Denver is growing up

Recently, the Denver Post published an article about Denver tech startups moving into bigger office buildings, and moving into a new stage of business. 

The Denver startup scene is thriving. With all the success these tech startups have been having, it was only a matter of time until they grew out of the startup phase, and into a mid-level stage of business. Companies like Ibotta and SendGrid are moving into larger, more traditional office spaces in downtown Denver, and plan to add employees to fill these spaces. 

A recent report done by commercial real estate broker CBRE found that the tech industry was the #1 most active industry to expand in metro Denver office spaces last year. According to the report, tech firms leased 16.5% of the commercial office leases in metro Denver, which is 1.1 million square feet. For reference, in 2014 tech firms only leased 10.7% of the commercial office leases in metro Denver. 

While the startup community in Denver is quickly growing, it's not new startups that are taking these new, large spaces. Rather, established startups are ready for the next chapter. Kate Walker, the director of business development for the Blackstone Entrepreneurs Network (BEN), said that it's all part of a cycle, new companies are coming in and startups are growing up:

Colorado in general is starting to get a lot more national attention because of the growth, which brings more people and more companies. It creates this virtuous cycle to bring more companies to scale.
As companies grow from startups, they require more space and scaling up with 30, 50, or 100 people, which is more than a typical co-working space can provide. 

It's not just the Denver companies that are growing up, however. It's also startups in New York and Silicon Valley type cities that are looking to expand. And Denver happens to have all the right characteristics. Sam Bailey, the state agency's senior manager of global business development, said: 

The State of Colorado does boast a highly skilled workforce, which is one of the challenges we see (companies searching for) entry-level work. As for housing, we are still looked at as affordable (by companies) outside of the state. 

Here at Code, we're excited to see Denver tech startups grow into a mid-level stage. We're also happy to see more and more out-of-state companies pick Denver to expand, or even move their headquarters to. Luckily, the startup scene continues to grow and thrive, and as these companies move out of their typical "startup spaces," or co-working spaces, into their traditional high-rises, they make room for the next startups to come. 

Read the full article from the Denver Post here