The UK and Denver: Building Tech Partnerships
Back in June I had the pleasure to meet a delegation of entrepreneurs from Colorado based companies and City/State representatives who visited London Tech Week. Denver Startup Week – although not exclusively technology focused – is like London Tech Week in that it it’s not a single event, but more a community of events.
The companies who made the trip to London included start-ups, scale-up companies seeking to grow into their first major overseas market, and companies seeking specialist and complementary skills in the United Kingdom. There are clear overlaps in terms of our technology clusters. For example, cyber-security and artificial intelligence development clusters have been growing fast in both markets – underpinned by our universities and commercial research excellence. Also, because quality of life is a major magnet for talented people, both the UK and Colorado have been growing their tech sectors much faster than other regions (in the case of Colorado) and countries (in the case of the UK).
Case in point is Denver. Over the last five years the Denver/Boulder region, according to a recent report by CBRE, has added over 25,000 tech jobs – massively surpassing the output of tech talent produced by the local universities. It was recognized as the “most-moved-to” city by 20-30 somethings in a recent LinkedIn Workforce Report, as the number 1 Top Metro for Small Business Employment (Paychex 2018) and the number 2 City for Rate of Entrepreneurship (Inc. Surge City Index). Denver is attracting people from across the US who are attracted to what the region has to offer: quality of life, as well as interesting work in a big - and growing - local technology ecosystem, and a welcoming community that fosters a collaborative culture. In fact, according to the same CBRE report, greater Denver trails only the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle in terms of tech labour market competitiveness.
Similarly, according to Tech Nation, the UK punches way above its weight compared to other European nations. In terms of venture capital investment, for example, VC investment was more than France and Germany combined. But complacency is not in order. We need to keep forging partnerships and developing our collective networks – in the UK and in Denver
I’m delighted, therefore, to be visiting Denver Startup Week to meet, or meet again, some of Colorado’s most innovative tech companies and helping to forge partnerships with British companies. The relationship between the USA and the United Kingdom is, of course, a close and strong one. We need to cast our net wide to where US talent and investment potential reside. And, increasingly, they reside in Colorado.
There’s no doubting the United States’ pivotal role in tech. America has created some of the world’s most important tech powerhouses. The San Francisco Bay Area (Silicon Valley) has produced companies like Google, Facebook and Oracle – and many others. Further up the West Coast, Seattle has been the progenitor of Microsoft and Amazon. These companies have invested heavily in the United Kingdom. Indeed, most growth stage American companies typically open their first overseas office in the UK once they have secured their first, significant funding round. It’s heartening to see growing Colorado based companies also making the journey to the UK: expanding, developing and growing in the world’s fifth largest economy
Jeffrey Peel is a Technology Sector Specialist working with the UK Department for International Trade (DIT). If you’d like to meet with Jeff or possibly take part in DIT organised events during Denver Startup Week please contact Isobel O’Brien at Isobel.obrien@mobile.trade.gov.uk.
