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During the coronavirus pandemic, Greg Potts, Idea Forge machine shop coordinator, joined many others in pursuing a new hobby: mask-making. He has made over 250 masks and plans to sew at least 100 more.

A collaborative group comprising Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Law's Silicon Flatirons Center, Startup Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ, and the Telluride Foundation recently received an $85,000 grant to enable the development and execution of a three-day entrepreneurial policy academy.

New Iridium, a company developing commercialized photocatalysis technologies to accelerate drug development and manufacturing, has been awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant for $256,000 to conduct research and development work on facilitating timely availability of Remdesivir, a potential life-saving drug in the global fight against COVID-19.

Launched this month by the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business, COventure Forward is designed to connect small businesses, start-ups, scale-ups and entrepreneurs to a seasoned mentorship network.

COventure Forward is an online resource platform designed to support entrepreneurs and small businesses during the COVID-19 crisis.

Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Engineering’s Kyle Judah, executive director of entrepreneurship, is among a small group of community members launched Feed The Frontlines Boulder, an organization that supports local restaurants while providing fuel for the fight against COVID-19 to frontline health care workers.

Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder spinout SomaLogic Inc. is beginning a merger with a special purpose acquisition company CM Life Sciences II that would add up to $651 million in new funding to the company’s books, and make it Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ’s latest unicorn. The deal values SomaLogic at $1.23 billion before going public, granting it unicorn status as a privately held company worth more than $1 billion.

In hopes of securing investments to advance their companies, 18 university ventures spun out of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ research institutions and federal laboratories pitched to local and out-of-state investors at the state's second annual Destination Startup showcase on Feb. 27.

A new program on campus, Impactful Women—hosted by the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative—brought together Tamar McKee, Jane Miller and Annie Ryu to discuss their professional and personal journeys as leaders in the natural food industry.

This year's event — hosted again by Venture Partners at Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder on Feb. 27 — will feature 18 startups from Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Boulder, Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Anschutz, Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Denver, University of Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ Springs, Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ State University, Å·ÃÀ¿Ú±¬ÊÓƵ School of Mines and NIST.