Denver Startup Week is Sept. 25-29

September 20, 2017

Denver Startup Week, the largest free entrepreneurial event of its kind in North America, returns to Downtown Denver for a sixth year Sept. 25 through 29, 2017. Denver Startup Week, created to celebrate and grow a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship in Denver, will feature approximately 350 programs geared toward the entire entrepreneurial community. Events span networking sessions, mentor hours, workshops, leadership spotlights and panel presentations that collectively are expected to attract more than 13,000 people looking to start or grow their business in Denver and gain inspiration. Denver Startup Week is sponsored by Aging 2.0, Chase for Business, Comcast, the Downtown Denver Partnership, WeWork and nearly 70 other organizations and is supported by nearly 1,000 community members, session presenters and volunteers.

Register and build your schedule at denverstartupweek.org.

“Denver Startup Week is a powerful showcase of the strength of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Denver,” said Ben Deda, event co-founder and vice president of marketing at Vertafore. “No matter your stage of business, company role or industry, Denver Startup Week provides the tools, resources and community support to help you start-up and grow a successful business.”

The week will begin with the Denver Startup Week Kick-off Breakfast, sponsored by SendGrid and presented by the Downtown Denver Partnership, on Monday, Sept. 25 from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the Seawell Ballroom. The event will feature Casey Neistat, an American film director, producer, developer and creator of popular YouTube videos, as the keynote speaker. Consistently one of the most popular events of the week, free tickets for the Kick-off Breakfast “sold out” in less than three minutes.

Denver’s reputation as one of the best places to start and grow a business has once again attracted notable speakers and founders including DISH founder and CEO Charlie Ergen, Mark Cuban, Brad Feld, Marty Cagan, Kimbal Musk, U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon, and more.

Organized by the Denver Startup Week Organizing Committee and co-led by Deda, Tami Door, president and CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership, and Erik Mitisek, president at IMAgine Analytics, Denver Startup Week is focused on highlighting Denver as an entrepreneurial epicenter on the local, regional and national stage, while enhancing community connectivity and providing resources for the startup community and beyond.

New this year, 50 Denver Startup Week Ambassadors will be hosted at the event from across the United States in a program geared towards showcasing Downtown Denver to individuals, companies and communities across the country. More than 400 people applied to be part of the program in its first year, a strong signal of the national interest in Denver as a technology and innovation hub.

“Downtown Denver is an enviable intersection of a talented workforce, high quality of life and engaged community that is attracting significant levels of investment and attention,” said Door. “Denver Startup Week is a showcase of a year-round culture of innovation and entrepreneurship that is home to nearly 5,000 center city startup employees and more than 700 startups yielding some of the most innovative companies and leaders in the world.”

There is something for everyone at Denver Startup Week with 350 Denver Startup Week events span six programming tracks designed to educate and inspire across roles and industries. A deep dive into what to expect from each programming track, including featured sessions, can be found at the links below and on the official Denver Startup Week blog.

  • Founder Track, sponsored by Healthgrades, featuring programs covering the fundamentals of business formation, development and growth with a focus on helping people get their business off the ground.
  • Growth Track, sponsored by AARP Colorado, featuring programs that help you learn how to find customers and scaling that process.
  • Developer Track, sponsored by Fanatics, featuring programs that address broader industry trends and mix of topics relevant at a macro level.
  • Maker Track, sponsored by Colorado Lending Source, featuring programs that reflect the flavor of the community while staying relevant to broader trends in the field.
  • Designer Track, sponsored by Herman Miller, featuring programs that serve as a guide to entrepreneurship in the creative economy.
  • Product Track, sponsored by Pendo, featuring programs that balance concrete techniques, soft skills, and interesting stories from the field told by experienced product managers.

Sessions are also organized in content clusters that include IoT, Diversity and Inclusion, Cannabis, Healthtech, Social Impact and Business Basics.

