Guest Writer: Meghan O’Reilly
While many businesses struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic, NextWorld not only survived but thrived, expanding their operations in the Denver South region. This past April, the company announced the expansion of their headquarter campus in Greenwood Village, adding an estimated 300 jobs.
As remarkable as its growth is the company’s backstory. Since its inception in 2016, Nextworld has led the expansion of tech innovation in Denver South by developing a complete, cloud-based Enterprise Resource Platform (ERP) system for use across industries. The company entered the tech scene as a startup by engineering new products designed to keep up with new technology.
Nextworld CEO and Founder Kylee McVaney represents a new generation of software pioneers following in the footsteps of her father Ed McVaney. As the founder of J.D. Edwards, the elder McVaney jumpstarted a wave of tech talent in Denver South.
Software giant Oracle acquired JD Edwards in 2005, and the father-daughter tech duo Ed and Kaylee McVaney teamed up to develop the NextWorld suite of products. After launching in 2016, two former JD Edwards executives, Axel Allgeier and Vito Solimene, joined the executive team providing decades of software engineering experience. Because private investment went into product development, NextWorld developed their ideal product without outside pressure.
A key strategy for their continued success has been leveraging partnerships with major firms utilizing their products.
Case in point: In 2019, Nextworld partnered with real estate management software company REMLogics to develop a real estate software management solution. Soon after, in October of 2020, NextWorld announced a strategic partnership with Colorado-based NuVerge, a reseller specializing in software development. Exeter Finance LLC, an auto finance firm based in Texas, entered a contract to migrate over to NextWorld’s ERP product.
NextWorld began merely as an idea to create a cloud-based ERP system, but it quickly materialized into an early-stage startup in 2016. In that, they’re in good company in Denver South. Another early-stage startup gaining traction in Denver South is LightWave Logic, an innovative broadband provider based in Douglas County. Lightwave Logic is pioneering the next class of high-speed communication networks. While they have already gone public, Lightwave Logic channels their growth into engineering new prototypes by raising additional financing through a post-IPO equity funding round.
Prototypes seen in Denver South range from broadband network designs pioneered by Lightwave Logic to large-scale aviation prototypes developed by Centennial-based Boom Supersonic. Boom Supersonic attracts engineering and tech talent from across the nation to work on their innovative designs to transform air travel. Pax8 represents an IT company experiencing growth. After they were founded in 2012 in Greenwood Village, they have grown from a startup pioneering cloud software to a mature company with a global presence.
At Denver South, we care deeply about supporting startups like those mentioned above. Why? Because startups spur new job creation and diversify our economy, helping to build an innovative economy that grows alongside new technology. These companies demonstrate how innovation of a few firms helps found an innovative culture in Denver South.
Visit our previous blog “What is a Startup?” to learn more about startups and why they’re so important to our regional economic development strategy.
