There’s a special pride that comes with knowing about a musical artist before they make it big. It feels good to have your taste verified and to watch your favorite singer or songwriter go from an unknown opener to selling out their own shows. In many ways, the growth of the Colorado tech scene mirrors this experience.
In a few short years the state has gone from an emerging hotbed to one of the country’s major tech hubs. Its startups and established companies are no longer opening acts for locals who want to build their resume before moving elsewhere.
For proof, just take one look at our featured companies of February. The list includes a major telecommunications company with 100 million customers, a global content management system company and a brand agency with roots that rub right against the time of “Mad Men.” There are also startups that have gained a foothold and are growing their following, if indie artists are still more your thing.
Continue reading to learn what these companies are working on along with their top perks and benefits, the recent news they’ve made and what employees love about their jobs.
What Spectrum does: Spectrum’s product and technology team creates, develops and operates the nation’s fastest mobile service, most reliable internet service, most viewed live TV app, and the most advanced Wi-Fi, serving nearly 100 million users and 500 million devices.
Lights, camera, action: Those looking to take the next step into high-level leadership will want to check out one of the 13 director and senior director roles Spectrum currently has open. These roles all require seven or more years of relevant experience and include an opening for a senior director of mobile strategy, senior director of IT software development and a director of human resources.
Autonomy explained: At Spectrum, engineers aren’t boxed in when it comes to problem solving. Dustin Phillips, VP of device, identity and DNS, shared his approach to instilling autonomy in his team during an August 2022 interview with Built In Colorado.
“My framework is building the latitude, attitude and aptitude for each team member to make sound decisions on their own,” Phillips said. “While giving independence for that decision making, I try to instill in my team the mentality that we must understand something to own the project. To understand, we need to ask questions.
What Contentful does: Costa Coffee, Notion and Shiseido are just a few of the companies that manage their website content using Contentful’s content management system (CMS). Its CMS is used widely by enterprise companies, including more than 30 percent of the Fortune 500.
Help moving to management: Tania Esposito provides a small glimpse into what career growth at Contentful can look like. Esposito joined the Contentful operations team in February of 2020 and told Built In the company helped grow her skill set and move into management.
“I have had the opportunity to take on new challenges and responsibilities and to pursue my career goals,” said Esposito, senior manager of global sales operations. “With the support of the company, I could expand my learnings and skills. I started as an individual contributor and now I manage a team of seven people.”
Joining the 1 percent: In a November press release, Contentful announced it had become a member of Pledge 1% and that it was pledging 1 percent of its equity to charity. Pledge 1% is a global corporate philanthropic movement that sees companies pledging 1 percent of their equity, product, profit or employee time to support nonprofits and charities.
What DELVE does: DELVE is an adtech company that helps brands reach the most profitable segments of their audience. It uses data science to analyze a company’s first-party data and build campaigns from the insights uncovered.
Business in the Baltics: In November, DELVE announced the opening of a new office in Tallinn, Estonia, giving the company a presence in four different countries, including the United States, Poland and Belarus. CEO Greg Sobiech shared the strategy for expanding into the Baltics in a blog post announcing the move.
“The Baltics has a booming startup market, with most of those startups competing for western market share, and we see huge potential to help businesses in this region grow faster,” said Sobiech. “Especially in the current recessionary climate, with media and marketing budgets tightening and pressure on performance rising, DELVE can help these companies achieve more with less and ensure they’re spending money most efficiently.”
Investing in employees: DELVE invests in its team in a wide variety of ways. For starters, each employee receives an annual wellness stipend of $1,000 to spend on anything related to wellness. The company also offers a 4 percent 401(k) match and quarterly performance bonuses. A continuing education stipend is also on offer, as is the potential for tuition reimbursement for job-specific programs and certifications.
What Verblio does: Agencies, small business, marketers and more use Verblio’s content creation platform to accelerate their content marketing efforts. The company’s writer network is more than 3,000 strong and specializes in a variety of verticals, including cannabis, interior design and travel.
Developing women leaders: Built In Colorado spoke with Mandi O’Brien, VP of product and design, in August 2022 about how Verblio helps develop women leaders. O’Brien joined the company as director of design and product in 2018 and after two promotions is currently the VP of product and design. She credited her growth in part to Verblio’s approach to professional development.
