[Glenwood Springs, CO] – The weekend of Nov. 21-23, entrepreneurs and creative minds are invited to Colorado Mountain College’s Glenwood Center for Startup Weekend Western Colorado. This event will provide not only inspiration, but the resources required for building and launching a viable, scalable company.
During the weekend, participants share ideas, form teams around top vote-getting ideas, get advice and hear talks from successful entrepreneurs. They can learn needed skills, build prototype products and take the first steps in launching startup businesses.
Startup Weekend at CMC in Glenwood Springs will join more than 1,800 Startup events around the world in 2014 alone. Glenwood’s event coincides with Global Entrepreneurship Week, Nov. 17-23, which celebrates business innovators and job creators. As part of that celebration, Glenwood’s Startup Weekend will take part in the Global Startup Battle, a worldwide competition involving Startup teams from more than 100 countries. Glenwood’s winning team will be in line to compete on a broader scale, and will be eligible to win Microsoft’s Bizspark, a $15,000 software package, among other prizes.
“Startup Weekends are about learning through the act of creating. Participants don’t just listen to theory, but build their own and truly put it to the test while collaborating with like-minded, passionate individuals,” said Alex Huppenthal, Startup Weekend facilitator. “On top of that, Startup Weekenders receive invaluable advice from local tech and startup leaders.”
The participants will receive instant feedback from a distinguished panel of judges, including Thea Chase of Telluride Venture Accelerator; Ross Iverson, Vail Valley Leadership; and John Ramo, Digital Dimensions.
Anyone is welcome to pitch their startup idea and receive feedback from their peers, said organizers. Teams organically form around the top ideas (as determined by popular vote) and then it’s a 54-hour frenzy of business model creation, prototyping, designing and market validation. The weekends culminate with presentations in front of local entrepreneurial leaders.
Entrepreneurs launch companies, meet possible co-founders, meet someone new, or learn a skill outside their usual 9-to-5. Everyone is guaranteed to leave the event better prepared to navigate the chaotic world of startups, said Huppenthal.
“Startup Weekend attracts each community’s best makers and doers, and by spending a weekend working to build scalable companies that solve real-world problems, our participants build long-lasting relationships and may even walk away with a job or an investor,” he said.
Colorado Mountain College is a sponsor of the event. Tickets to the weekend range from $49 to $99, and 25 percent discount rates for Colorado Mountain College staff and faculty are available. Student rates are available as well. Included in the ticket price are a $500 Google hosting credit, a $100 Amazon hosting credit, free domain registration, free business cards, and information on free Microsoft developer tools and apps.
Contact the Western Colorado Startup Weekend website at for more information and to order tickets. The CMC Glenwood Center is at 1402 Blake Ave.