Colorado Inno is celebrating the wins of 2023 and looking ahead to potential accomplishments in 2024 with our annual Startups to Watch. In total, we’ve selected 20 early-stage Colorado startups worth keeping an eye on in the year ahead. Here are four software ventures that made the list.
Find the complete list of Startups to Watch in 2024 here.
Founded: 2018
Co-founders: Spencer Dusebout and Spencer Hall
Headquarters: Boulder
The 2023 real estate market was faced with low inventory and high interest rates, making for a challenging market for buyers, sellers, loan officers and realtors. Despite this tough market, Aidium, a customer relationship management software for loan officers, experienced significant growth. The startup grew more than 70% in 2023.
Aidium got its start in 2018 under the name Daily AI. CEO and co-founder Spencer Dusebout was working on his other startup Spark Talk — a predictive data business that determined when people would be more likely to sell their homes and turn that information into real estate leads. Here, he saw inefficiencies during real estate transactions.
Dusebout said realtors, loan officers and other parties involved in the transaction were not on the same page, but he was determined to find a solution.
So, he launched software startup Daily AI with Spencer Hall, who co-founded Spark Talk with Dusebout. In 2022, Daily AI acquired Whiteboard Technology, a CRM platform for the mortgage industry. The combined company rebranded to Aidium in early 2023. Today, the CRM platform features tools for automation, marketing, content, referrals and leads.
Since its rebrand, the startup has raised a $19 million Series A and grown its team from 25 employees to 40. In 2024, Aidium plans to continue hiring and investing in R&D to build and roll out a new reporting and data warehouse product. Dusebout said he and his team are open to ideas on ways to improve the product and user experience and welcome feedback.
Founded: 2018
Founder: Josh Massey
Headquarters: Denver
Josh Massey’s love for the startup world began when he was a recruiter for a tech company in Chicago. As the company grew, so did Massey’s desire to start his own business. A few years later, he launched Blueline Consulting, a tech consulting firm, where he continued to learn the ins and outs of what makes a company successful.
This professional journey, paired with his grandmother’s experience taking Medicaid rides, led Massey to found rideshare startup Carepool. The startup’s goal was to create a safe, secure and predictable rideshare service for the medical industry that allowed drivers and riders to build relationships with one another.
Carepool got its start in Madison, Wisconsin, connecting riders with disabilities and older adults to specialized transportation services. It moved its headquarters to Denver in 2021. Its 40 employees operate on a hybrid model.
The startup’s software is similar to Uber and Lyft — where drivers operate independently and use their own vehicle. It syncs with hospital systems and Medicaid and Medicare programs, allowing medical professionals and social workers to book rides for their patients. Carepool also provides door-through-door services, meaning drivers can help their riders get settled into a hospital, doctor’s office or home.
Carepool expanded operations from four states to eight in the last 18 months and did about $3 million in revenue in 2022. Massey told Colorado Inno that the startup nearly doubled its revenue in 2023.
In Q1 2024, Carepool will begin working with UC Health. The startup will also roll out a direct-to-consumer app starting in Minneapolis this year and hopes to be operational in at least 12 states in 2025.
Founded: May 2020
Co-founders: Diego Montemayor, David Ruiz and Tianheng Yu
Headquarters: Denver
After the Covid-19 pandemic, the U.S. has been dealing with a labor shortage, one especially present in the hospitality industry. With the influx of Venezuelan migrants moving to the U.S., thousands of people are in search of work but often have a hard time finding a job that fits their needs. That’s where Chamba comes in.
Chamba is an app that connects Latinos looking for flexible work with gigs in the hospitality industry. Businesses post available shifts, the pay rates and requirements on Chamba’s platform. Using machine learning, the job posting is then shared on the app with professionals who best meet these requirements. The user can pick and choose which jobs fit their schedules and show up when it’s time to clock in. Chamba pays the worker on behalf of the business and handles the paperwork and insurance.
When Chamba first launched, it worked with businesses offering jobs in manufacturing, restaurants and other service sectors. Over time, and after listening to customers’ needs, Chamba shifted its focus to solely serving the hospitality industry, including the Denver Zoo and National Western Complex.
Founding CEO Diego Montemayor, whose family migrated from Mexico to Colorado when he was 12 years old, came up with the idea for Chamba when he noticed a need to use technology to help diverse communities find jobs. He found that most career platforms and job boards didn’t cater to diverse groups and non-native English speakers so he launched Chamba as an alternative.
Chamba, which means jobs or work in Spanish, is available in both English and Spanish.
Chamba, which participated in the Techstars Workforce Development accelerator in 2021, expects to expand beyond Colorado into other states in 2024. Montemayor said the startup has several users from New York, Texas, California and Florida who are eager to use the platform to find flexible work opportunities. The startup also has clients, such as SSA Group, Aimbridge Hospitality and Aramark, that have locations across the U.S.
Founded: 2019
Co-founders: Mike Weiland, Nick Weiland and Jon Wright
Headquarters: Denver
While working at Blazar Technology Solutions, Mike Weiland and Jon Wright used an internal software to manage government contract bids. The duo quickly realized they could solve a huge problem in the government procurement space with this software. This led to the launch of Govly in 2019. Weiland and Wright hired Weiland’s brother, Nick, to build Govly’s software.
Govly’s platform connects contractors, distributors and other businesses with government bids and work opportunities. The platform also allows users to track and automate responses and serves as a network to find collaborators and build teams needed to win government contracts.
“The government contracting space is riddled with antiquated approaches and organizations that haven’t adapted to the needs of the industry,” Mike Weiland said. “Govly is bringing transparency [and] facilitating access, and supporting both large and small organizations as they navigate the labyrinth of public sector selling.”
The startup spent 2023 focused on the IT space of the federal government but will expand into state, local, education and non-IT sectors in Q1 2024. Govly is also slated to release additional market intelligence products and artificial intelligence-based solutions in 2024.
Last year, Govly quadrupled its year-over-year revenue and secured a $9.5 million Series A. Govly is now valued at $41 million, according to TechCrunch. The Series A funds will go toward hiring efforts. Govly expects its team to grow from seven in January 2023 to 20 by the end of January 2024.
