Thirteen companies from Boulder County and three from Northern Colorado have been named Colorado Companies to Watch in a joint award program of the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) and the Edward Lowe Foundation.

The program recognizes 50 second-stage companies across the state each year for the role they play in the state economy. Honorees win a year’s worth of publicity through local celebrations and other promotions and perks.

To be eligible, companies must be privately held; facing issues of growth; employ between six and 99 employees; have between $750,000 and $50 million in annual revenue or working capital in place from investors or grants; be based in Colorado; have note been a previous winner; and demonstrate the capacity to grow.

This year marks the seventh year of the Colorado Companies to Watch program.

Local winners this year included:

Boulder ––  BackJoy, Bamboobies, Cloud 9 Living, Coldquanta, DevelopIntelligence, E Source, EMPSi, Kapost, Skratch Labs, Sphero and Wallaroo Hat Co.

Fort Collins – Czero Inc. and Odell Brewing Co.

Lafayette – Blue Moose of Boulder.

Loveland – Aleph Objects.

Niwot – Alpen High Performance Products.