“Verblio’s professional development prioritizes one-on-one coaching with experts from outside the organization,” O’Brien said. “That approach isn’t the typical ‘go to a conference’ option, and I think it’s particularly useful for women leaders who might not otherwise get the support they need. I work with a leadership coach and our conversations are confidential, with no topic being off limits.”
Consider the move: Verblio is hiring for both remote and hybrid positions, and those from outside the greater Denver area will be pleased to hear that the company offers relocation assistance. The office itself is dog friendly and the company hosts monthly happy hours and quarterly team outings. There’s also a stocked kitchen and some meals are provided. Remote workers are accounted for in the form of a home office stipend and weekly meditation sessions on Zoom.
What Monigle does: Monigle is a brand experience agency whose services include helping clients develop their internal culture and establishing brand identity. The agency has worked with a wide range of companies, including Bank of America, the Denver Broncos and Deloitte.
Your growth guide: Monigle prioritizes professional development and offers employees access to job training and conferences and hosts lunch and learns. Additionally, Managing Principal Justin Wartell told Built In Colorado during a June 2022 interview that all employees receive dedicated support to help reach their career growth goals.
“Everyone gets a mentor that helps guide and enable career growth,” Wartell said. “The mentor serves to complement the relationship they have with their manager. We support every employee in career planning by helping them define their goals, both big and small.”
Premiums provided for: Monigle works to make healthcare more affordable for its employees by covering 100 percent of monthly medical and dental insurance premiums. Paid maternity leave and family medical leave are also included in its benefits package.
What Skupos does: Skupos’ technology is designed to increase sales at convenience stores. Its platform captures and analyzes sale data to provide increased insight into not only what shoppers are buying but also when and where they’re making purchases, with brands using this information to offer targeted discounts and promotions.
Certified fast: Skupos was named to the 2022 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, an annual list of the fastest-growing technology companies in the country based on the percentage of fiscal year revenue growth from 2018 to 2021. The company grew 244 percent during that time period according to a press release, which placed it at number 490 on the list.
“The company’s 244% revenue growth is the direct result of the incredible work ethic and talent density at Skupos, and the team’s ability to create better business outcomes for customers in a market that has been underserved by technology companies,” said CEO Jake Bolling in the press release.
From BDR to manager: Skupos invests in the professional development of its employees, like Zach Maanum. Maanum joined the company in January of 2019 and shared a snippet of his growth journey with Built In Colorado.
“I first started as a BDR on the sales team here at Skupos,” Maanum said. “Within six months I was promoted to account executive and later spent time in the key account executive role before transitioning to regional sales manager. Now I manage a number of reps and put their career growth at the center!”
What TeamSupport does: Companies use TeamSupport’s B2B customer service software to become more customer-centric. Along with ticket management, its platform also has solutions for live customer messaging, customizable agent dashboards and real-time reporting.
Who they work with: TeamSupport has an impressive client roster that cuts across industries. Its customers include the NBA, Comcast and the American Lung Association.
Let’s talk perks: TeamSupport’s perks and benefits package is filled with highlights, including unlimited time off, a 401(k) match program and performance bonuses. Additional perks to know include generous parental leave and a remote work program.
What Choozle does: Choozle’s digital advertising platform is designed to help companies save money and see more results in omnichannel programmatic advertising campaigns. Its clients include the Kansas City Chiefs, the University of Pennsylvania and DeltaXML.
A trio of talent: In a December press release, Choozle announced three new vice presidents. Joe Forrester joined the company as SVP of engineering and product, Mike Rosner as SVP of sales and Katie Harker as VP of media and client operations. CEO Adam Wood said in the press release that the hirings “could not be more timely.”
“Through 2022, we focused on operational growth, solution innovations, and expanding into new verticals, and have successfully secured our position as an industry leader,” said Woods. “Joe, Mike and Katie will play a critical role in advancing Choozle’s mission to deliver enterprise-grade solutions to every advertiser — not just the Fortune 100.”
Showing support for employees: Choozle’s perks and benefits package is designed to support employees inside and outside of the office and includes a monthly health and wellness stipend and quarterly education stipend. Parental leave, a return-to-work program for parents and a dependent child care benefit option are all on offer, too. Additionally, employees are given up to three paid days off per year to volunteer.
