The Top 100 Digital Employers in Colorado

by Garrett Reim
November 23, 2014

Update: The 2015 top 100 tech companies in Colorado

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We're happy to share Built In Colorado’s first ever ‘Top 100 Digital Companies’ list. The list catalogues Colorado’s top 100 employers in digital tech and shows an industry that has changed enormously in the last 10 years.

22 percent of the ‘Top 100’ companies have been around for less than five years and 51 percent have been around for less than 10 years. In total, the top 100 companies employ 10,523 people, an enormous sum considering how young many of them are. 

In response to the report, Governor John Hickenlooper said:

"The trends in this data confirm the growth we have seen over the last few years — Colorado's technology landscape continues to grow at a very rapid pace and be a critical component of our economic success. We are thrilled so many digital companies are calling Colorado home and providing our workforce with fantastic employment opportunities in technology and so many other related industries."

Over 1,200 digital tech companies now call Colorado home.

Reflecting Colorado’s strength developing enterprise products, 46 percent of the top 100 companies are focused on software and 20 percent are focused on B2B Web. Indeed, seven of the top 10 biggest tech employers in Colorado are B2B businesses.

Of the top 10 biggest digital tech employers in Colorado, seven were formed slightly before or after the 1999 Internet bubble. For example, the largest digital tech employer in Colorado, HomeAdvisor was formed in 1999. The dotcom bubble is infamous for the companies that burst with it, but many viable companies also formed at that time, survived when things got tough and now are flourishing.  

The top 100 digital tech employers are backed by almost $2.4 billion of investment. Investment in Colorado tech companies in recent years has been surging and breaking through records. Lately, growing venture capital investment across the United States has inspired a lot of talk about a second Internet bubble. If such a bubble does burst, the heft of Colorado companies focused on enterprise products — businesses that tend to be sustained on underlying revenue rather than speculative venture capital — should maintain their employee base better when the money dries up. That should help Colorado tech sail through any headwinds coming.

"As we look into our digital community, the scale, growth and most importantly, the velocity of our digital work force continues to substantiate Colorado as the digital hub between the coasts," said Erik Mitisek, CEO of the Colorado Tech Association.  "With over 10,000 workers in the Top 100 companies, our digital economy is a clear economic leader for Colorado."

HomeAdvisor, a marketplace for home remodeling professionals, is the largest employer in Colorado with 843 employees. That company has grown steadily since its founding in 1999 and was acquired by IAC in 2004.

TriZetto, a health care IT company, is the second largest digital tech employer in Colorado with 801 employees. It was bought in September 2014 for $2.7 billion by Cognizant, an IT and consulting company. 

Mercury Payment Solutions, a merchant payment system company, is the third largest employer in Colorado with 650 people. It was acquired by Vantiv in May 2014 for $1.65 billion. 

Zayo Group, a broadband infrastructure company, is the fourth largest digital tech employer in Colorado with 506 employees. Forming only recently in 2006 the company already had an IPO in October 2014 and before that raised an enormous $823 million in venture capital.

Rally Software, a SaaS Agile software development management company, is the fourth largest employer in Colorado with 344 people. Founded in 2001, Rally Software had an IPO in 2013.

 

Interested in working for one of these rapidly growing tech companies? Check out who's hiring and apply TODAY!

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