September 24, 2019

Colorado Springs Startup Week September 9 – 13, 2019

A week-long celebration of innovation, entrepreneurialism, and the creative spaces in Colorado Springs.

Another successful startup week in the books, the 5th annual Colorado Springs Startup Week was September 9-13th with more than 50 events and 85 guest speakers. A week-long celebration of innovation, entrepreneurialism, and the creative spaces in Colorado Springs.

During the event’s packed five-day agenda, attendees networked at social hours, toured local startups, participated in pitch competitions and heard from dozens of local, state, national and international entrepreneurs from a variety of industries.

The event kicked off with a special appearance from Governor Jared Polis, an avid entrepreneur himself. “Colorado Springs and El Paso County are really a brilliant startup community and it’s really about empowering innovation. You know today’s garage startup could be tomorrow’s thousand-person company,” Polis told KOAA News5.

Eventgoers had plenty of opportunities to learn and network with various business leaders. A special addition to the event line-up on Tuesday got attendees outdoors on a VIP Startup Crawl that toured three different companies making an impact on the local business scene. The VIP tour group traveled in style to each of the locations, riding in a party bus that showcased the services of yet another local startup, LocalMotive. The crawl’s first stop was to Exponential Impact, then off to Milestones for Growth and lastly, Titan Robotics.

The program “Why Sports Startups Will Thrive in Colorado Springs” was a hit featuring Andy Jackson, VIVOBAREFOOT angel investor, Scott Schnitzspahn, VP of elite athletics at USA Cycling, Gloria Winters, YMCA chief medical officer, and Suzanne Crespo, an attorney at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner and member of the firm’s sports and entertainment group. The hour-long session was moderated by Rachel Beisel, chief marketing officer and senior vice president at CableLabs and the founder of the Colorado Women’s Cycling Project.

The panelists described Colorado Springs as the perfect place to launch a sports startup, listing the quality of life as an enormous attraction for athletes and entrepreneurs alike. Also included in the city’s advantages were the high altitude for training, the trail system, the demographics, the focus on health and the highly supportive and inclusive startup ecosystem.

Natasha Main, executive director of Peak Startup, estimates that upwards of 1,000 people attended the various events this year, a testament to how both the event and the community have grown in just a short time. Title sponsors of the Startup Week included the City of Colorado Springs Olympic City USAColorado Springs Chamber & EDCColorado Springs Utilities, and Downtown Partnership.

COS Startup Week in the news: