Colorado Springs-Based Cherwell Software Raises $50 Million Round of Funding
In 2007, before he even sold a product, Vance Brown had one goal for his new Colorado Springs-based IT service management company: lead a business that would survive the test of time.
Ten years later, Brown and his Cherwell Software team have taken a major step closer to that goal, securing a $50 million round of funding from New York-based investment group KKR in late February. News of the funding, Colorado Springs’ largest investment deal since 2000, is the latest piece of positive buzz surrounding Cherwell—a company that is quickly becoming one of Colorado Springs’ greatest business success stories.
The Big News
February’s investment news found its way into outlets such as TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance and the Denver Post, and this investment isn’t the first time Cherwell has made major headlines. In 2012 the international company received $25 million in investment, and thanks in large part to the work done at its Colorado Springs headquarters, Cherwell was named ColoradoBiz Magazine’s software company of the year in 2015. The success isn’t surprising when you take into account a customer satisfaction rate of more than 98 percent—an astonishing level considering the 1700-plus clients that Cherwell serves. The company added 200 employees in 2016 alone, bringing its total to more than 450 over its eight offices in the U.S., Europe and Australia.
Why Colorado Springs?
Brown points to Colorado Springs as the perfect location for a thriving tech company—one that compares well to other tech hubs such as San Jose or Austin. “We believe Colorado not only has what those cities have to offer, in many respects, but Colorado has it even better from a standpoint of lifestyle,” Brown says. “If you like the outdoors and like sunshine, why not be in Colorado Springs overlooking Pikes Peak, the most beautiful mountain in America?”
Brown also recognizes the benefits of working in a city that’s becoming a national center for cybersecurity. “Service management and cybersecurity go hand in hand,” he says. More than 80 cybersecurity companies and 140 IT companies hold offices in Colorado Springs, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing and root9B, ranked the most innovative cybersecurity company in the world.