Volunteer role · Space Peak
Space Peak Connector
An unpaid volunteer role.
Be the friendly face at Colorado Springs startup events, meet everybody, and connect Space Peak founders with each other and with the rest of the state.
- Colorado Springs
- Manitou Springs
- Monument
- Fountain
- Woodland Park
- Cascade
What you get
What you carry home
- Your name, photo and bio on the Colorado Startups Team page.
- A title you can list on LinkedIn under Volunteer experience, and a LinkedIn recommendation from Paul at the end of your term.
- Coffees with founders and event tickets reimbursed against receipts, within a budget we agree when you start.
- A one-year term. At the end, we both decide whether to renew.
- Claude Academy badges, and the skills behind them.
On LinkedIn, list the role under Volunteer experience with Colorado Startups as the organization. Colorado Startups is not your employer.
27%2(source 2: CNCS study, 2013)
higher odds of finding work for unemployed people who volunteer (CNCS study, 2013)
How it grows your network
Know everyone under the peak
- Go to startup eventsAs many as you can, across the region
- Greet and introduceNewcomers first
- Bridge the outpostsPhoton Mountain and Fusion Canyon
- Coffee with helpersMatch each one to a project
- Invite people inSlack, Startupers, the next event
- Share local winsWith the whole community
20 million+4(source 4: Science study, 2022)
people in LinkedIn experiments that found moderately weak ties, and the ties with the least interaction, led to the most career moves (Science study, 2022)
How it helps Colorado
Bring the Springs into the Hall
781,7969(source 9: Census estimate, 2025)
people in the Colorado Springs metro area, El Paso and Teller counties (Census estimate, 2025)
1st10(source 10: computed from Census estimates, 2025)
El Paso County's rank by population among Colorado's 64 counties (Census estimates, 2025)
81%11(source 11: computed from Census estimates, 2025)
of Coloradans live in the 11 counties the three outposts cover (computed from Census estimates, 2025)
Founders under Pikes Peak should know the founders up the range. You make the first introduction.
Who we are looking for
Friendly, curious, true to your word
- You love meeting peopleAnd introducing them
- You love buildingAnd the people who build
- You can reach Springs eventsMonument to Fountain
In the interview, Paul looks for
- You make people feel welcome, especially the person standing alone.
- You ask about the other person first, and you listen.
- You follow through. When you promise an intro or a next step, it happens within two days.
- You know what to handle yourself and what to send to Paul.
Ground rules
- Everyone is welcome. No one should leave a conversation with you feeling like an outsider.
- Never promise Paul's time, money, investment, sponsorship, event slots or a role.
- Send VIPs, investors, sponsors, press and elected officials to Paul, with one line on what they want.
How to apply
Your path to the bronze doors
Tell us why
Write a few lines on why this role excites you and what you would bring to it. Excitement is the first requirement.
Earn the Claude Academy badges
Take each course for your seat on Claude Academy and pass its quiz. Each badge is free with a free Claude account. When you pass, open the badge and copy its verification link.
Meet Paul
Send your note and your badge links. If it looks like a fit, Paul sets up an interview, and you walk through the role description together.
The courses
| Course | Length |
|---|---|
| Claude 101 | 2.5 hours12(source 12: Claude Academy course pages) |
| AI Fluency: Framework and foundations | 4 hours12(source 12: Claude Academy course pages) |
| AI Fluency for small businesses | 3.5 hours12(source 12: Claude Academy course pages) |
| In total | 10 hours12(source 12: Claude Academy course pages) |
Badges in hand? Apply here.
The form asks for your note and the link to each badge. A person reads every application.
The other volunteer seats
Slack Community Lead
Make the Colorado Startups Slack the first place a Colorado founder goes to ask for help and share a win.
Photon Mountain Connector
Go to the startup events in Boulder, Denver and Golden, meet everybody, and connect the founders of all three cities.
Fusion Canyon Connector
Be the friendly face at Fort Collins startup events, meet everybody, and connect Northern Colorado founders with each other and with the rest of the state.
Sources
82% of people who help choose new staff are more likely to pick an applicant with volunteer experience (Deloitte survey, 2016). 86% of people who help choose new staff say listing volunteer work makes a resume more competitive (Deloitte survey, 2016). 92% of people who help choose new staff say volunteering expands a person's professional skills (Deloitte survey, 2016).
Source: Deloitte 2016 Impact Survey of 2,506 employed adults in 13 US metro areas who influence staffing decisions, via CSRwire. Read October 18, 2026.
27% higher odds of finding work for unemployed people who volunteer (CNCS study, 2013).
Source: Corporation for National and Community Service study, Volunteering as a Pathway to Employment, 2013, via OneStar Foundation. Read October 18, 2026.
16.7% saw the contact who led them to new work often, at least twice a week (Granovetter study, 1973). 55.6% saw that contact occasionally, more than once a year but less than twice a week (Granovetter study, 1973). 27.8% saw that contact rarely, once a year or less (Granovetter study, 1973).
Source: Mark Granovetter, The Strength of Weak Ties, American Journal of Sociology 78(6), 1973, page 1371: 54 Boston-area professionals who found new work through a contact. Read October 18, 2026.
20 million+ people in LinkedIn experiments that found moderately weak ties, and the ties with the least interaction, led to the most career moves (Science study, 2022).
Source: Rajkumar and others, A causal test of the strength of weak ties, Science 377(6612), 2022, study abstract via PubMed. Read October 18, 2026.
63 straight-line miles, Colorado Springs to Denver.
Source: Computed from USGS GNIS points 204797 (Colorado Springs) and 201738 (Denver) as geodesic distance (Vincenty formula, WGS84 ellipsoid), rounded to whole miles. Read October 18, 2026.
67 straight-line miles, Colorado Springs to Golden.
Source: Computed from USGS GNIS points 204797 (Colorado Springs) and 202837 (Golden) as geodesic distance (Vincenty formula, WGS84 ellipsoid), rounded to whole miles. Read October 18, 2026.
85 straight-line miles, Colorado Springs to Boulder.
Source: Computed from USGS GNIS points 204797 (Colorado Springs) and 178680 (Boulder) as geodesic distance (Vincenty formula, WGS84 ellipsoid), rounded to whole miles. Read October 18, 2026.
122 straight-line miles, Colorado Springs to Fort Collins.
Source: Computed from USGS GNIS points 204797 (Colorado Springs) and 204673 (Fort Collins) as geodesic distance (Vincenty formula, WGS84 ellipsoid), rounded to whole miles. Read October 18, 2026.
781,796 people in the Colorado Springs metro area, El Paso and Teller counties (Census estimate, 2025).
Source: US Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 metro area population estimates, July 1, 2025. Read October 18, 2026.
1st El Paso County's rank by population among Colorado's 64 counties (Census estimates, 2025).
Source: Computed from US Census Bureau Vintage 2025 county estimates: El Paso 757,040, Denver 740,613. Read October 18, 2026.
81% of Coloradans live in the 11 counties the three outposts cover (computed from Census estimates, 2025).
Source: Computed from US Census Bureau Vintage 2025 county estimates: 4,894,196 of Colorado's 6,012,561 people. Read October 18, 2026.
Course lengths, from Claude Academy's course pages: Claude 101, AI Fluency: Framework and foundations, AI Fluency for small businesses. Read October 18, 2026.