The day before this year’s Colorado Startup Week, an exclusive spotlight highlighted the innovation coming out of the University of Colorado’s four campuses. More than 500 individuals attended the third-annual CU Innovation Day, hosted at the History Colorado Center on Monday, September 14, 2026. Attendees included researchers, entrepreneurs, university students, community leaders, and 150 local high school students who came out to share, connect, and be inspired.

Across keynote speakers, panel discussions, and an inspiration hall centered around the theme of “deep roots, new routes,” 60+ innovators shared a dazzling variety of recent research breakthroughs, creative projects, and new ventures — many of which came from the CU Denver campus only a few blocks away.

Highlights on CU Denver changemakers

The event opened with remarks from Todd Saliman, president of the University of Colorado, and a keynote presentation from Bryan Leach, founder and CEO of Ibotta. Both described CU as “a place of discovery, creativity and innovation” in Colorado, from its start 150 years ago to today’s rapidly evolving landscape in the age of AI.

A series of short presentations followed to highlight innovators from CU’s four campuses, including Brandon Slade, CU Denver alum and founder of Untapped Learning. Later on, the event also featured a panel discussion on CU and the future of the arts in the Rocky Mountain West that included leaders from the Sundance Film Festival.

Up on the fourth floor, Inspiration Hall was packed with attendees and tabling projects spanning innovations in biotech and medicine; arts, culture and storytelling; and emerging and deep tech.  

One of those exhibitors was Eugene Zhang, a CU Denver alumnus, pharmacist, and founder of Renmira, a software-as-a-service (Saas) solution that enables hospitals to efficiently borrow and loan medications through a centralized digital platform. Zhang won the $20,000 first-place award for Renmira at this spring’s THE CLIMB, an annual pitch competition at CU Denver’s Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship. Not only that, but he also won a $1,000 grant at CU Innovation Day itself after receiving the highest number of tokens from voting attendees.

“I’m really excited to showcase what Renmira’s about to a broader audience and to show the importance of addressing medication shortages and how Renmira can speed up that process,” Zhang said. Renmira is currently running pilots at two hospitals in Northern Colorado.

Mekella and Julie Butterfield, recent graduates of Colorado’s only MS in Entrepreneurship program, also showcased their business, Ella’s Charm. Their costumed character entertainment service based in Colorado Springs also won the $5,000 second-place award at this spring’s THE CLIMB.  

Other CU Denver exhibitors at Inspiration Hall included:

• Moatassem Abdallah, CEO of Commutrics, LLC, and associate professor of civil engineering;
• Farnoush Banaei-Kashani, an AI and data science expert and associate professor of computer science and engineering;
• Lorne Bregitzer, associate professor of music technology;
• Nam Bui, founder and director of the Intelligent Networked Systems and Cybernetics Laboratory (InsCy Lab) and assistant professor of electrical engineering;
• Carol Golemboski, photographer and professor of photography;
• Mark Golkowski, co-founder of Super Pulse and professor of electrical engineering;
• Darija Medic, a tactical media artist and assistant professor of digital design; and
• Edward Tyndall, a writer, documentary filmmaker, and assistant professor of film and television.

Leaders of entrepreneurship at CU Denver were recognized for their work supporting student founders and new venture creation in the 2026 Featured Campus Innovators, including Madhavan Parthsarathy, PhD, executive director of the Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship, and team members Clair Seville, associate director of operations; Sarah Beatrice Soenke, associate director of marketing and communications; and Brian Brinkman, assistant director of recruitment.

Sessions back at the Business School

By the next day, Colorado Startup Week was in full swing, and the Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship hosted several of its sessions at the CU Denver Business School.

Completely free to attend, Colorado Startup Week is an annual week-long celebration of bold ideas and the entrepreneurial spirit across the state. Over 10,000 founders, investors, creatives, and changemakers gather to share and discuss the biggest trends affecting Colorado’s tech economy and small businesses. It is an ideal opportunity for students to get involved, network, and discover how to pursue their own bold ideas. 

Of those hosted at the Business School’s commodities lab on Tuesday, each one was led by either an entrepreneurship instructor or mentor at the Jake Jabs Center. Sessions included: 

• From Code to Culture to Market, led by Jon Mertz, EdD, instructor of strategy and entrepreneurship
• No Job? Build the Company Instead. Why 2026 is the Best Year Ever to Be an Unemployed Graduate, led by Alisa Chalakhyan Wilson, founder of Foundwise
• Five Financial Mistakes Even Successful Founders Make (and How to Avoid Them), led by Ally Ecklund, CPA, founder of Zestiny Wealth

To learn more about Colorado Startup Week, visit costartupweek.com.