Denny Otsuga

Denichiro “Denny” Otsuga has been a member of the Rockies Venture Club since 2015. Denny expanded RVC’s funding source to grants. As the co-awardee of RVC’s first grant from a government agency, the $150k Cluster Grant by the City of Fort Collins changed the trajectory of RVC’s revenue model. Over the years, RVC’s grant revenue increased substantially, which also resulted in a partnership with a separate non-profit, Rockies Venture Institute (RVI), to coordinate grant activities with RVC. In 2023 and 2024, in partnership with RVI, RVC’s HyperAccelerator program is now fully funded by grants from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and Economic Development Agency (EDA) so that entrepreneurs can focus on learning and executing without concerns about program fees. Denny also brought many partners to RVC. Notably, Denny led the process of securing a Japanese venture capital firm as the anchor LP for Rockies Venture Fund (RVF), the first VC Fund focused on coordinating investment with RVC. For his contributions and ability to expand RVC’s revenue and operation, Denny was appointed to the Board of Directors and the Chair of the Partnerships Committee in 2024. “As the organization matures from a simple revenue structure based on memberships and program fees to one that includes grants and partnerships, increased strategic and operational sophistication is required,” Denny stated. “The role of the Board of Directors in ensuring public’s trust in non-profit organization’s activity through proper oversight and governance will also need to grow.” With the new Executive Director, Kevin Kudra, Denny expressed his excitement in guiding the RVC to a new era, transitioning from an experimental phase to starting the scaling phase of RVC as a member of the newly elected Board of Directors for RVC.