Colorado Startup Week Showcases Tech Innovation and an Inclusive Future

From Sept. 16 to 18, Colorado Startup Week (CSW) welcomed thousands of innovators and entrepreneurs to celebrate great companies, people and ideas. With programs and events along the Front Range, attendees convened at educational institutions, breweries, and public spaces to showcase ideas, share lessons and chart a course for the state’s innovation economy. Sessions ranging from strategic revenue generation to women’s health and aerospace created an invigorating energy at a time of national economic uncertainty.

Now in its 17th year, the event has grown from a grassroots gathering into the nation’s largest startup week, solidifying Colorado’s reputation as a hub for bold thinking and business creation. In addition to tech-heavy programming and conversations about investment strategy, this year’s event featured conversation driven by resilience and inclusivity.

With an expansive schedule, takeaways are vast and varied, but feedback from attendees consistently points to the sense of community, inspiration and practical insight that make CSW a uniquely transformative experience.

A Culture of Staying and Building

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston reflected on how far the state’s startup ecosystem has come since the early years. He recalled founders who once were told to take their ideas to Silicon Valley or New York if they wanted to succeed.

“These are the people who said, ‘No, I refuse to do that. I’m going to build my company here and I’m going to build an ecosystem so that other people can build their companies here,’” Johnston said in an interview with PBS12.

That determination has borne fruit. Colorado now boasts billion-dollar exits, high-profile IPOs and a surge of investment that stays local. Johnston pointed to a “pioneering spirit” that combines grit with generosity in Colorado.

“It’s not as if everyone else has to lose for me to win,” he said. “People here want to see their neighbors, their partners, their friends succeed at the same time.”

The First Step Is Saying Yes

For Adeel Khan, founder and CEO of MagicSchool AI, Startup Week underscores the importance of simply starting. His company, a generative AI platform for educators, began as a kernel of an idea shared over dinner with a friend.

“I said, ‘I’ve never founded a software company before. Is this crazy?’” Khan recalled. “And he said, ‘I think you should go for it.’ Sometimes having that nudge of encouragement … can be the difference between starting and just letting an idea go.”

Today, MagicSchool serves millions of educators worldwide and has demonstrated measurable impact in Colorado classrooms, including a 28 percent literacy improvement in Aurora Public Schools.

For Khan, the primary lesson is that saying yes must be followed by perseverance. “Don’t underestimate how difficult this can be,” he said. “Do it because you’re passionate about it, because you wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

Building Inclusive Pathways

While Colorado’s startup scene has expanded rapidly, Zaneta Kelsey, co-founder of Access Mode, emphasized that not all entrepreneurs have equal access to opportunity. Her nonprofit works with historically excluded founders to help them launch and scale tech-based businesses.

“Being an entrepreneur is such a lonely journey,” Kelsey told PBS12. “Especially for those who don’t have the networks or resources to get unstuck.”

Access Mode’s initiatives include accelerators, mentorship programs and speed-mentoring events where women business owners receive pro bono guidance from experts.

“Money is important, but what founders often need most is support and mentorship,” Kelsey said, highlighting the progress the company has made.

“When we first started, not a lot of people stopped by our table. Now, I can’t walk into an elevator without seeing someone I know who’s helped us along the way.”

Kelsey also challenged the community to look beyond labels. “The term DEI may be dead,” she told the audience, “but the community I serve is still very much alive, and still very much needing to bridge a gap.”

Momentum in a Post-Pandemic World

This year marked the first CSW fully branded under its statewide identity rather than “Denver Startup Week.” Organizers noted a renewed energy and sense of hope as entrepreneurs from across the state gathered in person after years of disruption and adjustment.

For many, the event symbolized Colorado’s shift from recovery mode into growth mode. Networking sessions buzzed, pitch competitions drew crowds and panels spotlighted cutting-edge trends in AI, quantum computing and sustainable business.

Attendee Stephen Jaye shared event takeaways on LinkedIn, noting that “People seem to be over the “quick fix.” He says that despite excitement around new technologies such as AI, “investors are interested in the people they are investing in, as well as some more long term viability of the business.”

As the final day came to a close, many participants reflected on the reasons why they started in the first place. Most didn’t become entrepreneurs for headlines or funding rounds, but for community, impact and the chance to solve real problems.

A Future Built Together

Mayor Johnston captured the sentiment in simple terms: “We believe that all our problems are solvable, and we’re the ones to solve them.”

CSW showed what it looks like when innovation is fueled by collaboration, ideas are nurtured into companies and success is measured by the communities impacted along the way.

For every entrepreneur who walked away with a new connection, a piece of hard-earned wisdom or the courage to finally say “yes,” this year’s Startup Week was proof that in Colorado, the future is being built by creators and innovators who aren’t afraid to take a risk.

Editor’s note: To learn more about Colorado Startup Week, visit www.costartupweek.com.