About Colorado Startup Week 

By the Community. For the Community.

It did not start with 10,000 people. It started in 2012 with a handful of community-organized sessions in downtown Denver. They all envisioned  entrepreneurs getting in a room together, sharing ideas, and building something worth showing up for.

That idea grew fast. Year after year, more entrepreneurs, more volunteers, and more of Colorado's biggest names got involved, turning a scrappy local gathering into the largest free celebration of entrepreneurship of its kind. Today, CSW brings together entrepreneurs and startups from across Colorado for a week of Main Stage Sessions, Independent Hosted Sessions, and Community Events.

What started as Denver's event became Colorado's movement, and in 2025, the name finally caught up to reality, Denver Startup week became Colorado Startup Week.

From Grassroots to Statewide Staple

  • Founded 2012

  • 10,000+ Annual Attendees

  • 250+ Sessions

  • 200+ Community Events

  • 100% Free

Your Questions, Answered

  • Colorado Startup Week is a free, statewide event celebrating entrepreneurship, innovation, and community. It features hundreds of sessions connecting founders, investors, creatives, and students from across Colorado every September.

  • CSW welcomes founders, investors, students, creatives, and anyone interested in startups. Whether you're launching, scaling, or supporting innovation, the event offers valuable sessions, networking, and resources to help you grow.

  • CSW runs 5 days, Monday through Friday, September 14–18, 2026.

  • No, Colorado Startup Week is completely free to attend — and has been since 2012. This is possible thanks to generous sponsors and volunteers who help keep the event accessible for everyone.

  • CSW is built from three kinds of programming: 20 curated Main Stage Sessions featuring some of Colorado's biggest names, 100+ Independent Hosted Sessions led by experts and organizations across the state, and 200+ Community Events and meetups submitted by the entrepreneurial community itself. Together, that's hundreds of ways to spend your week.

  • Collaborative, honest, and straightforward. We're here to guide the process, bring ideas to the table, and keep things moving.

  • Not at all. Build your own schedule around what's useful to you — one session, one day, or all five. There's no single "right" way to attend.

  • Every session fits into one of four tracks, so you can follow what matches where your business is right now:

    • Ignite — spark the idea, find your why

    • Create — build the thing, shape the product

    • Operate — run the business, sharpen the systems

    • Grow — scale up, go further

  • Main Stage Sessions are curated by the CSW team and feature headline speakers. Community Events are organized independently by entrepreneurs and organizations across the state — think meetups, workshops, and happy hours, all built by the same community that's attending.

  • To submit a session, visit the Get Involved page and complete the online form. Community members lead all sessions, so your idea can become part of the official schedule.

  • Yes — CSW is designed to be built by you, not handed to you. There's no single "correct" path, so newcomers can start anywhere: pick one track, one session, or a Community Event that looks interesting, and go from there.

  • The event is held at multiple venues throughout Denver, Colorado. Sessions, mixers, and parties happen in a variety of spaces, creating an immersive, citywide startup experience.

  • Registration is free — just register and build your personal schedule at costartupweek.com.