Embark Startup Founder
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Job Summary
Wanted: Entrepreneurs to launch new companies based on University of Colorado Boulder innovations!
The Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator by Venture Partners at CU Boulder matches motivated entrepreneurs with breakthrough innovations developed at the University of Colorado Boulder. Through a competitive selection process, Embark will hire up to seven Embark Startup Founders to serve as CEOs of new deep tech companies built around technology developed in CU Boulder’s world-class research enterprise. This is an opportunity to lead a startup using cutting-edge technology, with the support of CU Boulder’s high-impact entrepreneurial resources and programs.
Embark is designed for aspiring founders who are ready to lead a startup but don’t yet have their own idea. If hired, you will spend six months forming your company, refining your business model, and accelerating your path to market through CU Boulder’s deep tech commercialization ecosystem, including entrepreneurial training and accelerators, as well as funding opportunities through investor introductions and grants. The selected startup founders will receive a free exclusive option to obtain an express license on special terms available only to companies forming around CU Boulder’s technology.
Prospective startup founders begin by applying for the position with a resume and cover letter. All applicants will also be invited to submit a short video. Then, from Oct. 2 - Dec. 11, selected candidates will be invited to explore dozens of CU Boulder’s most promising technologies, propose a startup concept, and pitch their vision for that technology. Hired startup founders will receive salary support as temporary employees from Jan. 1-June 30, 2026, reporting to the Director of Venture Development.
Who We Are
The Embark Deep Tech Startup Creator is part of Venture Partners at CU Boulder. Set in the heart of the University of Colorado’s bold, innovative community of scholars and learners, Venture Partners brings the university’s world-class researchers together with the business, startup and entrepreneurial communities to translate groundbreaking solutions into economic and social impact. As a catalyst for innovation, our work is exciting, fast-paced, and multidisciplinary, bringing together the domains of business, science, and law.
As one of 40 U.S. public research institutions belonging to the prestigious Association of American Universities (AAU), our goal at CU Boulder is to directly benefit the world through collaborative research, innovation and entrepreneurship. Our faculty, staff and students work with the broader community to establish unique connections that have lasting outcomes—both across Colorado and around the world. CU Boulder aspires to be the top university for innovation.
CU Boulder is situated in one of the most innovative communities in the country. Boulder has been ranked by Forbes as the best city in America in which to start a business, and as the top city in America by Bloomberg’s Brain Concentration Index.
What Your Key Responsibilities Will Be
- Form a company and sign a free startup option agreement.
- Build and launch a new startup centered around a technology developed at CU Boulder.
- Provide executive-level leadership for your startup.
- Collaborate with university researchers who developed the founding technology for your company.
- Complete early startup benchmarks toward commercialization.
- Assess product-market fit and the viability of the overall business, and pivot to alternative strategies if necessary.
- Complete Venture Partners Ascent Deep Tech Accelerator, and other training provided throughout employment.
- Provide regular reports to Venture Partners leadership on startup progress and achievements.
What You Should Know
- The startup founder position is primarily remote, although in-person meetings are occasionally offered.
- Startup founders will go through the standard hiring processes at CU Boulder, which include a background check.
- This temporary position is not eligible for benefits or visa sponsorship.
- Up to two startup founders will win $50,000 for the CU Boulder lab that developed the technology to help further the development of the technology.
- Startup founders will work with the research team to develop milestones to be achieved with the grant funding.
- The grant is not offered or paid to the startup company, and the work needs to be completed in a CU Boulder lab.
- Not all technologies are eligible for this grant; more details will be provided to the applicants during the interview process.
- No option agreement, license agreement, employment or grant is offered or issued until it is provided in writing and signed by an authorized individual at CU Boulder. CU Boulder reserves the right to change the details and conditions of Embark.
- CU Boulder will provide a free, 12-month Exclusive Option Agreement to the startup companies formed by the hired Embark Startup Founders. The Exclusive Option Agreement holds the technology for the company until it is ready to license the intellectual property.
- Venture Partners’ leadership may offer Exclusive Option Agreements to other top candidates who are not hired for the position, provided their pitches meet specific criteria, and they are interested in launching companies without the Embark Startup Founder position.
- Visit our website to explore frequently asked questions about Embark.
What We Can Offer
Starting salary is $5,400/month.
Benefits
Be Statements
What We Require
- A bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute for the degree.
- Direct experience in at least one startup company or relevant product or project management experience in a company or other organization.
- At least three years of leadership experience at a startup or leading a team within a company or other organization.
What You Will Need
- Passion to build and launch your own company.
- The entrepreneurial hustle and resourcefulness to identify potential business opportunities and blaze a new path where none has previously existed.
- Attitude and aptitude for partnership and relationship building, especially with the university technology inventors.
- Collaborative and problem-solving outlook.
- Excellent relational and communication skills.
- Sensitivity to and appreciation of cultural, racial, political, geographical, and other differences.
What We Would Like You to Have
- Experience as a startup founder or executive, ideally in a company with a strong emphasis on science or engineering.
- Track record of leading successful startup ventures, including raising capital, securing partnerships, product launch/sales or company exit.
- Preferred qualifications may be used to reduce further the pool of applicants to those who are most highly qualified.
Special Instructions
- A current resume.
- A current cover letter.
Posting Contact Information
Posting Contact Name: Boulder Campus Human Resources
Posting Contact Email: Recruiting@colorado.edu