Nerds and stoners. You probably couldn’t pick two more opposite groups of people.

The nerds are concerned about researching information, discussing ground breaking ideas, and don’t care what other people think about them.

The stoners are concerned about researching information, discussing ground breaking ideas, and don’t care what other people think about them.

Oh… wait…

Well, you get what I’m saying. Nerds and stoners don’t seem to fit together.

One group stands for excellence in brain power, while the other group stands… well, maybe they sit… for expansion of brain power.

Either way, whatever nerds and stoners represent, they are converging on one place: Colorado.

Source: Bloomberg

"Three cities in Colorado — a state whose fortunes have been tied to the boom and bust of oil, gas and other commodities — are among the top 10 leading destinations for the nation’s best and brightest as old cow and mining towns morph into technology hubs, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Another Colorado city is plotting a 21st century revival.

"Boulder, the small college town located just north of Colorado’s capital, is ranked No. 1 nationally in the Bloomberg Brain Concentration Index, which tracks business formation as well as employment and education in the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. Fort Collins and Denver follow at No. 4 and No. 10, respectively." -Bloomberg

Source: Bloomberg

In addition to that, numerous different polls rank Colorado as a top destination for startups and entrepreneurs to set up shop.

With a high quality of life, low real estate costs (compared to areas like Silicon Valley), and a highly educated workforce, it's no surprise that Denver has been America's fastest growing large city over the past several years.

And now for the more obvious thing that Colorado has been known for recently:

Cannabis.

"Legal marijuana is a bona fide billion-dollar industry in Colorado. And it’s hitting the mark faster than ever.

"In 2017, Colorado eclipsed $1 billion in marijuana sales in eight months; in 2016, it took 10 months.

"Colorado’s marijuana retailers logged upward of $1.02 billion in collective medical and recreational sales through August, according to The Cannabist’s extrapolations of state tax data released Wednesday. Year-to-date sales are up 21 percent from the first eight months of 2016, when recreational and medical marijuana sales totaled $846.5 million.

"This year’s cumulative sales equate to more than $162 million in taxes and fees for Colorado coffers." -The Cannabist

And that's just through August of 2017.

Source: BW

As you can see, there are a lot of exciting things going on in Colorado.

And that is why we are going there in January... and you can come with us.

Starting next week, you can sign up to join us as we check out a variety of different opportunities. We're going to look at a company that the Explorer Partnership has invested in and we're also going to check out some new opportunities that you won't see anywhere else.