RMMFI turns 12 today! We asked Pamela Richard, owner of Miss Peabody’s Southern Tea Cakes and one of our earliest graduates, to reflect on the journey:

“I can’t believe it’s been 12 years since I first stepped into the doors of RMMFI at the old King Trimble building in Curtis Park. A lot has changed for RMMFI and myself. Although I am not running my original business, my new business continues to grow and thrive with support from RMMFI. I’m so proud and happy to see that RMMFI has continued to improve its entrepreneurial services and is still encouraging, supporting, and providing training for the whole entrepreneur. Thank you for helping me and so many others pursue our dreams.”

Like Pamela, we’re proud of the ways we’ve grown and adapted since 2008. Just in the last year and a half, we’ve added two new program sites, introduced the Business Idea Lab and the Pivot Accelerator Program, and nearly doubled our staff in order to provide deeper and more relevant support to the entrepreneurs in our community.

We also reached another exciting milestone last week: more than 250 graduates of Business Launch Boot Camp! That’s 250 stories of individuals activating their potential and 250 examples of the impact entrepreneurship can have on families and communities.

The Denver Post reported that Colorado had almost 32,000 new business filings in the second quarter. That’s only a 2% drop from the same time last year, which shows that entrepreneurs in our state remain optimistic despite ongoing economic uncertainty. We’re not surprised; we see that optimism and resilience in every entrepreneur that comes through our program. It’s an honor that so many have invited us on their journey to business ownership over the past 12 years, and we’re ready and excited for what comes next.