Several Durangoans are off to the races for the next seven weeks, taking part in a statewide competition to create the best web application that will help businesses build a better competitive strategy.
For the third year, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office is holding the Go Code Colorado challenge, where teams from across the state compete to win a mentor weekend in Boulder and a chance at $25,000 to further develop their app.
On Sunday, 37 teams throughout Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins and Grand Junction pitched their app idea to local tech and business leaders who judged the idea based on specific criteria.
From each location, two teams were picked to advance to an expenses-paid trip to Boulder for a mentor weekend. In Durango, out of the two teams picked, several were local residents.
Kimberly Pennington, who moved to Durango three years ago, and her StartUpIn.co team created a simple-to-use web portal, which “allows anyone to create a new business in Colorado.”
“It just makes it a little easier for people who have no idea what they are doing,” Pennington said.
Pennington, who studied computer engineering at Ole Miss University, said a Fort Lewis College student, a graphic designer, is also part of the team. Her own skill set is in web development, and she said the next few weeks are going to be busy.
“I’m going to do as much as I can,” she said.
The other group to come out of Durango, Home Power Direct, wrote that its endeavor will be a “solar marketplace with education and guided data gathering for customers, system sizing, automated bidding and market intelligence for equipment providers.”
The teams will meet April 15 in Boulder. On May 26, teams convene in Denver for a final review. The top three app and business ideas receive $25,000 each to keep developing their apps and businesses.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
