Events and Opportunities
Signature Programs of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative
Connecting the CU Boulder campus with the Boulder community to develop innovative ideas and pitch for more than $200,000 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 series of mini job fairs that connect entrepreneurially-minded CU Boulder students to high growth companies in Colorado.
CU Boulder's entrepreneurial mentor network supports innovative activity on campus led by students, faculty and staff.
Want to promote your event?
If you’d like to promote your event in the feed below, please contact karen.reid@colorado.edu or simply tag your event using the Innovation & Entrepreneurship group in CU Boulder’s Localist event calendar.
Off-Campus Opportunities
Events
Monday, Sept. 28:Silicon Flatirons Startup Variety Show–‘The Show’ stitches together the startup scene, CU Boulder, innovators from the Federal Labs and technologists from incumbent technology companies. This session features established and emerging players in the Colorado aerospace industry exploring how startups and other innovators are contributing to the rapidly-advancing final frontier of exploration.
Tuesday, Sept. 29: Tech Stars September Virtual Meet and Greet—Learn about the Tech Stars accelerators and open dates and hear tips for the application process.
Tuesday, Sept. 29: Capital Boot Camp (virtual)—This series helps founders prepare to apply for State funding opportunities. The final session on Sept 29 is focused on submitting applications and preparing for what’s next. Hosted by Startup Colorado.
Sept. 30—Oct. 2: 2026 Rocky Mountain Life Sciences Investor & Partnering Conference—Connecting investors, strategic partners, founders and ecosystem leaders in a focused, relationship-driven environment designed to support meaningful capital engagement.
Oct. 5-9: West Slope Startup Week 2026—A weeklong event for rural entrepreneurs, creatives, and community leaders—powered by local passion and built for connection. Hosted by Startup Colorado.
Oct. 5-Nov. 9: Colorado BioScience Institute Foundations of Leadership—A six-week professional development program designed specifically for emerging and aspiring leaders across Colorado's life sciences ecosystem.
Tuesday, Oct. 6: Boulder Chamber Economic Summit: Navigating Disruption. Building What's Next—Join more than 300 business, community, education, research and government leaders for a dynamic half-day summit exploring the forces reshaping our economy—and the opportunities emerging from them.
Wednesday, Oct. 7: 2026 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, Oct. 7: ARPA-H × Nucleate: Emerging Health Innovators Webinar—Learn about ARPA-H’s Emerging Health Innovators (EHI) initiative, a funding opportunity designed to identify and support the next generation of health innovators pursuing ambitious, high-impact ideas. For early career researchers and and innovators across biomedical research, health, engineering, data science and related disciplines.
Oct. 8-9: CU Boulder Sustainability Research Summit—A free, public event showcasing the breadth and depth of sustainability research.
Friday, Oct. 9: RVC Angel Accelerator: Introduction to Angel Investing—A free workshop to learn about the 10-week program designed to help participants acquire the necessary skills for successful angel investing. Hosted by Rockies Venture Club.
Wednesday, Oct. 14: Golden Startup Coffee—A monthly opportunity for entrepreneurs, innovators, creatives and community members to explore Colorado startup journeys.
Wednesday, Oct. 21: Prime Health's 2026 Health Innovation Summit: From Disruption to Discovery—Bringing together partners from across the Prime Health ecosystem to explore how evolving shifts in health systems are shaping the safety-net, and to uncover new opportunities for innovators to discover, align and take action.
Oct. 21-22: Lab Venture Challenge Showcases—Teams of top innovators from the University of Colorado will pitch to a panel of judges and a live audience for a share of more than $1 million in grants for their early-stage projects in bio- and physical sciences with compelling market potential.
Oct. 30-Nov. 1: Rural Women in Entrepreneurship Retreat—A small, in-person gathering hosted by Startup Colorado for women who are building, leading, creating, and supporting businesses in rural Colorado. Limited to 20 participants.
Wednesday, Nov. 4: Perfect Your Pitch—A a virtual pitch readiness session to help you refine your message and deliver it with clarity and impact. Hosted by Startup Colorado.
Saturday, Nov. 7: 2026 Rocky Mountain ETA Conference—Bringing together acquisition entrepreneurs, students, investors, service providers, faculty and other participants in the ETA ecosystem to connect and share best practices.
Friday, Dec. 11: Colorado Startup Ski Days—Join the Colorado startup community on the mountain! Open to founders, operators, investors and the startup-curious. Upcoming Ski Days: Jan. 15, Feb. 5, Feb. 19, March 26, April 16.
Applications
Wednesday, Sept. 30 (deadline): Startup Colorado's Idea Factory—A four-week accelerator program tailored for early-stage entrepreneurs ready to transform their innovative ideas into actionable, launch-ready plans. Open to rural entrepreneurs statewide.
Tuesday, Oct. 20 (deadline): Nucleate 2027 Activator—This free, non-dilutive accelerator supports academic trainees (PhD, MD, MBA, JD, MS, Postdocs) in building ventures across therapeutics, diagnostics, medtech, synthetic biology, food, energy, agriculture, climate and more.
Friday, Oct. 30 (deadline): Oak Ridge Labs Innovation Crossroads—Provides innovators with early-stage energy startups and/or emerging technologies with a two-year funded fellowship, supporting them as they develop and transition their ideas toward the market. Hosted by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Technology Commercialization’s (OTC) Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program (LEEP).
Friday, Oct. 30 (deadline): Activate Fellowship—For entrepreneurial scientists, providing the mindsets, skills, networks and support needed to turn breakthrough hard tech into real-world impact.
Nov. 4, March 4 (deadlines): U.S. National Science Foundation’s Pilot Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I, Phase II, Fast-Track Programs—Supports startups and small businesses developing scientific tools and technologies that advance discovery and strengthen the U.S. research enterprise.
Nov. 4, March 4 (deadlines): U.S. National Science Foundation’s Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Phase I, Phase II, Fast-Track Programs—Deep Technologies that Advance U.S. Competitiveness and Security: Supports startups and small businesses in transforming high-risk technologies into products and services that drive innovation, economic growth and jobs. Pilot Emphasis on Scientific Instrumentation: Supports startups and small businesses developing scientific tools and technologies that advance discovery and strengthen the U.S. research enterprise.
Wednesday, Nov. 18 (deadline): Techstars' Spring 2027 Accelerators—$220,000 investment to fuel your growth, expert guidance and lifetime access to 11,000+ founders and investors worldwide.
Monday, Nov. 23 (deadline): Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation's (BIRD) General Program—Conditional grants up to $1.5 million for jointly developed, commercially promising technology projects between one U.S. company and one Israeli company across sectors including advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, cleantech and life sciences.
Rolling Application: Activator: 25-26 Cohort—An open-access, equity-free biotech accelerator for early-stage founders.
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: OEDIT Advanced Industry Investment Tax Credit—For investors and advanced industries businesses in the amount of 25% to 35% per investment up to $100,000.
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.