CENTENNIAL, Colo. — A team of tech company founders will open a new space Thursday in the south metro to help the next generation of tech startups get off the ground or grow their businesses.
Step One 2 Launch is opening Thursday in Centennial. The 22,000 square foot building has typical desks, offices and conference rooms, but also features space for bigger teams and workbenches to build products.
Co-founder Kenneth Geyer said the facility plans to add 3D printers and other specialized machines — along with a professional podcast and video studio space — all of which can be rented out by companies who need those resources.
Geyer has seen this kind of space in other parts of the country, but he said it’s lacking in Colorado.
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“The vision for the future is to go to under-serviced areas like South Denver Metro, Colorado Springs, up and down the Front Range, and have more of these,” Geyer told Denver7. “To where a maker or an engineer or somebody with, just an inventor with a good idea, want to come to those places because of the ecosystem around them and what they're going to get and benefits.
Geyer said he started his first company in a small house in Arvada, lacking space and guidance to effectively scale up his business. He said a space like Step One 2 Launch would have saved him and his partners from making early mistakes.
“Maybe you don't have the budget to go buy a $60,000 piece of equipment? Well, we'll look at doing it ,and then renting it to you so you can offset that, Not have to spend your money,” Geyer said.
Membership at the tech startup incubator will also include a team of industry veterans sharing their expertise on everything from raising capital, to managing production and supply chains, to dealing with and winning government contracts.
“You're a small company, you can't afford to have a full-time CFO or a full-time head of engineering or a project manager,” Geyer said. “We got guys that can surge in and help you, you know, a couple hours a week, or whatever you're needing, just to get you over that hump to where you have time to look for an individual to hire for that position.”
Geyer co-founded Liteye Systems, a defense technology company, which he said built “small displays for defense, thermal cameras for surveillance work, and then big systems for counter-drone systems.” That company sold in 2022 to High Point Aerotechnologies. Geyer said he wants to help other entrepreneurs find similar success.
“As a startup, you just, you're walking into this fast world, and you've got this great idea,” Geyer said. “But [you’re wondering] ‘How do I do all this?’”
Step One 2 Launch said memberships start at $299 a month, and include a desk and consultations with the SO2L founders, with options to rent additional space and resources. The facility has room for a few dozen companies, and Geyer said there are plans to expand the space even more.
