Small Business Development Center

What Small Business Development Center does

The Colorado Small Business Development Center (Colorado SBDC) is a publicly funded government partnership that delivers no-cost, confidential business advising and training to small businesses across Colorado. It operates under a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, supplemented by state funding from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade and contributions from Colorado's institutions of higher education, local economic development organizations, and chambers of commerce. The program is delivered through a statewide network of 14 service centers and over 25 satellite centers covering all 64 Colorado counties, staffed by approximately 300 business experts statewide.

The Southern Colorado regional center, the subject entity, is hosted by Pueblo Community College and operates from a downtown Pueblo studio at 121 W City Center Drive, #150. It serves Pueblo, Fremont, Custer, and Huerfano Counties, with 1–10 local staff including an Executive Director, an Education and Specialty Project Coordinator, and an Office Assistant. Core offerings include no-cost one-on-one advising, no- or low-cost training and workshops, a monthly Business Starts In A Day Class, and access to statewide specialized programs: Leading Edge, Exit Planning, Child Care, Marketing & Online Presence, and TechSource (which includes Ascent Workshops and the Tech Venture Accelerator).

The business model is fundamentally grant-funded rather than revenue-generating: services are free to eligible small businesses, and the program's viability depends on continued federal, state, and institutional partner support. Operational technology consists of commodity SaaS tools — Webex for remote advising, Constant Contact for newsletters, and Salesforce Experience Cloud for event registration and calendar management — with no proprietary technology stack or AI/ML capabilities disclosed. As of the 2025 Annual Report, the program references 730,887 small businesses statewide (99.5% of all Colorado businesses) as the addressable constituency it serves.

Name

Small Business Development Center

Legal name

Colorado Small Business Development Center

Website

https://southerncoloradosbdc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Colorado Small Business Development Center's Southern Colorado office is a publicly funded SBA-affiliated program, hosted by Pueblo Community College, delivering no-cost business advising, training, and workshops to small businesses across Pueblo, Fremont, Custer, and Huerfano Counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Small Business Advisory Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171), Professional and Management Development Training (611430), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Economic Development & Business Licensing (Local) (BPAIACAN), Training Delivery Providers (In-Person, Virtual, Train-the-Trainer) (BPACANAM)

Keywords

• Small business advising
• Business consulting services
• Entrepreneur training programs
• Business development support
• Startup assistance

Headquarters

HQ city

Pueblo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Federally and State-Funded Small Business Services: The Colorado SBDC is funded through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration, combined with state funding from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and contributions from Colorado's institutions of higher education, local economic development organizations, and local chambers of commerce. Services are provided at no cost to eligible small businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Colorado Small Business Development Center provides no-cost, confidential one-on-one business advising and low-cost training, events, and workshops to small businesses across Colorado. Services are delivered through a statewide network of 14 service centers and over 25 satellite centers by approximately 300 business experts, with specialized programs including Leading Edge, Exit Planning, Child Care, Marketing & Online Presence, and TechSource.

Product overview

The Colorado Small Business Development Center (Colorado SBDC) is a statewide small business support organization providing a unified portfolio of advising and training services. The core offerings consist of no-cost, confidential one-on-one business advising delivered by approximately 300 expert advisors, combined with essential training, events, and workshops offered at no- or low-cost. Specialized support is organized into statewide programs including Leading Edge, Exit Planning, Child Care, Marketing & Online Presence, and TechSource (which includes Ascent Workshops and the Tech Venture Accelerator). The network comprises 14 service centers and over 25 satellite centers providing convenient access across all 64 Colorado counties. The Southern Colorado center, hosted by Pueblo Community College, additionally offers the Business Starts In A Day Class for new business formation. The organization is funded through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TechSource: Specialized technology business support program including Ascent Workshops and Tech Venture Accelerator (TVX)
• Leading Edge
• Exit Planning
• Child Care Program
• Marketing & Online Presence

Products and services

• No-Cost Advising

Quantifiable outcome

• 730,887 small businesses served (99.5% of Colorado businesses)

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pueblo Community CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Southern Colorado SBDC is hosted by Pueblo Community College, with College personnel dedicated to delivering SBDC programs and services from the downtown Pueblo location.
• Colorado Office of Economic Development and International TradecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerState agency partner providing funding and strategic alignment for the Colorado SBDC network.
• Vectra BankminorOthersRegional bank partner supporting Southern Colorado SBDC, shown in partner logos section.
• Mountain West Credit UnionminorOthersCredit union partner supporting Southern Colorado SBDC, shown in partner logos section.
• Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA)minorOthersHousing finance authority partner supporting Southern Colorado SBDC, shown in partner logos section.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• America's SBDC: America's SBDC is the national association that represents and accredits the SBDC network, of which the Colorado SBDC is a member. It operates the national program umbrella under which all 1,000+ SBDC centers deliver identical SBA-funded small business advising services.
• SCORE: SCORE is a federally funded SBA resource partner that provides free, confidential mentoring, workshops, and online resources to U.S. small businesses — directly overlapping the Colorado SBDC's no-cost advising and training model across the same SMB customer base.

Broad incumbents

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA): The SBA is the federal parent/funder of the SBDC network and the broader ecosystem of resource partners (SBDCs, SCORE, WBCs). It offers its own training, lending programs, and advising services that overlap with what the Colorado SBDC delivers at the local level.
• Women's Business Centers (WBC) — SBA Program: WBCs are another SBA-funded resource-partner program delivering no-cost business advising and training to a specialized SMB segment (women-owned businesses), with the same funding model, mission, and delivery mechanics as the SBDC network.

Others

• Small Business Majority: Small Business Majority is a national small-business advocacy and research organization with programs and convenings geared to U.S. SMB owners — comparable in serving the same SMB audience with research, policy, and educational programming, though more advocacy-focused than direct advising.
• Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT): OEDIT is the Colorado state agency that co-funds the SBDC network and runs complementary statewide programs (e.g., Colorado Startup Loft, rural programs) that overlap with the Center's business-development mission and serve the same SMB base.

Regional players

• Pueblo Chamber of Commerce: The Pueblo Chamber is a local economic-development partner of the Colorado SBDC; it serves overlapping Southern Colorado SMBs with referral pipelines, networking events, and advocacy — partially overlapping the Center's audience but focused on member dues rather than advising.

Emerging players

• Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE): NFTE is a nonprofit delivering entrepreneurship training and curriculum (often school- and youth-based) and is comparable to the SBDC's Business Starts In A Day and Leading Edge training offerings in mission and SMB/entrepreneur audience, though its delivery model is more education-system-embedded.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/southerncosbdc
• Facebookfacebook.com/southerncoloradosbdc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/southern-colorado-sbdc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Small Business Development Center