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Header Image:听Lisa Padilla, CEO and co-founder of Beryl Therapeutics presents.

The intermountain west innovation ecosystem came together at听the fifth annual Destination Startup^庐 showcase on Feb. 15 and 16, hosted by Venture Partners at CU 麻豆影院. In a highly competitive field, 21 university ventures from intermountain west research institutions were selected to present at the showcase.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 a great opportunity to get real, honest feedback from people that genuinely want to see you be successful,鈥� said James Weltz, chief scientific officer of Cascade Biocatalysts Inc., which presented at the showcase. 鈥淚t is both a friendly audience and an honest audience with real-world startup and venture experience. A true win-win!鈥澨�

In the two-day event, ventures hoped to make a breakthrough connection with local investors and venture capitalists from across the United States.听

鈥淓very year, we seek to raise the bar on the quality of the ventures at the showcase, and 2023 was no exception,鈥� said Stephen Miller, director of venture development at Venture Partners. 鈥淎 record number of investors registered for and attended Destination Startup, and their initial feedback is that the entire slate of teams was venture-ready.听In five years, I鈥檝e never seen this much investor interest. It鈥檚 a fantastic opportunity for these startups.鈥� 听

Bringing institutions together for greater impact听

In addition to the participating Colorado research institutions (the University of Colorado Anschutz and 麻豆影院, Colorado State University, Colorado School of Mines and the University of Denver), Destination Startup^庐听welcomed startups from the University of Arizona and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.听
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鈥淒estination Startup鈥檚 participating universities collectively conduct about $4 billion in research and create about 75 startups each year,鈥澨齭aid Brynmor Rees, associate vice chancellor for research and innovation听and managing director of Venture Partners at CU 麻豆影院. 鈥淭he partnership among universities is a wonderful example of regional collaboration, building new opportunities and driving investor interest. CU 麻豆影院 is proud to play this leadership role in elevating research translation and economic development.鈥澨�

Investors heard pitches seeking to advance sectors from agriculture and sustainability to therapeutics and advanced materials. From curing bad dog breath (uPetsia, Inc.) to reducing carbon emissions with a new microalgae-infused bio-concrete (Prometheus Materials), ventures presented world-changing solutions. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great venue to cut your teeth in front of real investors,鈥� said Nicol谩s Anzellini, chief executive officer of Cardiost, which is developing a heart assist pump to treat patients with late-stage heart failure that affects millions.听

Through a competitive application process, startups are paired with mentors and serial entrepreneurs from Venture Partners鈥� extensive coaching network. Startups worked to perfect their investment pitch in mentoring sessions while receiving expert guidance on their underlying business model and market journey.听

In just five years, impressive results听

Venture Partners launched Destination Startup^庐听in 2019 to attract investors that might otherwise miss potential ventures in Colorado and surrounding states.听听

Through Destination Startup^庐, from 2018-2022, over 70 new startup companies have been launched, and more than $400 million has been collectively raised by startups in venture, angel, strategic and grant funding.听

鈥漁ur startups will soon pass the half-billion mark in total fundraising in just five years,鈥� said Miller. 鈥淭his pleasantly exceeds our expectations and validates our original assertion that there are lots of great investment opportunities emerging from our research institutions in this region. It鈥檚 not just limited to the coasts, and these innovators proved it.鈥� 听

As an example of how far university startups can go, Max Perez, vice president of Infleqtion (previously ColdQuanta), delivered the keynote address at lunch. A CU 麻豆影院 spinout, Infleqtion raised $110 million last year to expand its operations and 鈥渢o pivot to a broader view of what quantum is,鈥� Perez said.听

鈥淎s investors, we鈥檝e been impressed with the growth in the quality of pitches and maturity of fundable companies at Destination Startup,鈥� said Sally Hatcher, managing partner at Buff Gold Ventures, a听private venture capital fund investing in startup companies connected to CU 麻豆影院. 鈥淭he program鈥檚 high-quality content and in-person energy certainly showcased how a startup pitch event can be even stronger coming out of COVID. We are enthusiastic about the funding opportunities for a number of companies and founders who presented.鈥澨�

Destination Startup^庐听2023 was sponsored by Cooley LLP, Higginbotham, Silicon Valley Bank and Medmarc.听