Raising the Bar Once Again
On June 3, forty-two ambitious students set out on the 10-week entrepreneurial journey that is Startup Summer 2025. This year’s edition, the 14th year of the program, wrapped up in front of 200 enthusiastic attendees at Pitch Night on August 14.
This year’s cohort represented colleges and universities across the nation. Participants included undergraduates spanning rising sophomores to seniors, as well as one participant who joined before starting his freshman year at Princeton. Students immersed themselves in one of CU Boulder’s most dynamic entrepreneurial experiences under the leadership of Managing Directors James Anderson and Nell Clasby. Silicon Flatirons team members Sara Schnittgrund (Director of Student Programs) and Brad Bernthal (Executive Director) were also closely involved throughout the program.
“Startup Summer exposed me to an entirely new way of thinking. During the summer, everything in the world became a startup idea. Wherever I went, any problem I had—it turned into an opportunity. It’s something I’ll take with me as I head into college, and I’ll be searching for the right idea to jump on and dive back into entrepreneurship with.” — Vincent Stone
From day one, students were challenged to live out the Startup Summer mission:
“Empower students to build community, grow their confidence in their ability to create and launch new ideas, expand their professional networks, and develop real-world collaboration skills through immersive entrepreneurial experiences.”
And that’s exactly what they did. Over the course of the summer, 11 startup teams were formed, thousands of data points were collected through customer discovery, as the student-entrepreneurs steadily transformed their ideas into reality. Intense weekly sessions covered every stage of the entrepreneurial process from ideation and customer discovery to legal strategy, prototyping, and feasibility testing.
Hosted by some of Colorado’s most successful founders and industry leaders, Startup Summer 2025 sessions pushed the students to think bigger, build faster, and lean into the supportive startup ecosystem around them. Throughout the 10 weeks, students also had the opportunity to connect with and learn from the Startup Summer Mentor group, which included more than 70 entrepreneurs, investors, lawyers, and startup veterans who generously shared their time and wisdom.
“Startup Summer taught me that success begins with believing in yourself —and there’s no better place to take that leap than within Colorado’s supportive entrepreneurial community.” — Benjamin Scarberry
Armed with that knowledge and confidence, the cohort launched 11 distinct ventures—six of which built fully functional minimum viable products. Their ideas spanned everything from a class-tailored AI study platform with a human-in-the-loop model to a reimagined bartering marketplace, the “Thrift Store 2.0.”
The program culminated with the annual Pitch Night, where the students competed for $12,000 in cash prizes thanks to our generous sponsors. The finale drew an electric Startup Summer audience, with family, friends, and community members filling the room. Attendees praised the event as a highlight of the summer! Judges David Mandell (Massive VC), Ingrid Alongi (Edited Capital), and David Dupont (TeamSnap) assessed each pitch, challenged the entrepreneurs in Q&A, provided valuable feedback, and ultimately crowned the winners.
“As a former participant, I know the grind. What I saw on stage this year was world-class—these students are raising the bar for what Startup Summer means.” — Jonathan Weiss, Startup Summer 2023 Alum & 2025 Audience Member
And the Award Goes to:
The 2025 Champion company, Framo, created a first-of-its-kind tool making construction processes faster, safer, and more efficient to protect workers and improve life on the job site.
1st Place
| Framo |
|---|
| Diego Andujo |
| Peter Hindes |
| Antonio Yervez |
2nd Place
| Dish’d Using powerful image recognition technology to scan your fridge and pantry, then recommends recipes tailored to your favorite foods, dietary needs, and available cooking time |
|---|
| Benjamin Davis |
| Sarah Liszewski |
| Revel Roxberry |
| Vincent Stone |
3rd Place Tie
| Buildjoy AI-powered platform that generates custom LEGO designs, turning any idea into a buildable creation | Retrofuse A creative solution for the digital media advertising space |
|---|---|
| Omar Arrieta | Bruno Giron Giessen |
| Ryan Falender | Parker Ortanes |
| Rylee Melton | Benjamin Scarberry |
| Jaegun Song |
Audience Choice Award
| Axon IQ Protecting the athletic performance, long-term health, and well-being of young athletes, parents, and coaches |
|---|
| Shaan Chauhan |
| Jenna Jones |
| Sujay Karki |
| Keegan McCarthy |
| Terrences Morgan |
5th Place Tie (in alphabetical order)
| Barter A platform that makes it easy to barter goods, giving unused items a second life while reducing waste and protecting the environment | Cookademy An app that helps you learn new skills, share your creations, and make the kitchen a place you actually want to be | Roughneck Original clothing designs that blend style, functionality, and self-expression |
|---|---|---|
| Rafal Algahtani | Davis Anderson | Yashwant Gandham |
| Dolgormaa Sansarsaikhan | Gabriel Bazan | Pranav Vikirtan Dhayanithi |
| Madhav Bhattarai | ||
| Sam Weaver | ||
| Andreas Wilderding |
| Sip Scout Helping great local drink brands find the people who will love them | SippMo Crafting healthy beverages to nourish and support the liver and gut so you can feel good from the inside out | UNI-VERSE Leveraging AI to improve the way students and professors interact with coursework. |
|---|---|---|
| Clara Eide | Mahi Chalicham | Sam Benton |
| Maria Goergen | Rachel Ginther | Natalia Manjarrez |
| Eera Vedavyas | Ken Herrmann | Quinton McClannan |
| Morgan Morris | Sophia Ratana | |
| Chinmay Somayajula |
View the Startup Summer 2025 Pitch Night Photo Gallery
Startup Summer 2025 once again proved why Colorado, and CU Boulder stands as a premier hub for entrepreneurial talent. This cohort didn’t just learn—they built. They didn’t just pitch—they inspired. And they didn’t just join the community—they expanded it.
To the students: your creativity, resilience, and teamwork set a new standard.
To the mentors, speakers, and community: your generosity of time and insight is what makes this program thrive.
And to our generous Startup Summer supporters: thank you for continuing to bolster this unique ecosystem where the next generation of founders can flourish.
Startup Summer continues to do what it does best—raise the bar. What an exciting time to be part of the Colorado startup community.
2025 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.
Dale and Pat Hatfield