STARTUPS TO WATCH: Six biq ideas that mean business in Colorado.

• Author: Sukin, Bigi
• Position: STARTUP STARS

Six companies. Five cities. More than $50 million in funding. Hundreds of jobs.

Our startup stars--shining brightly across the Colorado business firmament from Montrose to Colorado Springs, Durango to Denver--are proof-positive that talent runs deep in the space between New York and Silicon Valley.

"There's never been a better time to start a company in Colorado," says Brian Watson, Proximity's director of community development. "Not only is our economy booming, but we also have one of the most forward-thinking states in the nation."

It's getting easier and cheaper to start a business outside the usual hubs, with digital tools, flexible business models going mainstream, and talent magnetized by the beauty and potential of places all across Colorado.

Here are six startups to keep youreyeon in 2018and beyond:

PROXIMITY SPACE

proximity.space

FOUNDED: 2015 | HQ: Montrose

Searching for a solution to manage a single coworking space in Montrose, Proximity Space created its own platform with standardized, easy-to-integrate tools and features. As other spaces heard about the platform, the idea to build a better way to operate coworking scaled, with more than 120 connected coworking offices now spread across four countries.

"How do you create a diverse economy?" asks Brian Watson, Proximity's director of community development. "A lot of economies are based on legacy industries and don't have a good place to convene a remote workforce. Proximity gives people the ability to plug in."

The suite of offerings ranges from access to controls to meeting scheduling tools. Co-founder and CEO Josh Freed says the technology add-ons are largely crowd-sourced by Proximity members expressing needs and asking questions. This spring, the company rolled out a digital job board nationwide, thanks to community requests.

Freed says customer service is ingrained in his company's DNA.

"We've taken an approach to building this community wherein we will take all the pain away from our customers," he says.

Freed says three-quarters of the people who visit a Proximity space become members; as a result, the community is doubling in size every three months.

This year, the Montrose-based startup will launch a series of partnerships, ranging from government-run organizations such as the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, to local chambers of commerce, Startup Colorado and a pilot program with Hilton. Proximity will host a first-of-its-kind coworking conference in Colorado for a nationwide audience this October.

Proximity anticipates reaching profitability by the end of 2018. HIRING? YES. Proximity is on a "pretty aggressive hiring path," CEO Freed says. The organization is actively recruiting sales and customer support associates...