California-based software company Freshworks is growing its presence in the Denver area, with plans to expand its local workforce by about 50% this year.
The company’s Denver footprint started with 12 people in 2020, but has since grown to nearly 100. Its growth in the region is coming for many of the same reasons other companies based in traditional, massive technology hubs have been hiring people in cities like Denver, said José Morales, Freshworks’ chief revenue officer.
“Denver, to us, represents a place that has a lot of talent, it has people we’re trying to hire, particularly as a sales hub,” Morales said. “It’s a place that has a high quality of life, a vibrant downtown, there’s a lot of good reasons for why Denver is at the top of the list for us and why we opened there. So far, it’s delivered what we thought it would.”
Denver is also a good place for Freshworks to find new customers. Freshworks provides software tools and platforms to help its customers manage their relationships with consumers and employees. All the venture capital flowing into the city and giving life to new startups creates a plethora of potential customers for the company.
“It’s a super fast-growing city, a lot of people moving to the city, it’s a great place for entrepreneurial work. A lot of these startups in Denver, we want them to come in and leverage our products,” Morales said. “It’s been good for us to be there. It’s easy to get out and meet customers in person, or invite them to the office or to an event.”
Denver-area customers include ski resort company Alterra Mountains, Smashburger and Broomfield-based outdoor retailer Exxel Outdoors. Farther north, Colorado State University is also a customer.
Also, while there’s a pervasive talent shortage all over the place, it isn’t as pronounced in Denver as it is in California, where Freshworks is based. Even trying to compete both with employers who have local offices and with outsiders offering remote work to Denver’s talent pool, “it’s been better than the Bay Area for us,” Morales said.
“We’ve done very well with finding talent, but it’s a very competitive time,” Morales said. “Right when the pandemic struck, we saw a bit of a dip, but then it’s been just on fire in terms of the talent markets.”
Morales has tried to win talent over by offering competitive benefits, but also by providing a great place to work alongside various perks, both for people coming into the office and those working remotely, he said.
“We pay for the WiFi at home, we have meals in the office, we go to Rockies games, we do things that make it fun to build a community at the company,” Morales said. “When you go to our office, you feel the energy.”
The company moved into its office, a 44,000 square foot space at 1401 Lawrence St., with an eye toward growth, so it still has plenty of space into which it can expand at that site, Morales said.
Freshworks produced $371.02 million in 2021 revenue, up from $249.66 million in the prior year. That translated to a $192 million net loss for the year, according to the company's most recent annual financial report.
