Investment Forum sparks discussion on challenges, opportunities in Colorado aerospace
Small Business Panel at the 2018 Aerospace Investment Forum at CU Boulder
The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and the Colorado Space Business Roundtable convened a forum on May 17, 2018 to explore current investment challenges facing Colorado’s aerospace industry.
Hosted by at the ’s facility, the event gathered over 75 industry leaders, investors and government champions from across the state to identify the foremost concerns of industry stakeholders.
In addition to candid panel discussions with small business leaders and investors, the forum featured a keynote from Dr. Mark Sirangelo, executive vice president of Sierra Nevada Space Systems, as well as insight from Major General (Ret.) Jay Lindell, Colorado’s Aerospace and Defense Industry Champion at OEDIT and Rick Ward, chair of the Colorado Space Business Roundtable.
“In the Colorado aerospace industry, there is a quote that has been used for years: ‘You don’t know what you don’t know,’” says Ward. “At the Aerospace Investment Forum, investors and small businesses were able to discuss ‘what they knew’ in the aerospace market and find resolve in areas of concern.”
Oneof the challenges raised involved the struggle of many aerospace entrepreneursto overcome their relative inexperience with the business aspects of starting a company, particularly when it comes to engaging with investors. It can also be difficult to find investors with the same level of passion and commitment to longer product cycles, which tend to be a requirement in the industry. Investors, on the other hand, often don't know how to connect with small businesses in the state.
The forum concluded with a summary session that synthesized the day’s primary takeaways into an outline of the discrete actions needed to improve investment prospects in Colorado aerospace and position the industry for future success. Proposed actions includeestablishing a concerted effort to educate entrepreneurs and help them build the business expertise required to secure funding, as well as creating a single aerospace small business vetting and engagement platform for the state of Colorado.
“This open communication was a start in building relationships and understanding between entrepreneurs and investors for the number one aerospace market per capita in the United States,” Ward says.
Colorado ranks first in the nation for its concentration of aerospace employees in private companies, with an estimated $3.3 billion annual payroll. The state is also a hub for geospatial technologies, remote sensing, clean energy and information technology, providing large companies and startups alike with a rich cross-section of opportunities for innovation. Government and academic partners round out an array of research resources in the community, offering state-of-the-art capabilities and a pipeline of qualified aerospace workers to ensure the continued growth and vitality of Colorado’s space economy.