Start-Ups Celebrate National Small Business Week

DENVER (CBS4)- This week start-ups across Colorado are celebrating National Small Business Week.

One organization is celebrating 40 years of helping small businesses in the state, the Colorado Enterprise Fund.

Ceyl Prinster, President and CEO of the fund, says the organization has come a long way in the past four decades.

"In 1976 in early days we had about $200,000 in assets to loan to small businesses and now because of many, many funders we have about $22 million so we've grown quite a bit," said Prinster.

The Colorado Enterprise Fund helps a variety of businesses with loans that include a little or a lot.

"We make loans to small businesses who can't get bank loans for whatever reason. We make loans for as small as $5,000 all the way up to $500,000.

"Early-stage businesses do have a hard time getting bank loans, banks especially since the recession have tightened up their lending criteria but I would tell a small business to dream big. There are plenty of resources out there for small businesses both to get their business plan going and have access to capital with organizations like ours."