Pikes Peak SBDC Recognized by the Small Business Administration as Top 10 in the Nation

By Nicole Jomantas

The Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center (SBDC) has received top national honors from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), earning both the Colorado District Office Award and the Region 8 Small Business Development Center Excellence and Innovation Center Award. Region 8 includes Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming – making the achievement especially noteworthy given the breadth and diversity of the region’s small business landscape.

This is the third time the Pikes Peak SBDC has earned the regional Excellence and Innovation Award, a rare distinction that places the center among the top 10 SBDCs nationwide.

“What’s awesome about that is it puts us in a really elite class,” said Brandon Eldridge, Executive Director of the Pikes Peak SBDC. “And what’s even further amazing is it’s the third time our center has won this award. My predecessor won it twice, in 2020 and 2014. We’ve now carried that torch in 2025. It’s a really great honor and achievement for us to get this kind of recognition because it highlights the work that my team and our 45 advisors are doing every single day.”

In 2024, the SBDC served 674 Businesses, with 2004 hours of free client sessions, hosted 106 educational events, and achieved $8mm of capital infusion, demonstrating the scope of its impact on small business owners and entrepreneurs throughout the Pikes Peak region.

The Region 8 award was presented by Justin Everett, newly appointed SBA Region 8 Administrator, during the Legacy of the Peak Awards on May 5.

“During Small Business Week, the SBA highlights our nation’s 34 million small businesses, owners and entrepreneurs, including 716,000 in Colorado alone,” Everett said. “Small businesses create two-thirds of the jobs in this country and are the true backbone of the economy.”