been an integral part of Durango's ever-growing startup and business community. His dedication to the people and places that call our southwest region home is truly inspiring and his ability to bring together partners is a direct contributor to why we now have a beautiful Center for Innovation right on Main Ave.,” says Taylor Grande, Western regional director for Startup Colorado.

In its first year, the Startup Champion Award was presented to three individuals in rural Colorado who have demonstrated a strong commitment and dedication to their communities and to efforts that support and elevate local entrepreneurship. Alongside the recognition, recipients receive a $10,000 grant from the Anchor Point Foundation to further support activities that grow local entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Elias was one of the main proponents behind the creation of the Center for Innovation in downtown Durango, which opened this past February. The Center is a business development collaborative where from one location, small businesses can find the resources and support to launch and grow. 

As a major employer and contributor to regional economic development, Fort Lewis College uses the Center for Innovation to facilitate collaboration of business development partners, to provide more opportunities to student entrepreneurs, and to advance the Durango business scene. Elias’ Startup Champion Award will be directed toward these initiatives and more. 

“I am thrilled to receive the inaugural Anchor Point Foundation’s Startup Champion Award in partnership with the Greater Colorado Venture Fund and Startup Colorado,” says Elias. “Our community has a tremendous entrepreneurial spirit, and I am happy to do everything I can to help support our local entrepreneurs.”