Headline events, designed to bring people together and showcase the companies, community and entrepreneurial spirit that is enjoyed in Downtown Denver throughout the year, will begin with the Opening Bash, sponsored by AARP Colorado, and end with a Closing Bash, sponsored by Xero, and several exciting events in between including:

  • IRL: Physical Product Showcase, sponsored by Avnet, Tuesday, 9/26 from 2 to 5 p.m.
    The showcase will bridge the multiple technology and physical maker tracks and highlight 45 end-user products that make Colorado a thriving physical-product community.
  • Women Who Startup Summit, Tuesday, 9/26 from 6 to 10 p.m.
    Now in its fifth year, the event will feature some of Colorado’s leading women entrepreneurs with a theme of “She Persisted”.
  • Startup Crawl, sponsored by Pear Workplace Solutions, Tuesday 9/26 from 4 to 7 p.m.
    A free-flowing opportunity to go behind the scenes and experience startup company culture at 16 Downtown Denver startups.
  • Startup Week Job Fair and Showcase, sponsored by Spectrum, Wednesday, 9/27 from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
    Join the 4,875 employees of tech startups in Downtown Denver and network with nearly 100 companies of all sizes and stages who have signed up to participate. On-site childcare is available during this event through a partnership with Nanno.
  • Denver Founders 100th Meetup Celebration, sponsored by Next50 Initiative, Monday, 9/25 from 4 to 7 p.m.
    Denver Founders will celebrate its100th Meetup in celebration of the Denver Startup Community from the original Denver Startup Meetup.
  • Miller Lite Tap the Future Presents Business and Beer, sponsored by Molson Coors, Wednesday, 9/27 from 4 to 7 p.m.
    Join us for an evening of casual networking and business advice from successful entrepreneurs and business experts at the Miller Lite Tap the Future Business and Beer event.

Returning for a second year is the Denver Startup Week Pitch Challenge (Pitch), sponsored by Project X-ITE, The Cable Center and WeWork. 124 companies applied via 90 second video pitch to be named one of 25 semi-finalists. The community is invited to vote on the semi-finalists through Sept. 22, and finalists will pitch live at Denver Startup Week on Sept. 27 before the champion is crowned at the final Pitch Challenge at Basecamp on Sept. 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. The winner of the Pitch will receive over $100,000 in cash and prizes.

Basecamp, launched by Chase for Business returns as the hub and epicenter of Denver Startup Week. Basecamp, located at The Commons on Champa at 1245 Champa St., features an exciting line-up of entrepreneurs and innovators sharing their expertise and insights through keynote speeches, panels and mentoring sessions throughout the week. See the complete schedule at denverstartupweek.com/basecamp.

One event not to miss at Basecamp is the Denver Startup Week Mentorship Program, sponsored by Bold Legal. Several opportunities are available for one-on-one mentor sessions, online mentorship through the Turtlewise platform, and the opportunity to engage with startup leaders in small group mentor sessions featuring Ibotta Founder and CEO Bryan Leach, Revolar Founder Jackie Ros, Havenly CEO and Co-Founder Lee Mayer, Kimbal Musk and more.

Highlights of the inspiring conversations and panel discussions with some of the leading minds from the startup community at Basecamp include:

The Denver Startup Week Maker Wall features top products and companies that define Denver’s maker community including skis, backpacks, food products and more.

“Denver Startup Week is a high-impact showcase of the energy, talent, community and business success that makes Denver the best place in the country to start and grow a business,” said Mitisek. “We encourage all of our attendees – those who live here and those who are traveling here to experience Denver’s entrepreneurial ecosystem – to share their experience with their networks to continue to brighten Denver’s star on the innovation map.”

All Denver Startup Week events take place at locations in Downtown Denver.

Stay connected to Denver Startup Week at www.DenverStartupWeek.org, by following #DENStartupWeek and #ChaseBasecamp on social media: @DENStartupWeek and @BasecampLiveDEN on Twitter, liking the DSW Facebook page and following us on Instagram.