> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://valdivya.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Highlights from Colorado Startup Week 2026 - URL: https://valdivya.com/highlights-from-colorado-startup-week-2026/ - Published: 2026-09-17T12:00:30.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-17T12:00:31.000Z - Description: Colorado Startup Week is about a community built to help each other succeed. Here's a few ideas I took away with me on founder motivation, fractional leadership, and AI adoption. · Read the post → - Author: Jesse Hormachea - Tags: all --- ## Key Takeaways - Ask yourself why you're really building what you're building. - Fractional leadership is growing fast, and it's not the same as consulting. - AI adoption works best when it starts with people, not the technology. - Colorado's startup community is defined by how open and connected it is. --- I’m attending Colorado Startup Week 2026 and it’s amazing how much this has grown. I can’t even remember the last time I attended. It must have been at least 10 years ago and it was only called Denver Startup Week back then. My first impression is how much it has expanded since last time I was engaged. The events are spread out across locations all over the downtown area. They are well attended by many different types of entrepreneurs, leaders, and contributors. It’s a welcome energy to see this community thriving across industries. I also found the community to be very inviting and open. Everyone looking to connect other people together and share their perspective. It genuinely felt like a community of people looking to find ways to help. Whether directly through their ideas or services, or helping connect you with someone else. I think that stands out as a Colorado startup advantage. The community is outstanding. As for the events themselves, you could easily keep busy from 8 to 8 with events but that wouldn’t be anything I (or the event organizers themselves) would recommend. I selected a handful of events through this week to network, learn more, and engage with the heaviest focus on Wednesday’s schedule. ## Colorado Startup Week Kickoff Tuesday’s official kickoff was led by Jared Polis, celebrating the 15th anniversary of Startup week. From there, multiple fireside chats with founders and VCs gave perspective on what it takes to create, build and raise funds in Colorado. Taylor Hurst of Konvoy Ventures had a line that really stuck with me. “Why do you need to build this company?” It is what he looks for in every founder that is looking to raise capital. The question is searching for the founder’s reason to exist and what makes them passionate about the company they are building. It’s a powerful idea to figure out what will make the founder relentlessly pursue their mission. It’s something I’ve reflected on a lot for myself this year. What drives me? ![Colorado Governor Jared Polis speaking at Colorado Startup Week 2026](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/23/0223ad21-7b3e-4bc7-958d-29a7d2730c21/content/images/2026/09/IMG_8020-1.jpeg) Jared Polis at the Kickoff for Colorado Startup Week 2026 ## Board Room Ready Theresa Szczurek, former CIO for Colorado amongst her many titles, led a session titled “Board Room Ready”. She led through how to set goals and work towards a board position while also explaining the different types of boards that are out there. I personally have an interest in participating in board work. I was part of a private, executive-led board at BlueModus. As I expand my practice, I’m interested in bringing my unique skillset to a larger audience. Especially groups that hold personal interests for me. ## Civic Tech, Fractional Leadership, and Japan On Wednesday, I attended multiple civic focused events. All focused on how to use technology and entrepreneurial endeavors to achieve more social good and have an impact. There were a few ideas that stuck with me throughout the day. Juan Lucena from the Colorado School of Mines said, “Consider the entire human being,” when using AI. His point is AI isn’t available to everyone in underserved and impoverished communities. They don’t have the access and the datasets don’t have their perspective. You have to work with the people on the ground to have a real impact. Vivek Ramavajjala from Google said, “The user doesn’t care if it is AI or not, they only care if it works or not.” This aligns well with one of my core ideas on how to enable teams for AI. We need to stop talking and building as if anyone really cares about AI or the technology behind it. Most people just want things to work and have their jobs be easier. I found multiple sessions for Fractional Leaders worth attending. Some for those interested in how fractional leadership works and others to support fractionals and network. One was a panel led by Crys Black, titled “What is a Fractional?”. It featured a panel of fractional talent across Product, Finance, Marketing and Technology. It was an active discussion across the room about the benefits and purpose of fractional executives. The key takeaway was that a fractional executive is different than someone doing advisory or consulting work. One may lead to the other but a fractional executive has the responsibility for their line of business. Also, most fractionals are working to help grow the business to fire themselves. The other fractional event I attended was pointed at founders with too much on their plates and how a fractional could help them: From Chief Everything Officer to CEO: the power of fractional leadership. The session introduced the concept of fractional leadership for organizations and how it can work for founders to help get time back in their lives. One interesting stat shared is that this model of leadership is growing quickly. “30% of midsized companies will have a fractional by 2027.” The access to senior level talent without the full salary is an accelerant for companies. ![Slide with information on fractional leaders: how it works, common roles, and differentiators](https://storage.ghost.io/c/02/23/0223ad21-7b3e-4bc7-958d-29a7d2730c21/content/images/2026/09/IMG_8027-1.jpeg) What is a Fractional Leader? The last event I attended on Wednesday was more of a personal interest session and happy hour. Tokyo and Beyond: Why Japan. Why Now.It included a small delegation from Japan looking for investment and business development opportunities across the healthcare, software, and VC space. The session was well-run, giving the group insight into these organizations and how work between Colorado and Japan can be done. The direct connection and time building trust in the community are still very important but some of the operational pieces are just a little easier now, like translating documents. The cross-culture ideas and learning more about business in Japan was fun and the food was great. I have a few more events that I will attend Thursday and Friday to wrap up the week but it’s been great to poke my head back into the startup community again. ## Denver has great energy It’s also been nice to hang out in downtown Denver again. I’ve been remote for years. Even when I had offices downtown, I mostly commuted in and stayed inside. This week, I bounced around all over for the events, finding places to take quick calls and get some work done. There is still a lot going on in downtown Denver and I’ve found a few new places to hang out and work. For more information on Colorado Startup Week, check out: [https://www.costartupweek.com](https://www.costartupweek.com/?ref=valdivya.com) If you’re an early founder, have been in business for a while, or whatever you’re figuring out right now, I’m sure I can help you take the next steps in your business. I’ve been working with companies of all sizes from 1 to 100 people this year. Ready to talk through your next steps? [Schedule a Call](https://valdivya.com/contact/)