Visible’s physical presence in Colorado’s brick-and-mortar startup scene will soon vanish. Come October, the Denver mobile service provider will ditch its downtown WeWork office space and shift the company’s 135 employees to permanently working from home, as first reported by the Denver Business Journal.
CEO Miguel Quiroga said the move will offer staff greater work-life balance, cultural benefits and safety from contracting the COVID-19 virus. The startup has already been operating remotely for more than 100 days, he said.
“We found the first few weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic to be challenging, but we’ve adjusted and now see it as the new normal,” Quiroga wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the news. “Of course, it’s not “business as usual,” but the fact is that while this challenge has been frustrating and difficult, it’s also opened up new opportunities.”
Verizon launched Visible in 2018, with the aim of providing consumers unlimited data, texting and messaging for $40 per month. In March, The Verge reported that Verizon also launched Yahoo Mobile, a startup with the exact same aim, pricing and insurance plan as Visible, and which operates a nearly identical website to the Denver startup’s. Verizon is trying to diversify its business, The Verge said, and Visible’s sleek site appeals to Millennials looking to reduce the price of their phone plan.
Quiroga said the startup’s digital business model allows the company to adapt to new market changes easily.
“Our all-digital business model has put us in a unique position where this evolution to the future of work has been more seamless for us to develop,” he wrote.
In addition to moving to totally remote work, Visible will also offer parents working from home a childcare stipend. In March, the company also donated $25,000 to the Colorado Restaurant Association’s Angel Relief Fund, which provides cash to out-of-work restaurant employees.
The startup is not alone in adopting a remote work culture. Tech leaders like Twitter and Facebook have both embraced work-from-home-friendly policies expected to extend beyond the pandemic. Locally, the Boulder-based security information and event management platform LogRhythm offers employees the option to work from home, Denver adtech business Location3 offers distributed employment, subscription payment provider Recurly offers employees the option to work outside its Boulder office, and more.
