Entrepreneurship Week
May 17–22, 2026
Join Entrepreneurship@DU for another jam-packed week of festivities on the University of Denver campus focused on innovation, collaboration and creativity. Get ready for an exciting week designed to highlight entrepreneurship in Denver. All DU students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as the Denver community, are welcome. All events are free to attend.
Pop-Up Palooza: Entrepreneurship and Innovation Festival
Sunday, May 17
2-5 p.m.
Campus Green
What started as just 12 booths a few years ago has grown into a massive event, with over 65 student and alumni-run businesses participating last year. Pop-up Palooza is kicking off Entrepreneurship Week on the afternoon of May 17, presented by Entrepreneurship@DU and the student group Launchpad.
Come check out what DU student and alumni entrepreneurs have to offer, as they showcase their businesses, sell their products, and share their innovations and creativity. Enjoy free food from student-run ventures, grab some swag, play games, and listen to live music from student bands and the Lamont School of Music. With hundreds of students, faculty, staff and community members attending, this is your chance to experience the energy of DU’s innovation and creative scene.
Entrepreneurship Minor Senior Celebration and Dinner
Monday, May 18
5-7:30 p.m.
Joy Burns Center, Tuscan Ballroom
The Entrepreneurship Minor Senior Celebration Dinner is an annual tradition recognizing graduating University of Denver students.
This event is a chance to celebrate their hard work, growth and achievements, while looking ahead to the exciting opportunities that await them. As the students wrap up their time at DU, faculty, staff and students come together to honor their accomplishments.
Entrepreneurial Challenge: The Future of Local News
Wednesday, May 20
4-6:30 p.m.
The Hub, Daniels College of Business Suite 155
Open to: All DU undergraduate and graduate students (all disciplines welcome!)
Teams: Teams of 3-6 students from (cross-disciplinary recommended including MFJS, Daniels and Computer Science)
Hosted by the Department of Media, Film and Journalism Studies, and Entrepreneurship@DU
The Future of Local News Challenge invites University of Denver students to tackle one of the most urgent questions facing democracy and civic life: How do we rebuild local news in ways that are sustainable, trusted and responsive to the communities they serve? During this fast-paced Entrepreneurship Week event, students will hear directly from journalists, independent creators and media leaders working on the front lines of these challenges before teaming up to design practical solutions that could be tested with real news organizations in just 90 days. Multidisciplinary teams are especially encouraged, bringing together students from business, journalism, technology and beyond.
Teams will tackle one of two real-world challenges. Rather than creating abstract business plans, teams will develop concrete, testable pilot concepts and present them to judges for a chance to win prize funding and, potentially, continue developing their ideas with the Colorado News Collaborative and its statewide network of news partners. This is an opportunity for students to apply entrepreneurial thinking to a pressing public problem—and help imagine what the future of local news in Colorado could look like.
Wealth Reimagined: Rethinking Capitalism for an Interconnected World
Thursday, May 21
1-5 p.m.
Reiman Theater in Margery Reed Hall
Open to: All DU students, faculty, staff and community members
As part of the University of Denver’s strategic partnership with the University of Glasgow, Entrepreneurship Week Presents “Wealth Reimagined: Rethinking Capitalism for an Interconnected World.” This panel will feature Graeme Roy, Deputy Head of College of Social Sciences, alongside University of Denver Deans Naomi Boyd (Daniels College of Business), Fritz Mayer (Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs), and Bruce Smith (Sturm College of Law). In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, the first panel will explore how global leadership, institutions, and geopolitics continue to shape markets, opportunity, and society. Building on that, the second panel will focus on how local ecosystems respond to global systems that shape access to capital, value, and risk.
An invite-only reception will follow the final panel.
Panel 1: Global Leadership, Markets and the Public Good
1:30-2:45 p.m.
Moderator: Melissa Akaka, PhD, Associate Dean for Research and Strategic Initiatives; Co-Director: Consumer Insights and Business Innovation Center (CiBiC); Professor
As part of the University of Denver’s strategic partnership with the University of Glasgow, this panel will feature Graeme Roy alongside three University of Denver deans. In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, panelists will explore how global leadership, institutions,
and geopolitics continue to shape markets, opportunity, and society.
Speakers
Naomi Boyd, PhD
Dean, Daniels College of Business
Graeme Roy
Deputy Head of College and Professor of Economics, University of Glasgow
Frederick "Fritz" Mayer
Dean, Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs
Bruce Smith
Dean, Sturm College of Law
Panel 2: Local Economies, Innovation and New Models of Funding
3-4 p.m.
Moderator: John Sebesta, PhD, director of Entrepreneurship@DU
Building directly on Panel 1, this discussion shifts to how local ecosystems respond to global complexity. Global systems determine who has access to capital, how value is defined and how risk is distributed—creating both constraints and opportunities that cascade down to local economies.
Panelists will explore how innovative funding mechanisms, cross-sector partnerships and entrepreneurial support systems can expand access to capital and foster more inclusive, sustainable economic growth. Local ecosystems are adaptive engines of innovation, capable of redesigning how capital flows and how value is created within the constraints set by global systems.
Speakers
Andrew Luter
Founder, Rio Chato Investments; Investor; Board Member, Fishing the Good Fight
Liz Myslik
Managing Partner, Loft Growth Partners; Board Member, Investor
Kevin Allen
Co-Founder and Board Member, Access Mode; Investor and Entrepreneur
Nathaan Demers, Psy.D.
Principal Investor & Clinical Psychologist, HOPELAB