News

The City of Fort Collins this year will recognize three Fort Collins firms who have been named as Colorado Companies to Watch – a unique statewide awards program recognizing second-stage companies.

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade launched the program in 2009 in conjunction with the Edward Lowe Foundation. These three Fort Collins-based companies are among 50 elite winners chosen from 1,000 applications:

Brinkman Construction: has been providing high-level construction services throughout the Front Range since 2005 and are a 100% employee owned.

LoCo Food Distribution: delivers locally grown and locally processed foods to restaurants, grocery stores, caterers and institutions along the Front Range.

Motherlove Herbal Co.: provides natural herbal care products for pregnancy, birth, baby, and breastfeeding.

“Colorado Companies to Watch creates a network across Colorado of other second-stage companies to connect,” said SeonAh Kendall, the City’s Economic Health Manager. “This is important because entrepreneurs view the world through a special lens and this program creates an opportunity to share, communicate, innovate and learn from other entrepreneurs who have gone through the same challenges.”

“We should be proud in Fort Collins – our companies have been recognized in this way every year since 2009,” Kendall said. “These companies often fly below the radar but they are a critical piece of our state and local economies.”

Second stage companies contribute to economic health of the community because they have grown beyond startup stage and working to grow. They are generally defined as companies that have six to 99 employees and revenue between $500,000 and $50 million.

Fort Collins companies that have won the honor in recent years include CPP, Czero and Odell Brewing Co. Winners were named in June at a celebration at the Denver Marriott City Center. For more information on the program, go to www.coloradocompaniestowatch.org.