First Flatiron Consulting
Areas of Expertise
Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Entrepreneurs and the ecosystems that support them are increasingly vital to the prosperity and diversification of state and local economies.
Professional Education & Development
The opportunities for professional development continue to proliferate for economic developers keeping pace with our changing world.
Economic Vitality Planning & Management
Whether it's multi-year plans, annual operating plans, or project plans, managing an economic development organization begins with planning.
Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
Entrepreneurs and the ecosystems that support them are increasingly vital to the prosperity and diversification of state and local economies. Economic developers are uniquely well-positioned to help build ecosystems of support and resources for entrepreneurs. As business conveners and advocates in our communities, economic developers advance the vitality of entrepreneurial ecosystems, and as mentors we support the productivity of entrepreneurs and their startups.
First Flatiron Consulting offers expertise in ecosystem building and startup support acquired over two decades of economic development leadership in the dynamic Boulder, Colorado, startup community. We’ve mentored hundreds of entrepreneurs in launching and growing their startups. We’ve collaborated with ecosystem stakeholders as varied as startup accelerators, SBDCs, SBA lenders, seed grant programs, revolving loan funds, angel investors, VCs, mentorship programs, coworking spaces, university tech transfer and entrepreneurship programs, workforce centers, and more.
We exercised leadership influence within technology, manufacturing, and lifestyle industry clusters and helped form alliances of businesses in order to amplify their shared interests and collective voices. We organized the earliest annual community event in the U.S. celebrating entrepreneurship and, among other accomplishments, produced a groundbreaking report quantifying the performance of Boulder’s entrepreneurial ecosystem compared to peer cities and regions.
Professional Education & Development
The opportunities for professional education and development continue to proliferate for economic developers keeping pace with our changing world. From university credentials to online webinars, and from workplace training to mentoring and coaching, professional development is a hallmark of high-performing leaders and organizations.
Professional development is embedded in First Flatiron Consulting’s DNA. Building on the education and professional development we’ve benefited from throughout our careers, our principals have taken on increasing responsibility as educators, trainers, and mentors ourselves. We created and teach a graduate course on economic development and outdoor recreation for the University of Colorado Boulder, where we’re also a guest lecturer.
We’re often invited to present at economic development and chamber of commerce conferences such as those hosted by the International Economic Development Council, the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Economic Development Council of Colorado, and others. We’ve spoken at business and industry-specific events on topics related to outdoor recreation, biosciences, aerospace, real estate, venture capital, workforce development, and more. We’ve leveraged our experience to mentor or advise hundreds of entrepreneurs, direct reports, corporate executives, and community leaders as they’ve pursued their professional aspirations. And we regularly produce blog posts and webcasts for First Flatiron Consulting followers.
Economic Vitality Planning & Management
Whether it’s multiyear strategic plans, annual operating plans, or project plans, managing an economic development organization begins with planning. Plans are prerequisites for management decisions about funding and budgets, staffing, program priorities, organizational performance, and more. But plans aren’t sufficient by themselves. Effective management by a governing board, executive team, and staff is required to align an organization, its financial supporters and other stakeholders around its economic development vision, mission, and goals.
First Flatiron Consulting principals have exercised planning and management responsibility in the nonprofit, private, and public sectors, including two decades of executive leadership in economic development. We’ve developed and managed strategic plans and annual work plans, held accountability for multimillion dollar annual budgets and P&Ls, conceived and managed successful fundraising campaigns, recruited and retained staff, and facilitated effective board management. We’ve also been responsible for managing projects as varied as business prospect recruitment, marketing campaigns, and signature community events, among others, consistently delivering them on time and on budget.
Other Areas of Expertise
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Socioeconomic Research, Analysis & Reporting
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Crisis Response and Economic Recovery
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Business Retention and Expansion
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Corporate Social Responsibility
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Workforce Development