As we ease into the final quarter of 2021, it can be easy for teams to look back and reflect on the big wins they’ve achieved throughout the year. But for the following eight Colorado-based companies, pushing to new heights is the more exciting direction.
Take a look at aerospace organization Boom Supersonic. With plans to begin construction on an Overture factory in 2022, their teams have already achieved a valuation of more than $1 billion to help reach the final goal.
For teams at predictive analytics company Gloo, finding new ways to adapt and improve existing, unused company benefits since moving fully remote has been a rewarding challenge.
Whether they’re pushing the status quo of innovation or simply finding new paths to support their passionate internal teams, these companies have made a major impact on the local tech scene. That’s why Built In Colorado decided to do the reflecting for them on who they are and what they’ve accomplished.
Like what you see? They are all hiring.
What they do: Druva delivers data protection and management for the cloud era. Its cloud platform is built on AWS and offered as a service, delivering globally accessible, scalable and completely autonomous enterprise data resiliency.
Insider insight: “At Druva, there is an incredible amount of excitement and anticipation for what the future holds,” Director of HR Operations Vaghar Haghiri previously told Built In. “I see the energy and willingness to be the best each and every day in the way our employees apply our company values. I feel the overwhelming amount of support from our leadership to continue to lead us on a path to success, and to continue making a global impact with cloud data security.”
In the news: In July 2021, Druva was named a visionary in the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Backup and Recovery Software Solutions. “We believe Druva’s inclusion underscores its commitment to deliver a radically simplified, modern SaaS-based approach to data protection, and reflects the shifting landscape,” they announced in a press release.
What they do: Adtaxi provides digital solutions for e-commerce, native advertising, social media marketing and programmatic marketing. Adtaxi works with companies in a variety of industries ranging from entertainment and retail to health care and education.
Employee buzz: According to VP of Ad Operations Doug Gesiorski, internal growth is a vital asset to company success. “Most of our management team has been promoted from within – we are constantly looking for opportunities to grow leaders from within the organization, and we stress that leadership is not a title. Anyone in any role in the company can participate in the opportunities laid out above and grow in their career,” he previously told Built In.
Notable benefits: “Adtaxi has been extremely flexible as I grew my family,” Maria Coleman, senior content marketing manager, said. On top of flexible schedules and remote work, the company also offers a tuition reimbursement program for those looking to continue their education.
What they do: Toastmasters is famous for its worldwide network of clubs designed to turn the nervous and the timid into rousing public speakers. The organization’s Englewood headquarters supports those clubs through products and programs, including a multi-language online tool designed to improve workplace skills like interview preparation and conflict resolution.
Insider insight: “We truly are an international company,” Digital Content Specialist Kathryn Sisney said. “In my department alone we have employees from all over the world, representing six different countries, speaking eight different languages. Our CEO routinely walks through the departments, sharing a smile and asking how everything is going.”
Giving back: Toastmasters International participates in veteran and spouse networking events and targeted job fairs. “As a result of the event’s ongoing success, the model was presented at the National Association of State Workforce Agencies and is being expanded to other states. In addition, the assistant secretary for veterans employment and training was briefed about it at a listening session with employment representatives from across the U.S.,” Talent Management Specialist Chyanne Cardarella previously told Built in.
What they do: Uplight is a technology platform and certified B Corporation dedicated to serving the energy ecosystem through action recommendations and customer insights.
Parental perks: “As a mom, I have never felt pushed onto a mommy track,” Emily Beliveau, senior manager of business operations, previously told Built In. “The opposite happened; I was promoted less than a year after my daughter was born. Uplight has been a good place for me to be a mom. There are 12 weeks of paid maternity leave, great medical and dental benefits, and flexibility in working hours so that I can be present to my child for doctor visits or school events.”
In the news: In spring of 2021, Uplight revealed that it received new funding from several investors, including Schneider Electric, AES and Huck Capital for being a greentech organization. Although Uplight didn’t reveal the size of the investment, it says that the deal values the company at $1.5 billion — putting the company well into unicorn status.
What they do: Gloo provides predictive analytics technology that empowers organizations to better serve their employees through personal growth. Its data solutions platform enables customers to more effectively engage with people and manage individual personal growth journeys toward physical, mental and spiritual wellness.
Tech toolbox: Gloo is a native cloud development organization building application services, components and applications on top of AWS. Their stack is composed on React for the Web UI, variations of Node.js to include TypeScript for microservices architecture and the usual variety of persistence components.
Professional and communal growth: “One of our biggest evolutions as a company has been moving from research to content to platform development to networks — it’s a constant evolution,” CEO and Co-Founder Scott Beck previously told Built In. “The more we learn, the more we grow and the more we can serve others.”
What they do: Founded in 1999, Granicus is a software tech company based in Denver. It provides tech and services to government organizations, which use those services to create a stronger digital presence to better engage its citizens.
Employee buzz: When asked to describe company culture, Marketing Operations Specialist Jenna Shin previously said, “Everybody’s work has an impact on each other, and every team influences other teams’ priorities and the organization’s goal. The company is transparent in showing what each department is working on and acknowledges their achievements.”
In the news: In June, Granicus announced the acquisitions of two high-growth govtech innovators: Bang the Table, the organization behind community engagement solution EngagementHQ, and OpenCities, the public sector’s digital customer journey platform that helps local governments transform their websites, digital forms and service delivery experiences. Uniting the three market leaders in digital civic engagement into a single platform, Granicus hopes to transform the way governments and residents engage, the company stated in a press release.
What they do: Boom Supersonic aims to bring back commercial transport that breaks the speed of sound. Their airliner, Overture, would get travelers to their destination twice as fast as current aviation — and with job openings from engineering to legal, they’re doubling down on growth.
Tech toolbox: According to Lead Principal of Avionics Engineering Jeff Bozarth, the team’s job is to deliver the aircraft data acquisition and instrumentation, telemetry, glass cockpit display software and digital controllers. “With that goal in mind, we have a mixture of bare-metal firmware and higher-level applications running on real-time Unix-like operating systems. We make heavy use of C++, MATLAB, Simulink and we leverage Python and Bash scripting for the usual reasons.”
Newsworthy investments: The teams at Boom have been staying busy this year with a steady flow of investments. Back in April, the aerospace company announced a $45 million investment from Prime Movers Lab. With plans to begin construction on an Overture factory in 2022 for a target rollout in 2025, Boom Supersonic has landed an accrued $210 million in funding and a valuation of more than $1 billion to help reach its goal.
What they do: Zayo provides bandwidth and connectivity services, enabling big businesses to scale their networks and adapt to rapidly changing demand. Their 130,000-mile network in North America and Europe includes extensive metro connectivity to thousands of buildings and data centers.
lnsider insight: According to Alex Ackerman, director of application development, sitting still simply isn’t an option when it comes to company innovation. “Everyone is constantly proposing new and exciting ways to do things better. No one is happy with the status quo on any development they are working through, but rather goes above and beyond to push toward optimal solutions that will be sustainable down the road,” he previously told Built In.
Noteworthy perks and benefits: On top of partnering with nonprofits and volunteering in the local community, Zayo also offers full health benefits, a continuing education stipend with tuition reimbursement, generous PTO for unwinding in between projects, and additional fitness and wellness subsidies.
