Thrive Colorado Springs

Home
United States
Colorado Springs, CO
Thrive Colorado Springs

We focus on entrepreneurship and job training. We want to see a thriving city one entrepreneur at a time!
(1)

To empower Southeast Colorado Springs, and other under-resourced communities, by providing access to education, resources, and support for personal and professional growth.

06/03/2026

Meet Our First Thrive Scale Accelerator Instructors: Matt Aponte

When it comes to AI, there is a big difference between people talking about the future and people actively building it.

Matt Aponte is the Founder and CEO of Voxe AI, a Colorado Springs-based company creating advanced AI automation systems, voice agents, and custom AI solutions for businesses and organizations across the country. He is the architect behind the AI voice agents currently deployed through Better Business Bureau chapters nationwide and has spent decades building businesses, technology, and systems that solve real-world problems.

With experience spanning 14 businesses, two successful exits, and more than 30 years of entrepreneurship, Matt brings a unique combination of business strategy and cutting-edge AI expertise to the Thrive Scale Accelerator.

But what excites us most is his passion for helping business owners move beyond the hype and discover practical ways to use AI to save time, improve operations, and scale their impact. This is just the beginning.

In our next video, we'll share more about Matt's role in the Scale Accelerator and how participants will have the opportunity to learn directly from one of the leading AI innovators right here in Colorado Springs.

Stay tuned.

If you are interested in learning more about our Scale Accelerator program, fill out the interest form: https://zurl.co/mGvJU

VOXE Marketing Matt Aponte

05/27/2026

If growth keeps getting harder, pushing harder is not always the answer.

One of the biggest myths in business is that if growth feels hard, the answer is simply to push harder.
But at a certain stage, that stops being true.

In launch, hustle is normal.
In growth, hustle can still carry a lot.
But in scale, hustle starts creating drag.

Because what the business needs now is not more effort from the founder.
It needs:
⚙️ systems
👥 leadership
📅 meeting rhythm
✅ accountability
💰 cash visibility
🔄 clear handoffs
🧩 role clarity

When those things are missing, growth feels heavier than it should.

And founders start confusing exhaustion with progress.

Scaling should not mean the owner becomes more buried.
It should mean the business becomes more capable.

More organized.
More predictable.
More transferable.
Less dependent on heroic effort.

That is what real scale looks like.

Learn more: https://zurl.co/3LK7L

Where have you seen hustle stop helping and start creating drag?
Which of these is most often missing when a business is trying to scale?

Share your thoughts in the comments. ⬇️

05/20/2026

What looks successful from the outside is not always sustainable on the inside.

I’ve spent 25 years as an entrepreneur.
Over that time, I scaled and sold four businesses.

From the outside, that sounds like a clean success story.
But the truth is, there were many seasons where the business looked successful long before it felt sustainable.

And that is the part I wish more founders talked about.

Because building something that grows is one challenge.
Building something that does not depend on you for everything is a completely different challenge.

There were seasons where I was the one carrying too much:
📌 too many decisions
📌 too much pressure
📌 too much mental load
📌 too much responsibility sitting in one place

I also invested in coaching and business programs that were expensive and impressive on paper.

Some gave me good ideas.
Some gave me inspiration.
Some gave me language for what I was experiencing.

But too often, I left with more information than implementation.

What I needed was not more theory.
I needed someone to break the work down step by step.
I needed a pathway.
I needed support.
I needed help turning “what I should do” into “what gets done next.”

That experience shaped the way I think about scaling today.

Founders do not just need insight.
They need translation.
They need sequence.
They need accountability.
They need structure that helps them actually build the business they say they want.

Because when a founder is stuck in the day-to-day, the problem is not usually ambition.
It is architecture.

And when architecture improves, everything changes.

The business gets steadier.
The team gets clearer.
The owner gets space to think.
Growth gets safer.
Leadership gets stronger.

That is a very different kind of company.
And in my experience, that is the kind worth building.

Learn more: https://zurl.co/HV5ND

05/19/2026

🎉 Thrive Pitch Night is coming up and we would love to see our community show up for these entrepreneurs.

This event is always one of the most encouraging nights of the year as local business owners share what they’ve been building and take the next step in their journey.

Bring a friend, support local, and come celebrate with us 💚

Pitch. Connect. Thrive.
RSVP Here: https://www.facebook.com/share/14bivwwJSmv/

05/05/2026

Such an incredible night last night as our Alumni Jackie Lujan won the most prestigious award, Small Business Champion of the Year, at Small Business Week 2026!

So proud of the hard work and passion she has shown in her business in the past 3 years 💜

05/02/2026

A big thank you to all of our lane sponsors at today’s Bowling for Business fundraiser!

We are so thankful for organizations in our community who believe in the power of entrepreneurship, economic development, and the need for programs like ours!

04/30/2026

The ripple effect is real.

Thrive alumni businesses reported:
44 full-time jobs created
8 part-time jobs created
$260,000 paid to local subcontractors and vendors
4860 volunteer hours completed by participants in 2024

And the long-term vision is even bigger: stronger neighborhoods, reduced inequality, greater leadership diversity, and more economic development opportunities in Colorado Springs.

That’s the kind of impact worth investing in.

Join us in building a community where more people have the chance to thrive.

04/28/2026

A business can have stable revenue and still be nowhere near ready to scale.
That surprises a lot of founders. 👀

Because on paper, things can look healthy:

✅ Revenue is coming in
✅ The team is growing
✅ Clients are being served
✅ The business is surviving

But underneath that, the company may still be too dependent on:

⚠️ The owner’s decisions
⚠️ The owner’s relationships
⚠️ The owner’s memory
⚠️ The owner’s energy

And that is where growth gets risky.

Scale readiness requires more than traction.
It usually requires:

📊 Financial stability
🧩 Clear roles
🔁 Repeatable processes
👥 Leadership capacity
📈 Performance visibility
🕒 Enough owner bandwidth to stop firefighting and start building

That is a different stage of business.

A business becomes scale-ready when growth no longer depends on founder force.

Until then, more growth can actually increase fragility.

Stable revenue is a good sign.
But it is not the whole story.

Learn more: https://thethrivenetworks.org/accelerator-interest-form/

Address

Colorado Springs, CO
80903

Telephone

+17193016212

Website

http://www.TheThriveNetworks.org/, https://bit.ly/4cXa4DG

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Thrive Colorado Springs posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Thrive Colorado Springs:

Shortcuts

Want your organization to be the top-listed Non Profit Organization in Colorado Springs?