Colorado Companies to Watch 2016: Taking it to the next level

Meet the innovators, the disruptors, the risk-takers, the success-seekers. Chosen from more than 1,000 nominations, this year’s 50 Colorado Companies to Watch (CCTW) are second-stagers ready to power their businesses to the next level in increasingly bold and imaginative fashion.

Some appear to have gone from zero to success in 60 seconds, such as tech upstart Parkifi, founded in 2014 to help drivers find parking spaces in congested cities. Others have been around for years but are flourishing under new management, as is the case with the fourth-generation brother-sister team at Polidori Sausage, who still use their great-grandma’s original recipe from 1925.

"Each of the 50 companies being celebrated as a Colorado Companies to Watch winner earned this honor as a direct result of relentless focus on growth and innovation," says David Tolson, managing partner at CapitalValue Advisors and CCTW Presenting Sponsor. "They’re putting themselves and Colorado on the map by creating valuable new products, services and industries.”

And speaking of the map: This year’s crop of companies represents every region of the  entrepreneurial hotbed that is Colorado, from GO Alpine in Steamboat Springs; to clothing manufacturer VOORMI in Pagosa Springs, from Durango’s Serious Texas Bar-BQ to Loveland’s Canyon Bakehouse.

“Statistics indicate there are more than 46,000 second stage companies in Colorado,” says CCTW Chair Sean Nohavec, senior vice president of one of the program’s four Platinum Sponsors, UMB Bank. “These are the companies fueling Colorado’s economy through job creation and capital investments.”

Now in its eighth year, the Colorado Companies to Watch program selects winners through a rigorous two-stage process that examines each company’s leadership, innovation, growth and commitment to the community. From Golden to Grand Junction to Greenwood Village, the cream of Colorado’s up-and-coming companies are using creativity, determination and optimism to turn a spark of success into a roaring economic fire.

Colorado Companies to Watch 2016 Winners and Finalists (winners are in bold)

AdPro 360

AFC Urgent Care Denver

Agribotix

All Phase Restoration

Allison Medical Inc.

AllUrData Inc.

Anthem Branding

App-X

ASTRA LLC

Avid4 Adventure Inc.

Barber-Nichols Inc.

BCER Group (BCER Engineering, RimRock Technology and Rondinelli Life Safety)

Buehler Companies

Canyon Bakehouse

Choozle

Colorado Medical Waste Inc.

Colorado Professional Resources LLC

Columbine Label Co.

concept3D Inc

CPP Inc.

Denver Beer Co.

Digabit Inc.

Epicurean Butter Co.

Faris Machinery Company

FORTRUST

GO Alpine

Good Day Pharmacy

Image Audiovisuals Inc.

Inada USA

Insight Designs Web Solutions LLC

InstaKey Security Systems

J.A. Balistreri Vineyards

JCR Capital

Kindara Inc.

Liqid Inc.

Littleton Equine Medical Center

Mame's Burrito Company

MKK Consulting Engineers Inc.

Neuro Assessment Systems

NFT

Nusura Inc.

Outrigger Energy LLC

Parkifi Inc.

Pinnacle Mountain Homes

Pinyon Environmental Inc.

Platte River Networks

Polidori Sausage

PorchLight Real Estate Group

Precision Sample LLC

Providigm LLC

Purely Elizabeth

Quinn Snacks

Qwinix

Rachio

Redefy Real Estate

Residential Systems Inc.

Sand Cherry Associates Inc.

Schoolrunner

Serious Texas Bar BQ

Shinesty

Silvergate Pharmaceuticals

SnapEngage

Solera Salon

SpenDifference LLC

SSB Consulting Group LLC

Stoneside Blinds & Shades

Sunshine Plumbing Heating Air LLC

Sustainable Supply

Tailwind Nutrition

Think Network Technologies

Thought Ensemble Inc.

Timberline Bank

TRIO Environments

Vectors Inc.

Volume Nine

VOORMI

About:

Colorado Companies to Watch, presented by CapitalValue Advisors, is an awards program honoring second-stage companies headquartered in the state of Colorado. The 400 companies that have been honored since the program’s inception demonstrate high performance in the marketplace or exhibit innovative products or processes. The program is designed to seek businesses from a wide range of industries throughout the state, not just the major metropolitan areas. The 50 companies selected each year make an astounding impact on Colorado's economy by collectively providing thousands of jobs and contributing millions of dollars in revenue. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) launched the program in 2009 in conjunction with the Edward Lowe Foundation and valuable community partners from across Colorado.

By the numbers:

• 1912 – Year the oldest 2016 winner was founded
• 2014 – Year the newest 2016 winner was founded
• 80 – Percentage of 2016 winners that are profitable
• 31 – Number of 2016 CCTW companies funded by personal savings credit
• 77 – Colorado locations represented by the 2016 winners
• 1,913.5 – Full-time equivalents employed in 2015 by the CCTW class of 2016
• 2,293 – Projected full-time equivalents to be employed by last year’s class in 2016
• $503M – Total revenue generated by the CCTW class of 2015
• $679.9M – Total revenue generated by the CCTW class of 2015