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Who's it for?

What to expect?

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If you're an aspiring entrepreneur, or a seasoned veteran looking to launch a new product or service, Co. Starters is for you. The only pre-requisites are to have a business idea you're ready, willing, and excited to share and work on, and a willingness to study, shape, and fine-tune that idea in a supportive, collaborative, and welcoming environment. If you're creative and community-minded, and you're serious about turning your passion into a sustainable business, we're looking for you.​

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​During CO.STARTERS, you’re not being lectured. This is an action-driven, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of like-minded entrepreneurs, led by a facilitator – who is an entrepreneur themselves, not a lecturing “expert” – who’ll introduce concepts and help you immediately put them to work. We’ll discuss concepts, problems and solutions during class; you’ll apply them to your project or business during the week; and we’ll review and fine-tune together, so we’re all shaping toward success. You’ll leave the program with a deep understanding of how to create a viable business, and how to repeat that process with your next great idea.

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Curriculum

During CO.STARTERS, you’ll develop and fine-tune your business idea, building models based on your assumptions, tweaking your next steps through real-time customer feedback, learning valuable management and marketing skills and receiving constructive feedback from advisers, peers and local businesses. By honing your business and updating your approach based on real feedback and customer demand, you’ll gain the skills you need to develop a viable business model.
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         -  Session 1: Knowing Yourself (Assumptions, Working Styles, Team Building, Obstacles)
         -  Session 2: Knowing Your Customer (Customer, Problem, Alternatives, Idea Testing)
         -  Session 3: Finding the Right Solution (Solution, Benefit, Advantage, Starting Small, Brand Identity)
         -  Session 4: Getting the Relationship Right (Marketing & Message; Getting, Keeping & Growing Customers)
         -  Session 5: Building Blocks (Distribution, Revenue, Typical Offering, Price)
         -  Session 6: Structures & Systems (Legal & Accounting Considerations)
         -  Session 7: Discovering the Bottom Line
            (Startup & Ongoing Needs, Fixed & Variable Costs, Break-Event Point)
         -  Session 8: Financial Modeling (Break-Even Point, Sales Projections, Cash Flow, Raising Capital)
         -  Session 9: Planning for Growth (Growth Plans, Goal Setting, Celebration Prep)
         -  Session 10: Celebration! 

How we are different

-  No Lectures. Our sessions are very interactive and collaborative. If you want to simply sit in a chair for hours
   on end listening to someone lecture you on what you're supposed to do and sell you a book--we don't do that.
-  Not memorizing jargon. You are going to learn important concepts and apply them to your business idea in
   real time. This isn't about memorizing complex terms.
-  Everything you need, minus-MBA speak. (Approachable) Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or new
   to the game, you're going to get a lot out of this program and we're going to guide you through the process in
   a way that everyone can understand. 
-  It's a facilitated training program, not a "class." The Co.Starters program has been developed, tested, and 
   refined, based on the experiences of thousands of entrepreneurs who have taken the program. And what we
   know is that entrepreneurs get more out of our program than others because with Co.Starters, we are learning
   by doing.
-  Not being taught by "business experts" but instead by other entrepreneurs. The person who leads each 
   group is an entrepreneur themselves. So you're not listening to a "business coach" or "business expert" you
   are being guided through the program and process by a person who has gone through the things you are
   going through.
-  It's an all in program-not 'a little bit of this and a little of that.' Co.Starters is about equipping you with all
   the important things you'll need to launch your business. But even if you think, "All I need is a little help with
   accounting" we can almost guarantee that if you take our program, you'll be surprised to learn that you might
   not have quite as much figured out as you may think.
-  Built on proven lean-startup methodologies. Co.Starters is the only lean-business focused program in our
   area. This new method stresses testing your assumptions, interacting with customers to develop a product you
   know they'll buy, and focusing more on your business model at first than long business plan.
-  Working on your business idea. One of the requirements of the program is that you need to be willing to
   work on your business. Each participant has an idea they want to launch, and throughout the program you will
   be working on your business. We aren't working on theoretical business. We aren't asking you to remember a
   bunch of stuff and then go home and apply it to your business.
-  It's a heck of a bargain. The only program that comes close to ours in terms of content locally will cost
   around $1,000 - $3,000. We could certainly justify charging that much for our program, but we aren't in this to
   make money off of you. We are in this to get you equipped with everything you need to get started and watch
   your business take flight!
-  It's fun! We promise you won't be bored, you'll have a blast!!

​​Affordability

CouleeCO.STARTERS is a program offered by Couleecap Inc, a local non-profit. As a community-oriented organization with a stellar reputation in our area, you can trust that our ultimate goal is to provide our community with great resources, including this one. As such, we have priced this program to be financially viable for us, but more importantly, financially reasonable for entrepreneurs in our area.
The cost of the program for most entrepreneurs will be $300, which is a bargain considering all you'll get from this training, and the fact that this program costs much more (up to $1000) in some communities.
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But we are committed to making sure this program is affordable to all who want to participate, so we have discounted rates for income qualified entrepreneurs. In addition to the discounted enrollment rate, we also give enrollment preference to low to moderate income entrepreneurs. If you have any questions, please call 608-304-7978.

Register Now

Interested in joining a cohort?
Please fill out the application below. 

Register Now!

Note**
As we continue to battle the COVID-19 Pandemic, we expect all cohorts to be held virtually in 2022. Please contact us if that presents extra challenges for you. ​