Edition 24: April 2025 Startup Events and News In Colorado
Community fueled resource for Colorado's startup ecosystem.
HAPPY 2 YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO THIS NEWSLETTER! Thank you so much to the amazing Colorado community for contributing for the past two years.
Fill out the linked forms if you have an event or news you’d like included in the next edition of this substack and also posted to the Colorado Startups calendar.
APRIL EVENTS
Beck Venture Center's Startup Forum: Clean Tech Landscape for Startups- Join us for an insightful panel discussion on the evolving clean tech landscape and what it means for startups. Industry experts, investors, and entrepreneurs will share perspectives on emerging trends, funding opportunities, regulatory challenges, and innovations shaping the sector. Whether you're launching a clean tech startup or looking to scale, this session will provide valuable insights and strategies for success. Don’t miss this opportunity to connect with key players in the industry and gain a deeper understanding of the future of clean technology.
When: April 2nd, 3:30pm
Where: Beck Venture Center, Colorado School of Mines
Who should attend: Entrepreneurs of all stages
Contributed by Jenny at Mines
Startup Colorado Lean Coffee - Join the Startup Colorado Community for our monthly Lean Coffee online series—an interactive networking discussion that’s tailored to entrepreneurs from all industries. Each month, we’re adding a new twist by featuring a co-host from the funding world. These representatives will kick things off by explaining how specific funding programs work and answering your questions in real time.
When: April 2nd, 9am
Where: zoom
Who should attend: Entrepreneurs seeking funding
Contributed by Vanessa at Startup Colorado Taylor
Thunderview CEO Dinners - Thunderview CEO Dinners is 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.
When: April 3rd, 6pm
Where: The Pearl (formerly Mercury Cafe) @ 2199 California St, Denver
Who should attend: CEOs of product and software companies (no service providers, please)
Contributed by Adam at Rockies Venture Club
Boulder Open Coffee Club (BOCC) - This is an informal group for anyone interested in the startup community, particularly those with an interest in technology. We've been meeting regularly since 2007.
The group typically includes entrepreneurs, investors, designers, developers, product managers, and other interesting people. A typical session include 2/3 regulars and 1/3 newcomers - all are welcomed!
Many thanks to our sponsor MojoTech!When: April 8th and 22nd, 8am (every other Tuesday)
Where: Virtual and in person (check registration)
Who should attend: Anyone interested in startups & tech!
Contributed by Chris Vieville
Silicon Flatirons Presents Startup Variety Show - Please join us on Tuesday, April 8 at Colorado Law for the Startup Variety Show. The Variety Show ranks among the best ways to engage with Colorado’s Front Range entrepreneurial community. Now in its third year, Variety Show stitches together the startup scene, CU Boulder, innovators from the Federal Labs, as well as technologists from incumbent technology companies. Register online!
When: April 8th, 5pm
Where: CU Boulder, Wolf Law Building
Who should attend: Startups, established entrepreneurs, community members, recent graduates, undergrad/grad students
Contributed by Christine at University of Colorado
RVC Valuations & Term Sheets Mastermind - The RVC Valuations & Term Sheets Mastermind is a group mentoring session where entrepreneurs can source candid advice on dilemmas they face with fundraising. Attendees help one another with strategy, actions for getting funded, leads and contacts, support and holding each other accountable for achieving goals. In addition, participants receive professional coaching from Rockies Venture Club, investors, and mentors.
When: April 10th, 3pm
Where: Thrive Ballpark, 1415 Park Ave W, Denver
Who should attend: Entrepreneurs & Investors eager to learn more about early stage startup valuation and term sheet negotiation!
Contributed by Adam at Rockies Venture Club
Boulder New Tech - We will showcase 4-6 new solutions that use technology every month. It's also useful for anyone new to Boulder to plug in to the ecosystem while you engage with trailblazers pushing the boundaries of technology, network with industry professionals and innovators, and gain exclusive insights into emerging trends shaping tomorrow’s tech ecosystem.
When: April 10th, 6pm (meets every 2nd Thursday)
Where: Founder Central, 2000 Central Ave #100, Boulder
Who should attend: anyone interested in new technologies
Contributed by Julie Penner
The High School New Venture Challenge—powered by FirstBank - Join us and be inspired by the next generation of entrepreneurs as they pitch their ventures for a chance to win big! The High School New Venture Challenge (HSNVC)—an exciting spin-off of CU Boulder’s nationally recognized New Venture Challenge—is designed specifically for Colorado high school students in support of entrepreneurial learning. HSNVC is a great opportunity to network, learn and support statewide student teams as they compete for more than $25,000 in scholarship funding to apply towards future tuition at CU!
