Events and Opportunities
Whether you're just curious to learn more about innovation and entrepreneurship or even ready to launch your next business, we have events and opportunities throughout the year to help you make the real-world impact that you envision. Keep up to date on upcoming events, opportunities and deadlines with our newsletters: Sign Up Now
Signature Programs of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative
Connecting the CU Boulder campus with the Boulder community to develop innovative ideas and pitch for up to $50,000 in venture funding.
Student entrepreneurs with diverse perspectives who embrace the spirit of innovation and impact on campus and in the Boulder community.
A micro-funding opportunity for CU Boulder undergraduate and graduate students that provides up to $500 in funding for entrepreneurial ideas in the making.
A mini job fair that brings entrepreneurially-minded CU Boulder students and local Front Range startups together with a twist.
Join this collaborative event that's all about making positive changes in the world. Whether you have an idea or are someone eager to help those ideas become real, this is the event you don't want to miss.
CU Boulder's entrepreneurial mentor network supports innovative activity on campus led by students, faculty and staff.
Off-Campus Opportunities
Events
Tuesday, Aug. 26: Boulder Open Coffee Club (BOCC)—This is an informal group for anyone interested in the startup community, particularly those with an interest in technology.
Tuesday, Aug. 26: Lunch & Learn: CEO Finance Lab - The Fast Track to Financial Mastery and Avoidable Mistakes for Founders—For founders and C-suite executives; attendees will learn about sharper tools for managing financials, preparing for investors and avoiding common pitfalls that derail early-stage companies.
Wednesday, Aug. 27: Lean In to Your Career: Your Toolbox for Advancing in Tech—A Women in Tech event hosted by Colorado Startups. Learn authentic networking strategies, explore how AI can be a productivity and leadership superpower, and take part in hot-seat peer mentorship for real-time career feedback.
Wednesday, Aug. 27: RVC Signature Series: Life Sciences Night 2025—Featuring a showcase of investment ready Colorado life sciences startups, a panel discussion from local VCs and valuable networking opportunities for entrepreneurs, investors and mentors.
Sept 3-Oct. 10: Research-to-Market (R2M) Customer Discovery Program—This virtual, four-week program is designed for researchers, entrepreneurs, inventors and problem solvers to commercialize their innovations, helping teams through customer discovery and finding a market for their innovation.
Sept. 15-17: Techstars Foundercon—A three-day gathering in Boulder of 1,000+ founders, mentors, partners and community leaders from across the global network. It’s where new ideas are sparked, real conversations happen, and high-value connections accelerate what’s next.
Sept. 16-18: Colorado Startup Week—Formerly Denver Startup Week, this event brings together entrepreneurs, investors and innovators from across Colorado for three days of inspiration, learning and networking.
Oct. 6-10: West Slope Startup Week—Five days of ideas, connection, and collaboration— all celebrating rural entrepreneurs and the communities they call home. Powered by Startup Colorado.
Saturday, Oct. 25: Rocky Mountain ETA Conference—Bringing together search fund entrepreneurs, students, investors, service providers, faculty, and other participants in the ETA ecosystem to connect, learn and share best practices in a growing field. Hosted by hosted by the CU Leeds School of Business in collaboration with Denver ETA Meetup.
Applications
Wednesday, Aug. 27 (deadline): Research-to-Market (R2M) Customer Discovery Program—Offered as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps™ Hub: West Region, this four-week program is designed for researchers, entrepreneurs, inventors and problem solvers to commercialize their innovations, helping teams through customer discovery and finding a market for their innovation.
Thursday, Aug. 28 (deadline): Advanced Industries Proof of Concept Grant—Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) is offering funding to help Colorado research institutions speed up applied research in advanced industries and commercialize products and services with the private sector. Projects can receive up to $150,000 in grant money.
Thursday, Aug. 28 (deadline):Advanced Industries Early-Stage Capital and Retention Grant—Colorado's Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) is offering funding to help Colorado-based advanced industries technology businesses develop and commercialize advanced technologies that will be created or manufactured in Colorado. Projects can receive up to $250,000.
Friday, Aug. 29 (deadline): Termeer Scholars Program—A two-day immersive for postdocs, physician-scientists & faculty translating research into healthcare impact.
Friday, Aug. 29 (deadline): AdvaMed | The MedTech Conference: Innovation Pavilion—An opportunity for early-stage device, diagnostic, digital health and imaging companies to display their technologies.
Tuesday, Sept. 2 (deadline): Mining Cleantech Challenge—This program connects clean technology innovators with major mining industry partners to accelerate the adoption of real-world solutions. Finalists will pitch directly to leading industry sponsors.
Friday, Sept. 5 (deadline): Earth and Space Systems Accelerator—Designed to accelerate the commercialization of science and technology startups, Innosphere's eight-month hybrid program is accepting applications for its first cohort. Free for Colorado-based companies and open to non-Colorado based companies as well.
Monday, Sept. 8 (deadline): CBA Foundations of Leadership Workshop—An in-person workshop for first-time leaders and scientists new to management, designed to build the foundations of leadership by exploring the characteristics of leaders, effective communication and teamwork skills.
Friday, Sept. 12 (deadline): Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator—Seven positions are available to serve as CEOs of new deep tech companies built around cutting-edge technology with the support of CU Boulder’s high-impact entrepreneurial engine.
Monday, Sept. 15 (deadline): 2025 Gates Grubstake Awards—Supporting multiple projects focused on regenerative medicines and cell/gene therapies. Individual project award amounts will vary based on funding needs. For investigators affiliated with the University of Colorado, Children’s Hospital Colorado, and the UCHealth System.
Monday, Oct. 13 (deadline): Research & Innovation Seed Grants—Grants of up to $60K for projects from all disciplines at CU Boulder, especially those involving inter- or multidisciplinary collaboration and projects in emerging fields. Projects to establish or leverage external partnerships (e.g. industry, national labs, universities, community nonprofits, etc.) are also welcomed.
Thursday, Oct. 30 (deadline): Starting Blocks Customer Discovery Workshop—Offered as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps™ Hub: West Region, this workshop is for anyone from a research or community institution motivated to bring their ideas to life, secure funding and create lasting impact.
Applications open: EnergyTech University Prize–Student teams compete for more than $540,000 for successfully identifying a promising energy technology, assessing its market potential, and creating a business plan for commercialization.
Applications open: The Environmental Sustainability Entrepreneurship Program—A free expert-led cohort to help sustainability ventures. Participants will receive expert-led training, committed mentorship and pitch coaching.
Rolling application: Startup Colorado Community and Entrepreneurship Grants–Grants that support rural entrepreneurs who are eager to level up their businesses but need a financial boost to get there.and delivering results.
Rolling Application: Global Business Development's 2025 Trade Shows–Apply for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade's funding and trade show participation program.