Glider
Techstars '12Portland, US · Founded 2017 · 4 employees on LinkedIn · 13 known investors
Glider is a Colorado-based nonprofit organization that produces and hosts community events including TEDxBoulder, Ignite Boulder, and Boulder Startup Week. The organization focuses on fostering meaningful connections and inclusive community experiences that educate and inspire participants across the Boulder ecosystem.
Also known as Glider (Colorado nonprofit)
Founders & leadership
Investors · 13
Also in the syndicate · 5
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements$4M disclosed across 1 of 3 rounds · 2025
- Undisclosed amountstrategic roundApr 2025
a16z CSX (lead), Anagram, Coinbase Ventures, First Commit, Generative Ventures, GSR, MoonPay Ventures, Pivot Global, Selini Capital, Uniswap Labs
Source ↗ - Undisclosed amountStrategic Funding RoundApr 2025
a16z CSX (lead)
Source ↗ - $4MraisedApr 2025 · 2 sources
Andreessen Horowitz (lead), Coinbase Ventures, GSR, Uniswap Ventures
Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Glider (glider.com) is a Colorado-based nonprofit and community organization whose stated mission is "Inclusive thinking to create better communities." It produces and hosts a portfolio of local events in the Boulder, Colorado ecosystem, specifically TEDxBoulder, Ignite Boulder, Boulder Startup Week, and the Boulder Tech Podcast; an internal job description also lists Achilles Boulder among its programs. The organization's stated aim is to create community through local events that connect, empower, and promote diversity, working largely through dedicated volunteers.
Its flagship programs are described on its site: Ignite Boulder is a recurring presentation night in which each speaker uses 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds, held every two or three months and described as the largest Ignite event in the world; TEDxBoulder runs each spring and fall, drawing about 2,200 attendees per event, and is described as one of the largest TEDx events in the United States. Across all programs, Glider states its events reach more than 17,000 people annually.
A separate Gust company profile associated with the glider.com website describes a Portland, Oregon-based startup named GLIDER billed as "The First People-Driven BPM," at full-product-ready stage in internet/web services with six employees. That listing names a distinct team and advisor roster and unconfirmed prior investors. The available sources do not reconcile the two descriptions.
Founding story
Sources do not describe a founding story for the nonprofit beyond the statement that its event work started in 2008 with Ignite Boulder.
Business model
Per the organization's own site, Glider operates as a Colorado-based nonprofit that produces community events; activity is funded by sponsors and attendees (ticket sales), with donations solicited directly on the site. A posted Program Director job description outlines responsibilities for nonprofit financial management, budgeting, grant applications, and cultivating government, foundation, corporate, and individual donors, indicating a mixed sponsorship/ticketing/grant/donation funding base. Sources describe no commercial product or paid software offering.
Non-commercial: revenue derives from event sponsorships, attendee ticket sales, and donations, with grant funding and donor development identified as responsibilities in the organization's Program Director role.
Traction
The organization reports aggregate annual event reach of over 17,000 people, roughly 2,200 attendees at each TEDxBoulder, sell-out attendance at each of its past 40 Ignite Boulder events, and six TEDxBoulder talks promoted to TED.com.
Latest developments
The current site lists Glider's board as Andrew Hyde (Executive Director), Glenn Reese, Rich Grote, Efrem Rodriguez, and Merredith Branscombe, and advertises upcoming ticketed Ignite Boulder events at the Boulder Theater, indicating ongoing operations. No funding, partnership, or corporate-status announcements appear in the sources for this organization.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Glider describes itself as a community movement and nonprofit rather than a commercial venture, occupying a convening role in the Boulder technology and startup ecosystem through franchise-style event brands (TEDx, Ignite, Startup Week).
The site positions Ignite Boulder as the largest Ignite event worldwide and TEDxBoulder as one of the largest TEDx events in the nation, noting that six TEDxBoulder videos have been re-edited and featured on TED.com as official TED talks, and that Ignite Boulder has sold out for its past 40 events.
Technology
No proprietary technology is described for the nonprofit. A Gust listing under the glider.com domain characterizes a company named GLIDER as a "people-driven BPM" (business process management) product in internet/web services, without further technical detail.
Go-to-market
Events are promoted through the organization's website, an email list offering event news, special offers, and last-minute opportunities, ticket sales for individual events, direct sponsor outreach (info@glider.com), and volunteer recruitment (ops@glider.com). Individual programs also maintain their own sites (igniteboulder.com, tedxboulder.com).
Boulder-area residents, technology and startup community members, event attendees, volunteers, and corporate or individual sponsors and donors.
Geography
Programming is concentrated in Boulder, Colorado, with events such as Ignite Boulder held at the Boulder Theater. A Gust profile tied to the glider.com domain lists a Portland, Oregon location for a company of the same name.
History
Glider's site states the organization began its event work in 2008 with Ignite Boulder and has since experimented with formats for connecting and growing community through social experiences, adding TEDxBoulder, Boulder Startup Week, and the Boulder Tech Podcast. A job posting on the site for a Program Director references a start date in early November with a transition from part-time (20 hours/week) to full-time on January 1, 2018, and lists Achilles Boulder among the organization's programs. A separate Gust startup profile listed under the glider.com domain describes a Portland, Oregon company called GLIDER positioned as "The First People-Driven BPM," at "Full Product Ready" stage with six employees, a co-founding CEO (Eli Rubel) and CMO (Justin Thiele), engineering staff, advisors including Luke Kanies and Pete Grillo, and unconfirmed previous investors True Ventures, CrunchFund, and TechStars; the relationship between that listing and the present nonprofit is not explained in the sources.
Risks & controversies
No controversies are reported in the sources. A data-integrity risk exists for this profile: multiple distinct entities share the Glider name, including Glider AI (glider.ai, a recruiting/skills-assessment company acquired by Findem), GP Gliders (a Polish sailplane manufacturer), and a crypto portfolio-automation startup Glider (glider.fi, founded 2024 in New York). Sources concerning those companies were excluded as name twins.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
In the news
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Gliderglider.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Glider do?
- Colorado nonprofit producing Boulder community events including TEDxBoulder, Ignite Boulder and Boulder Startup Week.
- Who are Glider's investors?
- Glider's investors include Techstars, Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, First Commit, Generative Ventures, GSR, Pivot Global, Selini Capital.
- How much funding has Glider raised?
- Glider has disclosed $4M raised across 1 of its 3 known rounds.
- Where is Glider headquartered?
- Glider is headquartered in Portland, US.