When: April 12th, 1:30pm
Where: Kittredge Central Multipurpose Room, CU Boulder Campus, 2480 Kittredge Loop Drive, Boulder
Who should attend: Anyone interested in supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs including founders, investors, entrepreneurs, startups, community members, alumni/recent graduates, undergrad/grad students
Contributed by Karen at University of Colorado Boulder
ACA 2025 - The Summit of Angel Investing - Join us for three days of quality content, interactive discussions and vibrant networking to elevate your angel investing experience. It’s the must-attend event to hear the latest findings and best practices from industry experts and network with a diverse community to help angel investors make smart investment decisions. ACA is the largest angel investor professional development organization in the world, representing more than 15,000 angels who invest individually or through 250+ angel organizations, online platforms, and family offices. ACA members work side by side with other motivated, successful early stage investors to identify prospective investments, conduct due diligence research, mentor and advise early-stage companies and enhance local startup ecosystems.
When: April 15th
Where: Westminister, CO
Who should attend: Investors, Entrepreneurs, Service Providers
Contributed by Kevin at Rockies Venture Club
First Pitch Colorado - We're inviting builders from across Colorado to hear pitches from founders across every stage of building great technology companies. The event is hosted by Drive Capital's Tim Morrissey. Guest speakers: Mark Frank from SonderMind - Redesigning behavioral health to become more accessible, approachable and utilized. David Sunde from Landline - Building the leading provider of multi-modal connectivity for airlines. Nate Nasralla from Fluint - Building personalized business case your prospects are proud to champion with you. Happy hour - food and drink provided
When: April 15th, 5:30pm
Where: SVB's Office in Denver. [One Tabor Center, 1200 17th St, Denver
Who should attend: Founders, Future Founders, and Funders
Contributed by Tim at Drive Capital
2025 New Venture Challenge Finals - Join us and see who will win the 18th annual New Venture Challenge (NVC)! CU Boulder’s top student, faculty and staff startups will pitch their ideas to a panel of esteemed judges and you, a live audience. Highlights include live voting for the 2025 Audience Choice Award and appearances by winners of the NVC specialty competitions. Come support the next big CU Boulder innovations as we award $325,000 in funding!
When: April 23rd, 6pm
Where: Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St, Boulder
Who should attend: Anyone involved in or interested in startups including founders, investors, entrepreneurs, community members, alumni/recent graduates, undergrad/grad students
Contributed by Karen at University of Colorado
Startup Ski Days - Do you love to ski or snowboard? How about about on a Friday morning when the resorts aren’t packed? Startup Ski Days is a series designed to help you meet and get to know other local startup founders, operators, investors, and community members on the ski slopes.
When: April 18th, 8am
Where: A-Basin
Who should attend: Anyone in the startup community: founders, investors, operators, startup enthusiasts and startup curious alike
Contributed by Micah at Colorado Startups
Colorado Startups Happy Hour - Celebrate your hard work and the end of the month at the Startup Happy Hour with the Colorado Startups community. Join other ambitious entrepreneurs, investors, and community members in our state's thriving startup ecosystem for a lively and fun event. Now in 3 locations!
Spread the word, invite your friends, and let's celebrate together!When: April 4th (Louisville) and April 25th (Denver), 4pm
Where: Check link for each location!
Who should attend: Founders, Entrepreneurs, Investors, and Startup Community Members
Contributed by Micah at Colorado Startups
Women's Investor Network: Investor Roundtable- The Women Investors Network (WIN) invites you to join us for our next networking and education event focused on women investors. This event is open to all investors, so please bring a friend or colleague! Men welcomed too. The more diverse our investor community, the better the outcome of our investments. The event will be a women investor led roundtable discussion. The leaders of WIN are active investors and mentors within the early-stage venture community here in Colorado.
When: May 6th, 5pm
Where: One Barrel Bistro, 3401 S Broadway #110, Englewood
Who should attend: Women who are interested or active angel investors!
Contributed by Adam at Rockies Venture Club
Boulder Startup Week - BSW is a free conference-style event with sessions at local venues in downtown Boulder that educate attendees and provide professional networking opportunities.
When: May 12th-16th
Where: Boulder, CO
Who should attend: Investors, Entrepreneurs, Friend of the Community
Contributed by Shannon at Matchstick Ventures
NEWS AND RESOURCES
Alum Sristy Agrawal leads CU Boulder startup Mesa Quantum to success - Mesa Quantum, a CU Boulder spinout and leader in quantum sensing, recently announced $3.7 million in seed funding and a $1.9 million grant from SpaceWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Space Force. Both investments are fueling the company’s drive toward commercializing chip-scale quantum sensors for multiple applications including next-generation position, navigation and timing solutions.
Contributed by Daniel at University of Colorado
CU Boulder hosts showcases highlighting breakthrough innovations and investment-ready ventures - Venture Partners at CU Boulder and its partners across the Intermountain West once again demonstrated the power of university innovations with back-to-back startup showcases for the Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator and Destination Startup. Both provided a platform for cutting-edge startups, breakthrough research and high-growth potential ventures to connect university innovation with industry leaders and investors.
Contributed by Daniel at University of Colorado
Boulder Startup Week Call for Sessions - 🙌 Calling all Session Facilitators! 🙌
The call for facilitators is now open until April 1. Help shape the week and contribute by lending your expertise to build community and make magic happen at Boulder Startup Week 2025. Boulder Startup Week (May 12th-16th, 2025)