2017–2026 A decade of impact
Regis Innovation Challenge Announces 10th Year Anniversary.
For ten years, the Innovation Challenge has been more than a competition. It has been a place where founders find the support, momentum and community to build what comes next.
The 2026 Innovation Challenge marks ten years of making room for people who see a problem, imagine a better answer and decide to begin. The anniversary celebrates the ventures that have come through the program—and the network that has helped them move forward.
Ten years of turning possibility into progress
Since 2017, the Regis Innovation Center has created a practical home for entrepreneurship at every stage. Some founders arrive with an idea still taking shape; others bring a product, customers or a business ready for its next decision. The Challenge meets them where they are, then asks them to test what matters: is the solution desirable, feasible and viable—and can the team communicate why it deserves to exist?
That work has added up. The 2026 Impact Report records more than 230 businesses supported, over 90 volunteer mentors engaged and more than $350,000 invested directly in entrepreneurs. Those figures tell only part of the story. Behind each one is a founder who had a conversation, practiced a pitch, pressure-tested a plan or found a collaborator when the path ahead was not yet clear.
More than a finals night
The Innovation Challenge is built as a journey, not a single pitch. Open houses invite people into the community. Qualifying rounds help founders frame the opportunity. Mentor Saturdays make space for customer discovery, financial thinking, branding, legal questions and the hard conversations that turn a concept into a more durable business. The semifinals and finals bring focus and visibility, but they are the culmination of months spent learning in public.
Prize funding and co-working support matter because they give founders room to act. So do the mentors, judges, alumni, faculty and peers who show up with perspective and accountability. Together, they make the Challenge a place where a first-time founder can learn the language of business and an established venture can find its next avenue for growth.
Built for the whole entrepreneurial community
The Innovation Challenge is rooted at Regis, but its ambition has always reached further. It welcomes students, alumni, faculty and community entrepreneurs because strong ideas are not limited to one classroom, one industry or one ZIP code. Over the years, ventures have addressed maternal wellness, clean energy, sustainable transportation, mental health, retail technology and more—problems whose effects extend well beyond campus.
That reach is strengthened through Colorado relationships and a wider network of partners. The Innovation Center connects founders with the Magis Factory, local startup events, mentors and organizations working across the region. Its work with Arrupe Jesuit High School opens an earlier doorway into entrepreneurship, giving students the chance to build and pitch real ventures for college credit. The result is an ecosystem that can begin at Regis and continue into Denver, Colorado and the wider world.
Students helping build the next decade
Student leadership is central to what makes the Innovation Center different. Co-Student Directors Adin McPherson and Nathaniel Deryl help sustain the work behind the Challenge while bringing a student perspective to how founders are welcomed, supported and connected. Their leadership reflects a core belief of the Center: entrepreneurship is learned by doing, and the people closest to the experience should have a hand in shaping it.
That belief also guides the future of this website. Built and sustained by Adin and Nathaniel, it is becoming a living tool for the community—not just a place to announce events, but a record of founder journeys, a guide for future teams and a bridge to the people and resources that can help an idea keep moving. Every story added here extends the memory of the Challenge and makes the next starting point easier to find.
The work continues
An anniversary is a chance to look back with gratitude, but the purpose of the Innovation Challenge has always been forward-looking. The next decade will bring new founders, new questions and new ways to create value for people and communities. What will remain constant is the commitment to meet builders at their current stage, help them take the next meaningful step and celebrate the progress that follows.
Ten years in, the Innovation Challenge is still asking the same essential question: what will you create next?