Just last week, the first annual Startup Games Colorado tested the beer pong skills of seven local startups--for charity.
This year, Ibotta came out on top after an intense tie of "muscle chug" breaker against Blinker: each athlete took a knee, then placed a cup with half a beer balanced on their bicep and drank. After winning 2 of the 3 rounds, Ibotta earned $7,000 for the charity of their choice: Judi's House. Blinker earned $5,500 for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, and Home Advisor took third with $4,500 for Open World Learning.
In total, the 7 companies raised $25,000 for charity.
The vision of the games is to bring together the top startup communities around the world competing in local events to raise $1,000,000/year for charity. Sara Reeves, Program Director at Notely, an impact investment firm joined by Startup Games this year, said:
"Startup Games celebrates the hardworking, competitive, and fun atmosphere that drives so many successful startups and puts that culture to work for good causes. The thriving startup scene and sense of community in the Denver/Boulder area create an ideal setting for our first expansion outside of Austin."
Here at Code, we're always excited to see initiatives like Startup Games recognize Colorado's thriving startup community--we were so excited, in fact, that we had to be there. Both Riley and Conor volunteered for the event, and had an absolute blast watching the teams show off their athleticism (and beer chugging skills--adds Riley) to raise money for the causes they care most about.
The Startup Games brings local startup companies together to compete in a series of events in a single day of networking, fun and philanthropy. The first annual competition in Colorado was held in the Glitter Dome in the RiNo District, and included 10 events plus a tie breaker. Each company chooses a charity to donate to, with the largest portion of the funds raised going to the charities of the first, second, and third place teams. However, all 7 teams walk away with a grant for their charity.
The Startup Games was founded in Austin in 2012, with a goal of raising $1,000,000 every year for charity through friendly competition among the top startup communities in the world. Denver is honored to be the first expansion of the games, and we can't wait to host the games for years to come.
