Events and Opportunities

Events

Thursday, Aug. 7: Thunderview CEO Dinner—A monthly dinner founded to introduce a diverse set of CEOs (across backgrounds, stages and markets) to one another to share their experiences and receive outside perspectives.

Tuesday, Aug. 12: 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. 12: RVC Pitch Academy—A half-day workshop to prepare founders sharpen venture strategies and to understand many of the terms and processes used by VCs.

Thursday, Aug. 14: Startup Summer 2025 Pitch Night—The summer program concludes with a pitch competition, where students from the program pitch their unique startup ideas. Attend in-person or via virtual livestream.

Friday, Aug. 15: Startup Hikes—Do you like being outside? How about on a Friday morning when the trails aren’t packed? Startup Hikes is a series designed to help you meet and get to know other local startup founders, operators, investors, and community members. Whether you’ve been in Colorado forever or just moved here, see some familiar faces and meet new ones.

Wednesday, Aug. 13: Golden Startup Coffee—A monthly opportunity for entrepreneurs, innovators, creatives and community members to explore Colorado startup journeys.

Wednesday, Aug. 13: SBCD Contract Opportunities Expo—Discover new contracting opportunities and connect with local and national government agencies, national labs, corporate and advanced industries focused on certifications, registrations and the ins and outs of contracting.

Tuesday, Aug. 19: Longmont Open Coffee Club Happy Hour—A meetup for entrepreneurs, developers and investors with a focus on discussing startups, staffing, marketing and debating the hot topics of the day.

Thursday, Aug. 21: Boulder New Tech Meetup—For anyone interested in technologies.

Thursday, Aug. 21: XI Pitch Night—Connect with others in the Colorado Springs entrepreneurship community, hear innovative ideas, and give helpful feedback to pitching entrepreneurs!

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.

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. 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.

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

Friday, Aug. 8 (deadline): Elevating Colorado Voices: Public Scholarship Workshop—For Researchers: Gain real-time feedback on a draft, advice on how to pitch to media outlets and a month of access to OpEd’s network of mentor-editors.

Wednesday, Aug.  13 (deadline): 2025 Oil & Gas Cleantech Challenge—A technology-scouting competition that fast-tracks clean-tech solutions into the oil and natural-gas value chain. Finalists will pitch live to leading operators, service companies, and investors—gaining exposure, feedback and potential partnership opportunities.

Wednesday, Aug. 20 (deadline): Pitch at West Slope Startup Week—Open to in-revenue businesses with growth potential, this competition invites founders headquartered in rural Colorado to step into the spotlight and share what they’re building.

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.

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.

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.