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For a third year, Colorado students as young as six and as old as twenty will learn and network side-by-side with local entrepreneurs and business leaders during Denver Startup Week. “Youth Pass” enables students to participate in event workshops, to lead panel discussions, to compete for cash prizes, and to pitch their business ideas to Colorado entrepreneurs and business leaders. The experience immerses students in a buzz of invention and creativity while providing them with a head start in learning about innovative business strategies as they pursue their own ventures. More than 16,000 people are expected to participate in Denver Startup Week events this year.
Denver Startup Week runs from September 16-20. The Youth Pass program includes four events, including:
Youth Pass Pitch Challenge
Tuesday, September 17, 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Commons on Champa, 1245 Champa Street, Denver
Pre-qualified students, aged 12-18, pitch their businesses for the chance to earn a coveted spot in the Denver Startup Week Pitch Challenge. Contestants are youth entrepreneurs who have earned this opportunity through a rigorous application and audition process, establishing their rightful access to the Denver Startup Community. Judges are prominent figures in the Denver entrepreneurship arena with the know-how to spot real potential.
Brothers Sam and Charlie Warren, owners of Knot It, sold products at YouthBiz Marketplace and Expo at Denver Startup Week last year.
YouthBiz Marketplace and Expo Presented by Young Americans Center for Financial Education
Tuesday, September 17 3:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Skyline Park, 16th & Arapahoe Streets, Denver
YouthBiz Marketplace and Expo is a unique and exciting experience for youth ages 6-18 to sell products, present business plans, and generate an expanded customer base for servicebusinesses. Last year, Denver Startup Week participants were enthused by the opportunity to interact with the next generation of entrepreneurs. All are invited to come listen to, learn about, and discover what these young entrepreneurs have to offer.
For more information, visit yacenter.org/denver-startup-week-youth-pass.
Making It: Achieve Success in the Maker Movement at Any Age
Friday, September 20, 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Skyline Park, 16th & Arapahoe Streets, Denver
Youth and young adult entrepreneurs share their insights about Denver’s Maker Movement. Panelists will detail the evolution of their businesses, explaining how they sustainably grew from youth-based hobbies to serious, full-time revenue generators. Business owners will highlight the key tools and resources in the Denver community and beyond that have propelled them to the next level as Makers.
About Denver Startup Week
Denver Startup Week, founded in 2012, is a celebration of everything entrepreneurial in Denver. The weeklong event is intended to unite the entrepreneurial community in Denver and celebrate the great companies, innovation and ideas happening in the city and the people and inspiration behind them. The core programming is centered on the entrepreneurial community with an emphasis in technology, design, social entrepreneurship, manufacturing and business. Events throughout the week are organized by both the Denver Startup Week Organizing Committee and the community at-large and include sessions, presentations, panels, workshops, happy hours, social events, job fairs and more. Denver Startup Week Title Sponsors are Chase Ink, Downtown Denver Partnership, iAging, Slack, Toptal and the University of Denver. For more information, follow the hashtag #DENStartupWeek and visit www.DenverStartupWeek.org.
About Young Americans Center for Financial Education
Young Americans Center for Financial Education is a nonprofit organization committed to developing the financial literacy of young people, up to age 22, through real life experiences and hands-on programs. The Center fulfills its mission by offering programs that complement and reinforce each other to build life skills, work skills and financial self-sufficiency. These include Young AmeriTowne, International Towne, YouthBiz, Money Matters classes, summer camps and more. In addition, Young Americans Center houses the only real bank in the world for young people, Young Americans Bank, which shares the same educational mission of teaching children to be financially responsible. Since 1987, more than 800,000 youth have participated in the programs or bank. For more information on the Young Americans Center for Financial Education, visit https://yacenter.org.
