Rally Software’s roll continued this week, with the company’s latest quarterly revenue beating expectations while CEO Tim Miller earned an award for being Colorado’s top CEO.
The Boulder-based software development company (NYSE: [[ticker:RALY]]) announced late Thursday a 28 percent year-to-year revenue increase for its most recent quarter, which ended Oct. 31.
The company, which went public in early April, reported revenues of $18.9 million, which is slightly more than it predicted for the quarter. The gains were driven by a 30 percent increase in subscription and support revenue during the quarter, the company’s earnings announcement said.
Rally still lost money, reporting a net loss of $5.8 million, or 24 cents per share.
Miller, who is also Rally’s chairman, was named CEO of the Year by ColoradoBIZ magazine. He earned the award for helping to build Rally into a company with a market cap around $620 million and for overseeing a successful IPO.
It’s unlikely Miller will spend much time bragging about the honor. Locally, Miller is known for his retiring presence, and in 2011 he was included in a Wall Street Journal profile of introvert CEOs. The article noted Miller’s “all steak, no sizzle” persona, a rarity among most corporate leaders.
Giving Zayo credit
Zayo Group, the fast-growing privately held telecom startup headquartered in Boulder, said this week it had re-priced its debt facility to generate an additional $150 million for the company. The money will be used for general corporate purposes.
The money comes from Zayo’s move to increased the amount of a loan facility from $1.6 billion to $1.75 billion. The company was able to cut its interest rate by half of a percentage point, which will save the company $2 million in interest payments per year. The company announced the move on Monday.
Zayo has become a major international telecom provider, with a network of 75,954 route miles in 45 states as well as major cities in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Its focus has been on acquiring smaller companies that have built regional or metro fiber networks and consolidating them into Zayo’s portfolio. Zayo founder and CEO Dan Caruso explained the company’s strategy and history in this guest post for Xconomy.
Cleantech awards
The past week has been a big one for the cleantech industry in Colorado. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which is based in Golden, a Denver suburb, hosted its annual industry growth forum for startups, researchers, and investors.
Also this week, the Colorado Cleantech Industries Association announced its annual award winners.
Among the winners were the Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory, a research partnership between NREL, Colorado State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Colorado School of Mines; and Cool Planet Energy Resources, a company that makes small biorefineries to convert non-food biomass into high-octane fuel.
Other winners are named here.
Denver Startup Week
Following the success of this year’s Denver Startup Week—during which more than 650 companies and 5,500 people participated in more than 125 events—it was a question of when, not if, it would return for a third time. Organizers answered that question this week, scheduling the free celebration of Colorado’s entrepreneurial community for Sep. 15-20, 2014.
The Colorado Technology Association, Downtown Denver Partnership, and a whole lot of volunteers organize Denver Startup Week. In addition to announcing the date, organizers also put out a call for volunteers and sponsors. Check out the DSW2014 website for more.
Export program
The state of Colorado announced a new program intended to help high-tech companies export their products.
The Advanced Industries Export Accelerator Program launched this week. The program is a tool for small- and medium-size businesses in advanced industries that do not have the resources needed to engage in export promotion, according to a release from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade. The program offers financial resources, training, and consulting services to businesses that participate.
The program will make grants of up to $15,000 available to help companies offset foreign business development. It also is running classes in 2014 to teach the basics about exporting goods and international marketing.
More information is available here.
