For the third straight year, the DU Entrepreneurship club and Entrepreneurship program hosted Pop-Up Palooza, where a record 65 student vendors got a chance to sell their products/services and talk to others about their business, hobby or organization. This event is put on in order to help promote student-run businesses and encourage DU community members to connect over creativity and innovation.
Gina Parker, president of the Entrepreneurship Club and founder of Pop-Up Palooza, explained that everyone is an entrepreneur in her eyes.
“When I first got here, I saw a lot of different types of entrepreneurs like bands, artists and small businesses, so I thought it would be a good idea to bring all of that together to form a community around it,” said Parker.
The goal of this event is to destigmatize the word “entrepreneurship,” according to Parker. “A lot of people associate that with business and I don’t want that to be everything and I know that’s not everything,” said Parker.
“I like seeing everyone together, listening to music and shopping and supporting each other,” Parker added.
This year, the Pop-Up Palooza took place on Sunday, May 19 on the Campus Green. The event featured many student ideas.
Among many art booths was The Art Commune, which consisted of prints, earrings, stickers, screen-printed t-shirts, tote bags and more. Proceeds from any honey or bee-related items such as honey bear resin earrings were donated to the Save The Bees organization.
Stoopid Child was back for another Pop-Up Palooza, selling upcycled clothing and “festival packs.” They also had a free bin of clothing items for customers to grab.
The DU Thrift Store also had a table alongside a few racks of clothing. At the booth, they offered free cleaning supplies, safe sex supplies and a variety of pamphlets from useful resources in the DU community.
Not only were there many products to purchase, but many booths consisted of people sharing what their business or organization was about. For example, the DU sales team and ‘You be You learning’ shared information about what they did, encouraging people to join.
Pop-Up Palooza also featured student bands Better Weather, Spinning Jenny, Exhaler and Judith Hindle who performed as students shopped around.
Better Weather started the event off right with recently released songs and high energy. Skyler McCoy, lead singer and songwriter, expressed his love for this yearly event.
“A lot of our friends are here and they all do their own creative things,” said McCoy.
Better Weather and other bands on-campus work with the student-made company Stik Buds. They provide earplugs at various shows across campus and in the Denver community.
“They were saying during sound check that they heard us at the library so people just get to hear us play,” said McCoy. This exposure is great for the band’s growth.
This event might wear you out – what’s a better way to energize than eating some delicious food?
The DU Entrepreneurship Club partnered with Sizzle Pig and Maria Empanada to provide free hot dogs, popcorn, and vegetarian Empanadas.
There were also a few food and drink vendors where students could purchase food such as protein-flour banana bread, cake, chaga mushroom cold brew and more.
If you missed the chance to sell your creations or talk to the DU community about your entrepreneurial passion, keep an eye out for next year’s sign-ups, which usually go up online and throughout campus in February.
