Now What?
Now What? lets students from all disciplines sit down one-on-one with a legal or business expert. Our business experts will provide specific, one-on-one advice about ideas, or weigh in on next steps for startups. Similarly, you can ask attorneys how to protect your idea, how to navigate regulation, and any other legal questions you may be facing about your ventures.
Get Seed Funding
This micro-funding opportunity for CU Boulder students provides up to $500 in funding for entrepreneurial ideas in the making. After applying, students select a night to pitch to a team of five CU students, explaining their ideas and answering questions over a 10-minute period. Funding is requested for everything from marketing and customer discovery to prototyping and materials. Ideas have ranged from innovative ladders for firefighters to apps that let you rent out a parking spot outside your home.
New Venture Challenge
For 11 years, the New Venture Challenge has been CU Boulder’s flagship entrepreneurial “flight simulator,” giving aspiring entrepreneurs the chance to build a startup through outstanding support and mentorship. Each year, over 100 teams participate for a chance to win up to 6-figures in prize money, with small prizes and competitions strewn throughout the process. From idea-stage companies with the right student founders to proven campus-built technologies, students, staff and faculty alike all have equal opportunity to show up and show off their business ideas—and potentially win big.
Demystyifying Entrepreneurship
This workshop series provides invaluable skills for anyone thinking about pursuing a business idea, solving a world problem, or currently working on a startup. In each workshop - ideation, prototyping, marketing and finance - you’ll work with a professional who’s an expert in the field. Come build cool sh*t with us in these sandbox-style workshops.
Startups & Sandwiches
This series brings seasoned entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and tech leaders together with the best sandwiches the city of Boulder has to offer. Students are given a unique opportunity to meet and network with executives and founders alike, and participate in a presentation, challenge, or discussion facilitated by our guest. Each speaker brings their own flavor to their session, and no two lunches are alike.
Field Trips
Get your hands dirty and find out what it's really like to work for a startup. In these half-day visits, students not only get to visit young and fast-growing startups, but also get a peek behind the curtain on operations, manufacturing, and more. Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, field trips are a great way to dig into an industry, explore startup roles and positions, or just broaden your perspective.
Immersion Treks
Through our Immersion Treks students get to explore high growth ventures and the local startup ecosystem in local, national, and global communities. The goal of Deming Center treks is to provide students an inside look at active, growing ventures, and launch students into relationships with business leaders, professionals, investors, and peers. Treks are tailored, hands-on experiences for students interested in learning more about what it takes to be a part of the startup world.