Sustainability, a Colorado Startup Story
What if I told you there was a startup based in Colorado that has been in stealth-mode since before we landed on the moon, slowly but steadily market testing sustainable ways to improve the quality of life? A hybrid product-service with global appeal and market reach, this startup is suddenly challenged to meet domestic demand and new interest from the international community. Pivoting from an early focus in the mining and cattle industries, this startup now works with the industries of technology, healthcare, recreation, and agriculture among others.
For decades this startup, essentially a B2B2C play, has been hiding in plain sight, and I can almost guarantee you’ve heard of it. Applying a dynamic formula comprised in part of an active and engaged community, access to Mother Nature’s beauty and playgrounds, and a friendly, open-minded business environment this startup is arguably the first to deliver on the triple bottom line concept of people, planet, and profit.
So what’s this startup’s name? Well, it depends. If you’re a business, it’s called the State of Colorado. If you’re a consumer, it’s called Denver. If you’re a part of this startup, it’s called the Front Range.
OK, OK, I’ve taken some liberties with the vernacular of entrepreneurship, but not without reason. Allow me to explain…
Last month House of Genius held two Open Houses here in Colorado. For context, by “Open House” I’m referring to a showcase version of the monthly events House of Genius holds in cities around the world (the open format is intended to make the experience of our events more accessible to larger audiences). The first was in partnership with the World Trade Center of Denver, an addition to their 44th Annual World Trade Day at the Colorado Convention Center. The second was in conjunction with Boulder Startup Week (BSW) at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, a sort of annual ritual after nearly 6 years.
The World Trade Day event was an exceptional session (tip of the cap to the WTC Denver team) focused on the city of Denver and what it needs to do to stand and share on the global stage. The session followed an inspiring and in many ways, a shock-and-awe keynote presentation by Noah Raford (a Denver native now living in Dubai). Noah delivered a well articulated talk about the innovation and forward thinking happening in Dubai on the matters of economic development. He also shared some compelling global projections based on recent studies regarding the impacts of climate change, automation, and resource challenges.
The following day’s event was a part of this year’s Boulder Startup Week lineup and focused the collective expertise of a small yet diverse panel with participation from the audience to tackle a shared challenge facing Warriorfy, a promising local startup. The company’s founder Jessica Raymond, recent graduate of the 2017 class of the MergeLane Accelerator Program in Boulder, presented a question currently on the minds of her team, paraphrased here as an exploration of potential blind spots or obstacles lying ahead in an upcoming effort to secure growth capital. The conversation in Boulder was spirited and engaging, essentially a traditional exploration into the potential for some discovery-based learning opportunities that fall on the shoulders of Jessica and the Warriorfy team. A great example of the Boulder community engaging local entrepreneurs to support innovation and entrepreneurship.
To Be or Not to Be, Globally Speaking
The World Trade Day presentation was delivered by Karen Gerwitz, CEO and President of WTC Denver, bringing to the table the ask her organization is wrestling with and in many ways, making the ask on behalf of Denver itself. The question this panel was asked to focus and share their perspectives on,
A. What do we need to become more of a global city?
B. What can we learn from others to get there?
The panel wasted no time to address a more fundamental question, should Denver focus globally? A consensus was reached rather easily: Denver is not only justified but well positioned to stand up and be recognized as a global market and destination. Feedback included a number of stories warmly shared when panelists highlighted how and when their journey led them to make Colorado home. While some were fairly new to Colorado, others arrived in Denver as far back as 1965! These variances in arrival were matched by the diversity and distance in geography panelists hailed from, e.g., London, Senegal 0r New Zealand among others.
Quality of life, beautiful weather, access to nature, a progressive political climate along with a casual community-minded business culture.
When asked what factors led them to make Colorado home the consistent and common answer was quality of lifestyle possible in Colorado. The anonymous panel (a requirement of the House of Genius format) consisted of leadership in academia, finance, economic development, art, cultural integration, innovation, and trade. One panelist who moved to Denver in 1965 stated succinctly that quality of life was the reason, mirroring several arriving as recently 3 years ago.
Wow. For more than half a century, Colorado has balanced the growing tourist, rural, and urban populations without compromising this sense of opportunity to enjoy a vibrant quality of life possible by living here.
Once considered a small cow-town turned tourist destination for access to epic skiing and climbing, Denver, Colorado has quietly been a mecca for people looking for a better quality in day-to-day life, a place people relocate themselves or their family to find balance between the professional and personal, to be able to work hard and play hard together with nature, a place where the community engages, progresses, and supports those who live within. Also revealed, was a long kept secret. Colorado has some of the best damn weather you’ll find anywhere in the world with nearly 300 days of sunshine and while yes, it snows, it’s really not that cold here. Even when it snows.
