CORE
Launch Your Small Business Idea or
Refine Your Current Business Model
CO.STARTERS 10-Week CORE Program Equips Aspiring Entrepreneurs with the Insights, Relationships, and Tools to Turn Ideas into Action
CO.STARTERS Core Programs for Winter 2026
Join a cohort of like-minded starters and look at your business from a customer-centric view.
There is no fee to register your interest. Once you register here, you will be contacted by a Program Manager or Facilitator who will help you decide if Core is right for you. In most cases, the cost of Core is covered by grant funding and scholarships and your Facilitator will share financial support options.
EXPLORE. QUESTION. ACT
CO.STARTERS CORE provides an action-driven, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of like-minded people.
co.starters cORE program
Turn ideas into action
CO.STARTERS Core provides an action-driven, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of like-minded people. Over ten sessions, you’ll identify your assumptions about why and how your businesses will work and then talk to customers in order to validate your ideas. This approach enables you to rapidly uncover flaws in your concept and find viable models more quickly. You’ll leave the program with a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable business, articulate your model, and repeat the process with your next great idea.
co.starters core program
co.starters
core program
Who Should Participate
Any Small business entrepreneur who is...
CO.STARTERS core PROGRAM
Develop New Skills
CORE helps participants:
10 Sessions
Working with a dedicated group of like minded peers, participants cover the following topics in a series of ten 3–hour sessions:
Session 1: Knowing Yourself
Session 2: Knowing Your Customer
Session 3: Finding the Right Solution
Session 4: Getting the Relationship Right
Session 5: Building Blocks
Session 6: Structures & Systems
Session 7: Discovering the Bottom Line
Session 8: Financial Modeling
Session 9: Planning for Growth
Session 10: Celebration
CO.STARTERS CORE
PROGRAM MANAGERS AND FACILITATORS
Misty Lambrecht - Facilitator
Misty Lambrecht is a passionate Facilitator with expertise in fostering business development in rural communities. Specializing in small business support, she provides guidance on accessing capital and creating effective business plans. As a certified CO.STARTERS facilitator, Misty Lambrecht is our Kiva Oregon Capital Access Manager, a Reinventing Rural Ambassador, and a small business owner in rural Siletz, Oregon.
Driven by a commitment to empower rural entrepreneurs and organizations, Misty is dedicated to unlocking their potential and promoting sustainable growth, ensuring the long-term vitality of their communities.
Lisa Dawson - Facilitator Northeast Oregon
I am the Executive Director of the Northeast Oregon Economic Development District and have worked in economic development, serving both organizations and businesses, since 1989. I enjoy working with entrepreneurs and business owners and am proud to be part of a collaborative effort to increase technical assistance, networking, skill-building and financing for entrepreneurs.
I am proud to have delivered one of the first Core programs in Oregon and I'm looking forward to launching CO.STARTERS in Union, Wallowa and Baker counties and helping small business entrepreneurs start and grow.
Marcella Rose- Facilitator
Oregon Coast
"Marci opened her first brick-and-mortar business in 2018 and expanded with a second restaurant in January 2020. Despite the challenges of running a late-night bar and a breakfast restaurant during the pandemic, she adapted and transformed both into thriving ventures. In 2022, she merged them into Zest Garden Cafe, Lincoln City's only Certified Green restaurant, focused on raising awareness about food choices and offering a diverse, nutritious menu.
Beyond her business success, Marci is deeply involved in her community, serving as a planning commissioner and city council member. She is known for her entrepreneurial spirit, community engagement, and ability to turn ideas into reality."
By walking me through the creation of a business plan, helping me define my target audience, and emphasizing the importance of marketing and promotion, CO.STARTERS helped to demystify the process of entrepreneurship and ensure that I got off on the right foot.
Core Participant
CO.STARTERS provided me with the most powerful thing in an entrepreneur’s journey: a little shove. Each week it was a critical reminder to keep forging the foundation of my business, and it provided a community of support that continues to prove invaluable in my daily operations and goals.
Core Participant
CORE is an action-driven, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of like-minded people. Led by a facilitator who is an experienced entrepreneur, you’ll identify your assumptions about why and how your businesses will work and then talk to customers in order to validate your ideas. This approach enables you to rapidly uncover flaws in your concept and find viable models more quickly. You’ll leave the program with a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable business, articulate your model, and repeat the process with your next great idea
If you’re an aspiring entrepreneur, or a seasoned entrepreneur looking to launch a new product or service, CORE is for you. The only real prerequisites are (1) having an idea you’re ready, willing, and excited to share and pursue and (2) a willingness to study, shape and fine-tune that idea in a supportive, collaborative, and welcoming environment. If you’re creative and community-minded, and you’re serious about turning your passion into a sustainable business, we want you to participate.
Each session meets once a week for 3 hours. You will be challenged to talk to customers—or potential customers—each week, as it is a critical element of building a business.
Reinventing Rural brings you the magic of CO.STARTERS to your rural community so that you can build a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. We ensure you develop pipelines of support for your starters at every stage of their journey.
Bring CO.STARTERS CORE to your rural community
Reinventing Rural brings you the magic of CO.STARTERS to your rural community so that you can build a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. We ensure you develop pipelines of support for your starters at every stage of their journey.
If you are interested in CO.STARTERS for your community or for your small business, please let us know by clicking below. We promise to get back to you as soon as we can. Can't wait? Call us at 541-204-1913.
In tiny towns scattered through the Pacific Northwest, big dreams are brewing. That's where Foundry Collective comes in. The Reinventing Rural Movement matches local dreamers with the resources they need to build something amazing right in their own backyard.