Tech health startup Strive Health will expand its headquarters in Denver and add up to 250 more jobs in coming years, the company announced Tuesday.

Even though it was looking at locations in Michigan and Utah, CEO Chris Riopelle said Colorado’s “life extending circumstances” like outdoor opportunities, public transportation and healthy lifestyle opportunities closed the deal.

“The creatives of this place are just incredible,” Riopelle said on a video call. “It’s such a healthy place for ‘Strivers’ to live, with the lifestyle and activity set available.”

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The almost $8 million in economic incentives for the kidney care company also helped. For the second time in as many weeks, Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s (OEDIT) offer of Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits convinced company officials to move or expand a headquarters here.

The average wage of those 250 net new jobs is $131,572, 183% of Denver County’s average. Strive Health has up to eight years to earn the $7.46 million in tax credits.

Strive Health currently has 230 employees, with about 70 in Colorado, Riopelle said. Founded in 2018 by former DaVita Inc. executives, the company has grown rapidly —  600% in 2020. It has expanded to seven markets, and expects to be in 12 states before 2022 hits.

The company’s technology allows for earlier kidney disease diagnosis, and more preventative measures before dialysis and transplants. The method is also supposed to reduce costs.

“In the U.S., 37 million people have kidney disease, but only 10 percent are diagnosed. Sixty percent of those crash in dialysis,” said Riopelle. “A great deal of information exists about those patients then, and we use technology to convene all that information for healthcare providers and identify those patients earlier. … We slow the progression and eliminate crashes.”

Strive just completed $140 million in Series B round financing, with CapitalG joining New Enterprise Associates and several others. CapitalG is part of Alphabet’s independent growth fund. Alphabet is Google’s parent investing arm.

“To have CapitalG lead the round of financing is a clear indication they see us as a leader in the next generation of kidney care,” Riopelle said. “We’re going to grow our market footprint.”

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“These high-quality jobs are a great benefit to Colorado as Strive Health continues to solidify Colorado’s reputation for healthcare and health tech innovation,” said Gov. Jared Polis in a statement.

Riopelle cited the state’s economic development office and Polis “taking an active role in strengthening local businesses, affordable housing, and education for the next generation of innovators.”

“We experienced really positive growth during the pandemic,” Riopelle said. “There was a real demand of a new offering in kidney care that transcended the pandemic. … There was a lot more telephonic care and tele-health and we did have to work extra hard to build the culture of a new company.”

While Strive Health looks to stay downtown, Riopelle said it is rapidly outgrowing its space at 1600 Stout St.

“We think the central business district is a very impressive part of the community, the access to public transportation is unparalleled,” he said. “We, of course, encourage our employees to use it, so it’s incumbent on us to be nearby.”

“Strive Health has proven that they can grow quickly and deliver excellent-paying career opportunities,” said Denver Mayor Michael Hancock in a statement. “As we move to setting our city up for a sustainable economic recovery, this kind of announcement confirms the foundations of our local economy, supported by our competitive workforce talent pool, remain strong and ready to come back.”