COS Rising 2025 - Failure Fest and Dinner

Failure is not an if but a when for every entrepreneur. What matters most is how we respond—what we learn, how we recover, and how those lessons shape our journey forward.

Join us for Failure Fest, an evening of honest conversations and shared experiences, held in the beautiful Ent Center for the Arts – Ross Lobby. Over a full catered dinner, we’ll hear a short story from a guest speaker about how failure became one of their most powerful tools. Then, we’ll dive into meaningful table discussions with peers about our own failures, recoveries, and the lessons we’ve learned along the way.

Expect open dialogue, laughter, and insights that prove failure isn’t the end—it’s the spark for growth, resilience, and future success.

📍 Ent Center for the Arts – Ross Lobby

🍽 Full Dinner Provided

Discussion Prompts Include:

• What’s a failure that taught you the most?
• How do you recover—both emotionally and strategically?
• What advice would you give your pre-failure self?
• How has embracing failure changed your approach to risk?

Agenda

• 15 min | Arrival & Dinner Service Begins
• 15 min | Speaker Story on Failure
• 60 min | Table Discussions + Peer Sharing
• 30 min | Open Networking & Wrap-Up

📍 Ent Center for the Arts – Ross Lobby

🍽 Full Dinner Provided

COS Rising 2025

This event is part of COS Rising 2025, a 3-day celebration of innovation, entrepreneurship, and community in Colorado Springs. Designed for founders, startups, and tech-driven thinkers, the event features interactive workshops, networking opportunities, and unique experiences that highlight both the challenges and triumphs of building something new.

From tackling real-world problems and sprinting through rapid app development, to embracing lessons learned from failure and exploring the city’s entrepreneurial roots, COS Rising brings together the people and ideas shaping the future.

A collaboration between Catalyst Campus for Technology and Innovation, El Pomar Institute for Innovation and Commercialization (EPIIC), and Exponential Impact, this event unites organizations dedicated to celebrating innovation and strengthening the startup community.

Host or Publisher COS Rising 2025