Slack confirms plans to open Denver office that could bring 550 new jobs
News broke yesterday that the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade submitted a proposal to San Francisco-based Slack, offering up to $10.6 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits over an eight-year period. Later in the day, Slack confirmed its plans to open an office in Denver, but has yet to comment on whether or not that office would serve as a second headquarters or grow to the size anticipated by state officials. If the proposal is successful, Denver could stand to gain 550 full-time jobs with an average salary of $107,975. [Built In Colorado]
Baker announces four-way merger with fellow cannabis brands
Baker Technologies, which provides CRM software for dispensaries, announced yesterday it will be part of a four-way merger of North American cannabis companies — with eventual plans to IPO. TILT Holdings Inc — the newly formed company — includes Briteside Holdings, a product developer; Sea Hunter, an investment and management firm; Sante Veritas Holdings, a Canadian cannabis producer that is working to obtain its license; and Baker Technologies. Baker will continue to grow its operations in Denver under its current brand name. [Built In Colorado]
CanopyVentures invests $750K in BDS Analytics in first ever growth round investment
CanopyVentures, the venture arm of Canopy which also hosts the cannabis business accelerator CanopyBoulder, made its first growth stage investment this week. The firm invested $750,000 in Boulder-based BDS Analytics, a cannabis market intelligence and consumer research startup. The investment follows the January launch of a $50 million investment fund focused on growth-stage startups in agtech, retail tech, data analytics, blockchain-based software, robotics, machine learning and biotech. [Press release]
LA-based Honey to open engineering office in Boulder
Honey, a startup that offers a browser plugin to help online shoppers cash-in on discounts, announced plans to expand its operations into Colorado. The Los Angeles-headquartered company plans to open a development office in Boulder that will grow to about 20 back-end engineers over the next year and a half. The office will be led by long-time Boulder resident and Honey GM Jud Valeski. [BizWest]
TeamSnap appoints Todd Stockard as CFO
Sports management software platform TeamSnap announced on Monday the appointment of Todd Stockard as its new chief financial officer. Stockard joins the team from Maxar Technologies (formerly DigitalGlobe), where he led treasury, financial planning and analysis, and strategic planning for the geospatial satellite company. At TeamSnap, he will oversee the company’s financial strategy through this stage of rapid growth and development. [Press release]
USDA secretary makes visit to Colorado Springs food startup FoodMaven
FoodMaven, a foodtech startup that connects restaurants and industrial kitchens with oversupplied food sources, had a very special guest this week: the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue. The secretary took a walking tour of the food distribution company’s new 22,000-square-foot food warehouse and visited with company executives to discuss the impact FoodMaven has had so far this year. The company diverted over 1,443,800 pounds of food from Colorado landfills and donated over 482,600 meals to hunger relief in Q1 of 2018. Following the close of an $8.6 million Series A that saw participation from leaders at Walmart and Whole Foods, the startup is looking to expand its services nationwide. [Press release]
