Recap

This year we expanded the Startup Summer program to 40 enthusiastic participants from colleges and universities across the nation. How did it go? In short, there are year-long courses that do not approach what Startup Summer did over 10 weeks during Summer 2024. Our 2024 cohort was superintended by Managing Directors Veronica Chapman and Jacob Woodford, with support from Silicon Flatirons Director of Student Programs, Sara Schnittgrund.

The progress of students and companies during the program was astonishing. Ten companies pitched at our end of summer Pitch Night Finale. A Pitch Night attendee summed it up in a feedback survey:

“Knocked it out of the park. The world is in good hands with this generation.”

Ideally, Startup Summer provides an energetic, high-caliber boost to emerging company internships. In 2024, the internship market – especially around startups and tech companies – was awful. Many emerging tech companies eliminated internship programs altogether. Against this dismal backdrop, Startup Summer gave students a meaningful professional experience where, otherwise, none would have been available. We scrambled to find jobs for our students. Interns gathered weekly at Silicon Flatirons to tackle a startup curriculum. With class sessions led by successful Colorado founders and C-level execs, participants received a curated tour of the startup ideation and creation process. The core of the program is that participants launched a new venture with their peers, build the company through the program, and then competed in an end-of-summer pitch contest for cash prizes.

Importantly, students again loved the program. Student participants noted that this experience was far more than expected. As one student exit survey observed:

“This was such an amazing, well organized, well planned program and I am so grateful I got to be a part of it! I would recommend it to anyone. Invaluable experience!”

Additionally, Startup Summer 14’s participant base included a number of underrepresented backgrounds into the entrepreneurial scene. We this year launched our NextStars program to expand participation of underrepresented students. This program provided funding to support their unpaid work with nonprofits, government agencies, and very early stage startups. This generated valuable professional opportunities that otherwise would not have existed this summer.

Startup Summer 2024 company ideas spanned health tech solutions, domestic circuit board manufacturing, AI applications, and beyond. The Pitch Night Finale attracted a record Startup Summer attendance, with family members, friends of the program, and community members all coming out to support. Our three Pitch Night judges – Katie Stanton (VC, Moxxie), Ian Kuliasha (Attorney, KO), Danielle Dannenberg (Chief of Staff, Atlassian) – asked insightful questions, gave feedback, and ultimately chose our winning teams. A total of $12,000 in prize money went out to the students, made possible by our generous Startup Summer supporters.

And the Award Goes to:

The 2024 Champion company, Enriched, created a platform to help cancer patients with their nutritional needs. Enriched gave such an impressive pitch that a community member in attendance donated an additional $2,000 to their winnings.

1^st Place

Enriched
Thomas Garcia
Karthik Reddy
Taizo Takahata-Awad
Prerana Vishwanath
Robert Wang

2^nd Place

PCB EZ An educational initiative focused on bringing domestic Plastic Circuit Board manufacturing back to the US
Kylie Auerbach
Ava Ryan
Jaden Wood
Vickie Wu

3^rd Place

Hearplay An AI driven platform aiming to add sports-commentary to live-streams for youth sports
Shylah Hernandez
Junhyeok Lee
Rithi Prabhu
Vilnis Venta

4th Place Tie

Flye Education AI platform to help professors revamp their classroom and test-writing process	Ma Place A platform to help international students find housing
Nabor Alvarez	Rawan AlGhatani
Brad Fortino	Chris Gonzalez
Cody Muir	Janhavi Shrestha
Tyler Smith

5^th Place Tie (in alphabetical order)

Backout An app designed to connect outdoor enthusiasts for spontaneous activities	Dunya Decorations Providing rentable party supplies that are diverse, sustainable, and affordable	Founder’s Quad An online video call-centered networking platform for entrepreneurs
Holden Behr	Ella Berlin	Quinn Bernthal
Joe Powers	Prajin Kumar Suresh Kannan	David Bray
Kellan Stodden	Chaya O’Grady	Nathan Kochera
	Muskaan Saskena	Lily Morton
		John Murphy

Vagabond a social network platform that connects study abroad and local students who share an interest in learning one another’s cultures	Watchdog An AI-powered tool designed to simplify and clarify complex contract agreements
Kaitlin Hart	Rishi Bhargava
Quinn Hutchinson	Josiah Gordon
Eric Ringer	Jameson Miller
Ben Joseph Schweiger	Miles Woods
Kai Min Teh

2024 Sponsors

A very special thank you to our weekly speakers and mentors, supporters, community members, alumni, and of course, our generous sponsors, for making this year’s program possible.