After attracting a $15 million investment round last December, VictorOps discovered an unexpected bonus: an uptick in applicants for tech jobs at the company, which had struggled to compete with other startups for good help.
“For whatever reason, we’ve reached a position in the Colorado market where we are seen as a company that is going to succeed but we’re still early enough that you’ll get that startup experience,” said Todd Vernon, co-founder and CEO of the Boulder firm that built software to help companies manage their IT needs. “It’s because we are at a sweet spot. That’s my best guess. For some reason, we have a pretty healthy pipeline (of applicants). And we’re hiring. That helps.”
VictorOps, which has added 15 of its 60 employees since November, is also among a growing number of Colorado technology companies maturing beyond startup mode.
Even as many startups fail, dozens of others are attracting millions in venture capital, hiring like mad and giving hope to the many other founders starting a venture of their own here.
Creating a technology ecosystem where startups grow into much larger companies has been a dream of local leaders for years, long before Colorado had four cities in the nation’s top-10 startup cities in 2013. Today, the Denver region sees regular interest from out-of-state investors, a growing population of new workers and a record number of new business filings.
“In 2012, we had nine tech and startup Meetups a month. Today, there are over 100 in the same city,” said Erik Mitisek, the state’s chief technology officer, who previously served as the Colorado Technology Association’s CEO. “There are just a lot more resources, like the Commons (on Champa, a Denver facility for local entrepreneurs) and BuiltIn (a tech job portal). You’re starting to see a lot more mature aspects of an innovation economy that are not only allowing startups to grow, but are attracting the energy of outsiders as well.”
There was some strategy behind this. Organizations such as Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network Colorado sprung up three years ago and immediately began nurturing potentially fast-growing companies that could one day top that ecosystem.
The chosen get mentoring and access to a network of more than 270 advisers, which includes successful entrepreneurs such as Foundry Group’s Brad Feld and Zayo Group’s Dan Caruso. Blackstone even set up a system to link member companies to local and out-of-state talent who want to work at a high-growth startup.
When Blackstone, or BEN, queried its members on behalf of The Denver Post, about 15 companies responded. All the companies, which employ between five and 650 people, plan to increase staff this year, with most estimating a 20 to 30 percent growth rate. The majority said funding has made it easier to attract technology talent.
“There is no question there is still a talent-grab environment out there, and at the same time, specifically, young workers want high-growth, tech-based-company job opportunities and have plenty of options with (growth) companies,” said Greg Greenwood, BEN’s executive director. “Even younger companies (such as Apto, CirrusMD, FlouroFinder, Red Canary, Cartasite and Trelora) at $15 million or less in raised capital are finding it easier to hire for their open positions.”
In the latest roundup of venture…