Cities along the Front Range boast some of the highest densities of tech startups in the country. Boulder, Fort Collins, Denver and Colorado Springs all rank in the top 10 according to a new report.

Unsurprisingly, Boulder tops that list, followed by the Fort Collins-Loveland area.

Denver comes in at number 6, just ahead of San Francisco and Washington D.C., while Colorado Springs takes the number 9 spot.

The new report from CBRE, a commercial real estate services company, looks at Colorado’s geography of high-tech startups. From a regional standpoint, Denver continues to act as a hub for mature high-tech companies. Recently the city has also seen a large increase in startup activity and VC funding. In addition to downtown Denver, many startups are moving into office spaces in the RiverNorth, Golden Triangle and Broadway South neighborhoods. The report cites Denver’s relatively low cost of living (as compared to the coasts), and its newly (nearly) complete mass transit system as reasons for growth.

Boulder, which has been the traditional tech startup hub of Colorado, continues to hold that position today. In fact, proximity to Boulder is so valuable that secondary tech bubbles are developing in places like Broomfield, Louisville and Westminster. This growth appears to be largely driven by companies who value proximity to Boulder, but need a larger office space than Boulder can offer at an affordable price.

To the north, Colorado State University is helping plant new and diverse software, biotech and energy startups in Fort Collins. Meanwhile, Colorado Springs continues to attract larger high-tech firms focusing on aerospace and defense.

Colorado is also an attractive place for out of state tech talent to relocate to. The top states for people to migrate from are California, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.

There is also a large pool of highly educated talent already on the ground, and the cost of living is low. So is the cost of office space. Denver’s office space is going for about 63 percent less per square foot than San Francisco’s.

Of course, Colorado’s advantage as a lower-cost, high-value destination might be stifled by its growth. Denver has been experiencing an explosion in real estate prices, with 2014 seeing a year-over-year increase of 8.1 percent. That was the largest increase in the United States outside of San Francisco and Miami. That said, real estate prices here have a long way to go before they reach the stratospheric levels of coastal startup hubs, and there’s a whole lot of Front Range left to develop.

All in all, the report offers a pretty rosy picture. If you’d like to read it in its entirety, you can find it here.

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posted by Elyse Kent

The 2013 startup report, released today by Built In Colorado, includes yearly data proving that Colorado’s digital ecosystem is quickly earning a reputation for itself as a unit. Startups from Denver, Boulder and other Colorado communities altogether raised a total of $461 million in 2013, keeping pace with their performances in 2012.

Denver digital startups led the way in 2013 with 70 companies raising $305 million, stepping up their game from 33 Denver-based companies raising capital in 2012. Boulder’s digital startups, of course, kept their steady, significant contributions with $147 million raised by 43 companies.

The 28 digital companies that exited in 2013, including 27 that were acquired and one that went public, generated more than $1 billion, a drastic increase from the number of exits and the amount generated by exits in 2012.

The biggest player of last year was Ping Identity, the cloud identity security company that raised $44 million. Online interactive learning platform Sympoz and storage solution company SolidFirealso made huge contributions to the community’s funding total with $35 million and $31 million raised, respectively.

And then there is Rally Software, a staple of Colorado’s tech community since 2001 when it began providing cloud-based solutions for Agile development. Rally gave the Colorado digital tech scene its first IPO since 2000.

But it’s not just the big guys that made up 2013’s impressive stats: over 73 companies each did their part and raised $1 million or more in capital.

These companies represent all digital sectors, but it was the software companies that made the biggest local impact with 46 companies raising about $232 million in total. Twenty-one B2B web businesses, which in total raised $103 million, also added hard-earned pieces to the overall puzzle.

And the entire country is taking notice as signified by the 110 different investors backing local companies in 2013. It’s no wonder that Colorado’s digital ecosystem is drawing more attention as a whole: the community’s accomplishments demand it.

“I travel the world and Colorado is always a topic of discussion and inspiration for other great startup communities,” Techstars founder, CEO and Managing Partner David Cohen said. “Everyone wants to know how we top the charts in venture capital with places like the Bay Area, Boston and New York. I always tell them that the secret weapon is Colorado's ‘give first’ attitude and sustained culture of mentorship. It's truly special and sometimes counterintuitive. But we have become known for it, together.”

4 Colorado cities make startup density top 10

2013 Colorado Startup Report: Over $1B Generated through Exits

posted by Elyse Kent