A few notable revelations from the panel discussion,
- Quality of life. The breadth of activities people find here in Colorado appeals universally to all ages, cultures, businesses, and to rural and urban populations alike.
- Open-minded culture and a progressive political landscape. Denver is attracting people for reasons beyond the great weather and access to nature. Recent history has shown Coloradans open to leading the way on policy initiatives once thought to be politically radical, e.g., attempts to split the electoral college, legalizing marijuana, tax reforms, and balancing energy production with environmental preservation.
- Business-friendly/minded. No single industry dominates Colorado’s business landscape, home to organizations in healthcare, technology, agriculture, and energy among others which has created a remarkably diverse business community. The government is supportive of business without compromising future tax revenues, finding creative and sustainable relationships with private businesses.
- Front Range is teeming with talent. A steady influx of people, estimated at over 1K per month, are moving to Colorado. Mostly young professionals, the result is a reliable talent pool from local businesses to pull from to find the skilled resources necessary to compete in domestic and global markets. No surprise that Google is showing up this year. Who’s next?
- Knock, knock. Who’s there? Tomorrow’s traffic-jam. To succeed, Denver needs to prepare for the stresses of tomorrow and resist limiting our thinking and investments to solving the burdens of today. Infrastructure is already stressed and will need serious investment and forward thinking to receive and accommodate the continuing influx of people moving to Colorado. This population growth will need better public transit, affordable housing, and mindful cultural integrations.
- Denver’s brand is waiting to be defined. This was arguably the heart of the discussion and consensus. It’s what Denver needs to focus on unless it wants to continue being referred to as a cow-town, or by association with legalized marijuana, or just a ski destination. This brand must be marketed and evangelized globally. More on this later…
- Community is a verb. Colorado’s culture has given rise to organizations pushing the community towards greater engagement and entrepreneurial/innovative support, e.g., Formativ, 10.10.10, House of Genius, The Commons, TechStars, Startup Week/Weekend, and WTC Denver are just a few). The future will require broader collaboration and smarter resource allocation than economies have ever experienced.
- Walking the walk. Denver is currently embarking on some significant reclamations of entire boroughs and districts by way of private and public investment. World Trade Center Denver is at the heart of one such project and represents a bolder vision and attitude developing here locally about what is possible. It’s not just about what we build, it’s about what we do with and within these spaces after they’re built.
- Yes, everyone’s invited. Denver International Airport in conjunction with RTD Light-Rail represent a compelling foundation to expand upon, currently taking the form of more direct flights to global markets like Tokyo, London, and Singapore. We discussed how we can make it easier to flow into and out of Denver to engage and connect.
- We love our Mother. It is simply impossible to live in Colorado and not develop a relationship with nature. Whether you spend time in the backcountry or you simply enjoy viewing the beauty of the landscapes, we think about the environment and how to protect it for the generations yet to come.
The earlier keynote presentation illustrated Dubai as a city embracing bold thinking and supporting the innovative efforts so inspired. There is a lot to learn and emulate from their example, however, for most markets it’s not exactly a replicable or sustainable model. Dubai benefits from leadership that is eager and motivated to invest billions into the process to make it happen. Not every city has billionaires so motivated.
What is replicable is Dubai’s commitment to cultivate a community mindset for pushing the limits or boundaries of innovation. As a result, Dubai is rapidly reaping the benefits of challenging what’s possible in several industries. A city with limited natural resources, geography, or native population has created a bold global identity of pioneering what’s possible to solve the interesting problems we all must address. Dubai is essentially taking ownership and exporting bold thinking, a remarkable concept.
So, let’s get back to the question, What does Denver need to become a global city?
Digging deeper into the why, how, and what Denver can be globally, the panel essentially outlined a definition of success, a high-level gap analysis of requirements, and some suggestions on how to resource the journey. Infrastructure, marketing, and creativity in how we welcome the global community were key factors our panel felt were essential.
- Determine our brand, then market, promote, and evangelize it worldwide.
- Invest in the infrastructure needed to maintain flow for residence and global guests.
- Focus on improving our cultural integration, and try to keep our diversity cross-pollinated.
Brand it, promote it, support it, and improve it.
So there you have it, for Denver to become a global city we need to determine our brand, market the hell out of it, and prepare for success. There’s a bit of a question around ownership/leadership of the effort, which for now seems like it will have to be a group effort from many of those sitting on the panel for this edition of World Trade Day. With limited time, we didn’t go much further, but I have no doubt Denver is ready and the leadership that was present for this event clearly has an appetite for bolder visions than trying to be the next Silicon Valley.
If not us, who? If not now, when? It’s time we play a bigger game Denver. To everyone in the Front Range, who’s in?
