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Colorado Springs, CO — Financial Talent Group is proud to announce that Financial Talent Group and Melissa Scruggs, President of Financial Talent Group, were named the 2026 Micro Business of the Year during the Pikes Peak Region Small Business Week Awards Celebration held at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo.
This recognition is especially meaningful because the Micro Business of the Year Award honors small-but-mighty businesses of 10 or fewer employees that demonstrate resilience, innovation, perseverance, and meaningful contributions to the local economy. For Financial Talent Group and Melissa Scruggs, those qualities are not simply award criteria, they reflect the way FTG operates every day.
Financial Talent Group has built a reputation as a trusted talent-solutions partner by helping businesses solve critical hiring challenges while guiding financial and accounting professionals toward meaningful career opportunities. The firm’s work strengthens companies, supports job seekers, and contributes to a healthier workforce across the Pikes Peak Region, Colorado, and beyond.
The 2026 Pikes Peak Region Small Business Week celebration brought together entrepreneurs, business leaders, advocates, and community partners to recognize the businesses that are helping move Southern Colorado forward. Melissa was also named a finalist for the Small Business Champion Award, which honors individuals who advocate for, promote, and serve small businesses.
For Melissa and the FTG team, the honor represents the heart of what small business is all about: showing up, solving problems, creating opportunity, and strengthening the community one relationship at a time.
“Small business is not for the faint of heart,” Melissa shared following the award announcement. “We have worked really hard, and I am incredibly humbled to receive this recognition. I know how hard every finalist and nominee has worked to even be considered, and I share this honor with all of them.”
Financial Talent Group was built on a clear mission: to connect exceptional financial and accounting talent with businesses that need the right people in the right seats to grow, lead, and thrive. But FTG’s work goes far beyond filling open positions.
The firm serves as a consultative partner to companies navigating critical hires, leadership transitions, hard-to-fill roles, and competitive labor markets. Through deep industry expertise and strong market relationships, FTG helps employers access talent they may not reach through traditional recruiting channels, including passive and hidden talent who are not actively applying but are open to the right opportunity.
For job seekers, FTG provides guidance, insight, and advocacy throughout the career journey. Whether someone is exploring their next leadership role, seeking a better cultural fit, or making a strategic career move, the FTG team offers support designed to help professionals make confident, informed decisions.
That dual impact, helping businesses grow while helping people advance their careers, is what makes FTG’s recognition especially meaningful.
FTG’s commitment to workforce development also extends into one of the most important conversations shaping the future of work: artificial intelligence.
As AI continues to transform industries, Financial Talent Group believes local businesses and job seekers must be equipped with the knowledge and confidence to use these tools effectively. The message is clear: you may not be replaced by AI, but you could be replaced by someone who understands how to use AI. That reality makes AI literacy a crucial skill set for today’s workforce and an essential part of keeping the Pikes Peak Region competitive.
FTG is committed to helping both employers and job seekers understand how AI can support productivity, hiring, career growth, and long-term business success. By educating professionals and business leaders on the practical use of AI, FTG is helping strengthen the region’s workforce and prepare it for the future.
This commitment is also reflected in FTG’s involvement with the Pikes Peak Workforce Center and broader regional workforce initiatives. Financial Talent Group plays an active role in helping bring businesses and schools together to support a stronger workforce pipeline. These efforts create deeper career exploration opportunities for students graduating from high school while helping employers engage earlier with emerging talent.
By connecting education, business, and workforce development, Melissa and FTG are helping build a bridge between the classroom and the workplace. These partnerships are essential to preparing students for real career opportunities, giving employers access to future talent, and ensuring the local workforce remains strong, skilled, and competitive.
Small businesses remain the engine of the American economy. Across the country, small businesses create jobs, strengthen local economies, keep dollars circulating in communities, support local causes, and provide opportunities that change lives. But beyond the numbers, small businesses are the organizations that hire neighbors, mentor future leaders, sponsor youth teams, invest in relationships, and show up when communities need them most.
Financial Talent Group is honored to be part of that story.
As a Colorado-based firm, FTG understands that talent is one of the most important drivers of business success. The right hire can transform a department, stabilize a team, support growth, and give leaders the confidence to move forward. Likewise, the right career move can change the trajectory of a professional’s life.
That is the work FTG is proud to do every day.
This award is not just a celebration of one company or one leader. It is a celebration of the employers, candidates, clients, partners, schools, workforce organizations, and community members who have trusted Financial Talent Group over the years. It is also a reminder that small businesses can create powerful, lasting impact when they lead with expertise, integrity, innovation, and heart.
Financial Talent Group extends its congratulations to all 2026 Pikes Peak Region Small Business Week finalists and award recipients, and offers sincere thanks to the Better Business Bureau of Southern Colorado, the Colorado SBDC serving the Pikes Peak Region, the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC and all partners who continue to champion small business and workforce development throughout Southern Colorado.
Learn more about Financial Talent Group by visiting us at: www.financialtalentgroup.com.
