AI enthusiasts in Fort Collins want you to know one thing: The AI scene in Colorado is not restricted to Boulder and Denver. And there would appear to be enough AI-related discussions going on in FoCo in the days, weeks, and months ahead to lead to a noticeable increase in traffic heading north on I-25.
Focusing on the very near-term, the four-day, Founded in FoCo conference starts this Monday, March 10. The event, featuring more than 80 presenters and 700 attendees, is promoted as a celebration of the entrepreneurial spirit of Fort Collins. As such, its focus is much broader than just AI, but this year - for the first time - the conference features an AI track with a total of nine presentations and workshops.
Of special interest to many entrepreneurs who want to know more about AI but haven't been sure how to go about doing so, most of the Founded in FoCo presentation are geared to the non-technical business owner who wants to learn how AI can help them, and what their next steps should be.
Note that Thursday is the most AI-heavy day, with four presentations. The full week's schedule can be found here, with the AI presentations listed below:
Tuesday, March 11:
10:00 am: AI for Beginners: Demystifying AI for Small Businesses and Nonprofits, with Beth Bostwick
2:00 pm: How to Build an AI Assistant that Frees Up Your Time as a Small Business Owner, with Kateryna Quinn
Wednesday, March 12:
9:00 am: No-Code AI for Business Processes With Real Customer Use Cases, with Becky Wagner
10:15 am: AI Revolution in Design: Transforming Ecological Landscape Architecture, with Patrick Padden
1:00 pm: Writing With AI: What You Don't Know Could Kill Your Business, with Jenny Morse and Sharon Pitkin
Thursday, March 13:
10:00 am: Harnessing AI Responsibly: Ethical Practices for Business Growth and Trust, with Dayle Wickizer
11:15 am: Panel: AI Unplugged: Real-Time Insights and Trends, and Your Burning Questions Answered, with Audrea Butler, Becky Wagner, Dayle Wickizer, and Morey Hubin
1:00 pm: AI-Driven Marketing: Unlocking the Future of Customer Engagement and Data Mastery, with Phil Metzger
3:15 pm: AI With a Conscience: Sustainable Solutions for Growing Startups and Small Businesses, with Kelly Williams
Bootstrapping business owners will be happy to hear that the conference is more than fairly priced at $40 for the entire week. Note that Founded in FoCo also offers a "Pay What You Can" sliding scale, starting at no charge, so that there are no barriers to anyone participating in the week's activities. In order to support this, the group encourages "Community Champions" to pay $80 to provide a ticket for these community members.
Looking for AI-related discussions and presentations taking place after March 13 in Fort Collins? See the Colorado AI News article on two of the active AI meetups in town.
