Today, the Colorado Employee Ownership Office of the Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and the Exit Planning Institute released the 2022 Colorado State of Owner Readiness Report, offering key insights into the future of small businesses in Colorado. As a growing number of business owners approach retirement, the report sheds light on how prepared they are and how the State of Colorado can help these owners transition out of their businesses, realize the economic benefits of their hard work, and retain jobs across the state.

Exigo Corporation is an aerospace defense consulting firm offering enterprise and solution architecture, systems engineering, and project management. They primarily work with the United States Space Force assisting them with systems engineering for satellite command and control and just recently, launch. Exigo was established in 2016 and is based in Colorado Springs.

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) has named Nikki Maloney Director of Business Support. This position is instrumental in supporting small businesses throughout the state to prosper as a critical part of Colorado’s economy.

Tucked between North Table Mountain and the east edge of the Rocky Mountains, Baseline Engineering Corporation was founded in Golden, Colorado in 1998. While Founder John McLain started the company to provide traditional civil engineering services, he held a vision for the foundation of the business to be centered around rewarding employees. Over the past two decades and beyond, Baseline Engineering has since done this vision justice as it’s expanded its expertise, locations, and workforce.

To create the genuine, authentic environment they always envisioned for their business, the founders of I Am Me Mentors knew that it all started with culture. A culture that emphasized human-centric processes, valued individualized student and client experiences, and put decision making into the hands of those doing the work - the employees.

Governor Jared Polis has been awarded the inaugural Torchlight Award for his leadership in advancing employee ownership and employee stock ownership plans (ESOP), an honor that comes from The ESOP Association.

With high elevation, low humidity, and intense sunlight, gardening in Colorado is not for the faint of heart. Despite these challenges, OrganaGardens has been providing custom landscaping services to the Pikes Peak Colorado Springs area since 1995.

DENVER -- Colorado Creative Industries, a division of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), announced today that 14 grantees have been awarded $217,000 in American Rescue Plan funding through Cycle B of the Colorado Creative Corps ARP grant. This funding initiative is supported through Colorado’s partnership agreement with the National Endowment for the Arts.

With over 100 locations across Colorado, Arizona, and California, many individuals are already familiar with FirstBank, or 1STBank, as a banking and financial services company. What some customers may not know, however, is that this privately held company has been employee-owned since they were established in 1963.

The Colorado Employee Ownership Office, a division of Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), announces four employee ownership conversions from round three of the Employee Ownership Grant.