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Denver Business Journal
A rising cost for companies and employees takes hold as summer arrives
Editor's Note: Welcome to The Playbook Edition, a look at stories, trends and changes that could affect your business and career. Want more stories like this in your inbox? Sign up for The Playbook newsletter. <\p> In the coming weeks, schools around the nation will be out, and many employees will find themselves scrambling for child care options.<\p>
Techstars’ CEO shares what his return means for the company's HQ
Techstars co-founder David Cohen has been back as the company’s CEO for about a week and is now speaking out about what his return means for the accelerator's future.<\p> Cohen, a startup icon and big advocate for Colorado’s tech and startup scene, said although he lives in Boulder and will remain there as CEO, Techstars’ headquarters will not move back to the foothills city. <\p>
Red Robin's turnaround may be starting to sizzle
Red Robin restaurants may be starting to see a turnaround in customer traffic and diner happiness with the brand 18 months after bringing in new company leadership to revive the chain’s prospects.<\p> The Greenwood Village-headquartered company (Nasdaq: RRGB) reported slower first-quarter sales and reduced profits Wednesday but said restaurant activity in May suggests efforts to improve customer service and food quality are starting to win diners over.<\p>
Food service co. opening 2 Denver-area stores
An Arizona-based family-owned food service company is expanding its Denver metro presence. <\p> Shamrock Foods Co. will open two new food service warehouse storefronts in Aurora and Louisville this summer, adding a collective 53,000 square feet to the company’s local footprint. <\p>
Colorado's creative industries targeted for $50M boost
A state-led program that seeks to help Colorado's arts-focused organizations pay for their capital projects has a fresh source of funding.<\p> A newly signed bill this week allocates up to $50 million — $10 million annually for five years — in the form of refundable tax credits to continue the work of Colorado's community revitalization grants. <\p>
Lawsuit targeting small-business grant program is tossed
A judge has tossed a lawsuit targeting Progressive Insurance and small-business funding platform Hello Alice for a grant program offered to Black small business owners.<\p> The decision, handed down by the U.S. District Court for Northern Ohio, found plaintiff Nathan Roberts, owner of Cleveland-based Freedom Truck DIspatch LLC, lacked the standing to sue the companies over a grant program it offered to Black small-business owners to purchase a new truck.<\p>
Ski giant names new leaders for marquee resorts
Denver-based Alterra Mountain Co. on Tuesday named new leaders for two of its highest-profile mountain ski destinations, including Colorado’s Steamboat ski resort. <\p> The company, the second-largest ski resort operator in the world, named permanent president and chief operating officers for both Steamboat Ski Resort and Mammoth Mountain ski area in California.<\p>
Entrepreneur reenters fintech scene with $21M raise
A Boulder-based entrepreneur is back on the scene with a fintech company that promises to help companies pay their suppliers early.<\p> Benjamin Apel was last known in Boulder for the company called Final, a credit card issuer he co-founded that was eventually rebranded into the Apple Card. Apel's description on his LinkedIn calls Final the first consumer credit card issuer built since Capital One, which was then acquired by Goldman Sachs and rebranded.<\p>
Resume gaps aren't the dealbreaker they once were, but there's a catch
Job seekers worried about gaps in their resume might still have to deal with some pushback from hiring managers, but the market today has become more forgiving to such openings than it once was.<\p> According to a recent Express Employment Professionals-Harris Poll survey, while 36% of hiring managers said they might be deterred by applicants' unexplained work gaps, the vast majority (95%) believe there are valid reasons to explain career gaps. The top reasons cited were health issues, staying home with a child, going back to school and caring for an elderly parent.<\p>
The AI boom is coming for these at-risk manager roles
For years, front-line workers have worried about automation taking their jobs. It may end up being middle managers who are most in danger.<\p> Companies are gaining access to new artificial-intelligence tools and capabilities at the same time many are re-assessing their operations in a challenging post-pandemic economic environment. That combination of potential new efficiencies and a desire for cost savings is putting management-level employees in the crosshairs.<\p>
Colorado bitcoin miner makes $950M bid to take over competitor
A publicly traded Colorado cryptocurrency company is bidding to buy a Canadian competitor in a deal it values at $950 million.<\p> Castle Rock-based Riot Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq: RIOT) on Tuesday unveiled a proposal to buy all outstanding shares of Toronto-based Bitfarms Ltd. (Nasdaq: BITF) at $2.30 each.<\p>
Mental health center opens Front Range housing community
A Front Range behavioral health center has opened a 40-unit supportive housing community in Lakewood. The opening comes two months ahead of its merger expected to create the largest behavioral health-focused treatment center in the state.<\p> Jefferson Center for Mental Health will begin accepting residents who are experiencing homelessness on June 5, the organization said in a news release. The community, at 7290 West 14th Ave., couples affordable one-bedroom units with intensive services for mental health, substance use and career support, according to a news release.<\p>
Denver woman hired to lead psilocybin advocacy group
An organization born out of Oregon's 2020 psilocybin-legalizing ballot measure has a new executive director from Denver.<\p> Taylor West is taking the reins of the Healing Advocacy Fund from Sam Chapman, who is moving on to other endeavors in June. The nonprofit fund advocates for and provides education around psilocybin in Colorado and Oregon.<\p>
Denver budget cuts put city parks deep in the weeds
The weeds this time of year grow fast, too fast for the City of Denver to keep up with mowing them.<\p> Denver’s parks are overrun with weeds and the city's budget cuts are helping them grow. Denver Parks and Recreation Department is struggling to hire people fast enough to mow the grass after they put a pause on new hires earlier this year.<\p>
See inside part of Union Station's $11M refresh
An $11 million remodel at Denver Union Station is on its way to completion.<\p> The building's onsite Crawford Hotel on Wednesday unveiled updates to its 112 guest rooms and a private lobby for the hotel's guest arrivals that will open in July.<\p>
Investor opens Denver-area office after $51M purchase
MLG Capital has established an office in the Denver area after acquiring an apartment complex in the East Colfax neighborhood for $51.05 million. <\p> The new office is located in the Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village, MLG Capital said last week. It's the Brookfield, Wisconsin-based real estate investment firm's fourth office nationwide, adding to the Brookfield headquarters and offices in Dallas and in Sarasota, Florida.<\p>
Denver company prepares to grow for $43B defense contract
Getting a medical staffing company prepared to compete for $43 billion worth of work will be a "bit of a crystal ball exercise," says Bill Rivard.<\p> Rivard is CEO and founder of Matrix Providers, which specializes in recruiting and placing health care professionals across the nation's military bases.<\p>
Leader named for major Colorado hospital system
A Denver-area leader who served as an executive with Centura Health before the organization's dissolution is becoming the new regional president for CommonSpirit Health.<\p> The Catholic hospital system on Friday promoted Andrew Gaasch to president for its mountain region, overseeing hospitals and clinics in Colorado, Kansas and Utah.<\p>
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