A woman speaks at a podium in front of a projected image of equipment.
A woman stands on stage speaking at a podium under stage lighting.

NextCycle Colorado

A man presents on stage in front of a blue slide about recycling challenges.
Two people on stage smile while holding a large check near a podium.
Event judges sit at a table listening and taking notes during a presentation.
Four people stand on stage holding a large presentation check.

Program Overview

NextCycle provides support and resources to start-up and expanding businesses focused on creating markets for recycled, reused, and recovered materials in Colorado. The program supports participants with business plan development, investment contacts, and access to relevant industry data. The program also prepares teams with opportunities to receive grant funding or investments.

The pitch competition is the culmination of a six-month program that provides participants with technical resources, mentorship, and a multi-day business planning-focused bootcamp. During the competition, each team presented its business concept to better use our natural resources and reduce waste.

  • 50

    Teams Supported

  • $3M

    Of Funding Awarded

  • $80M

    In Additional Investments

  • 83%

    Teams Still In Business Today

That’s a Wrap!

Congratulations to Blazin’ Joe of Golden, Colorado, winner of the grand prize at the 2025 NextCycle Colorado pitch competition. Blazin’ Joe is a women-owned business transforming coffee waste into eco-friendly fire logs and starters, handmade in Golden, CO, and Franklin, MA. By repurposing chaff from coffee roasters, they create a cleaner-burning, sustainable alternative to traditional firewood. 

Additional congratulations go to SURPStone of Grand Junction, Colorado, for the People’s Choice award. SURPStone repurposes plastic waste into high-quality pavers, decorative stones, benches, and flowerpots.

Other teams in the 2025 NextCycle Colorado Cohort included:

  • Cold Spark (Longmont) — uses cryomilling technology to recycle electric vehicle batteries and electronic waste.

  • Driven Plastics (Pueblo) – incorporates recycled plastic into asphalt to create stronger, more sustainable roads.

  • High Plains Biochar (Laporte) — converts agricultural and forestry waste into biochar, a product that improves soil, filters water, and stores carbon.

  • Maple Ridge Rubber Paving (Saskatoon, Canada, with Colorado end-market operations) — engineers recycled rubber into sustainable paving and resurfacing solutions.

  • Refound Goods (Denver) — hosts an online marketplace for secondhand furniture and made home goods more accessible.

  • The Source Zero (Fort Collins) — expands zero-waste shopping with a mobile delivery service and commercial warehouse. 

Since 2018, fifty teams have participated in the program, and many have gone on to receive private investments and approximately $3 million in state grants.