3 Reasons Why SF Techies Will Love Denver
I. Run? Bike? Swim? Ski? Snowboard? This is the Place for All-Around Athletes.
Colorado is the ideal place for all-around athletes. During any season of the year, you can stay fit and healthy — if that’s your cup of tea. Since I don’t live in Denver and therefore, own a car, I relied on B-cycle, a user-friendly biking system for the Denver metropolitan area. It was faster and more reliable than the bus system, yet less efficient than Lyft or Uber. If you enjoy biking, then I would highly recommend you locate a B-cycle station, and hop on a bike to explore the city streets.
Running along the Cherry Creek Trail was breathtaking. While running, I saw gorgeous murals (pictured below), kids and dogs splashing in the water, and the picturesque scenery of the Rocky Mountains. If and when you visit Denver, take a stroll, ride a bike, or run alongside Cherry Creek. You will not regret it.
II. The Startup Community is Incredibly Helpful & Always Willing to Lend a Hand.
Without knowing a soul, I flew to Denver on a whim to attend the Denver Startup Week (#DENStartupWeek). Thankfully, I was able to convince a San Francisco friend to attend the free conference with me, because he had never been to Denver before. I convinced him it would be worthwhile, especially since I enjoyed visiting my family in other parts of Colorado such as Colorado Springs, Dillon and Boulder.
Within two hours of exploring the city, the day before the conference, I had already fallen in love with the city. My friend was a bit more cautious and told me to give it a few more days, so I acquiesced.
The first morning, we attended the grand breakfast with acclaimed speakers such as Dave McClure, founder of 500 startups, and Colorado-based CEOs such as Wayin’s Elaine Wood Feeney and Ibotta’s Brian Leach. All three speakers were absolutely phenomenal.
The crux of Brian Leach’s speech was about supporting Colorado businesses, and how his app has it written on its home page; the crux of Elaine Wood Feeeney’s speech was how we should all support each other, because she herself could not have achieved this much without the help of countless others; the crux of Dave McClure’s speech was sharing the fact that 90% of startups fail and how we should think differently when it comes to investing financially in the blind, the disabled, the Africans, the single women, elderly folks, etc. All three speeches emphasized the culture of giving, supporting each other and lending a helping hand to those who need it the most.
As we began going to more and more events, listening to more captivating speeches and meeting more people, we both began to realize the difference in Denver tech culture versus San Francisco.
Growing up in San Francisco, I know first-hand that San Franciscans are incredibly helpful, generous and compassionate. However, the technology culture is more competitive — it attracts top-quality candidates from superb universities all over the world, who work 10+ hours a day to empower users in X manner, disrupt Y industry and innovate Z technology or way of doing business.
Entrepreneurial friends, who have had to pitch investors, sell their ideas, succeed and fail, have informed me that the technology culture is “cutthroat.” Since I haven’t experienced that world yet, it’s hard for me to say those exact words, but I do recognize that San Francisco is more about if I help you, how will you benefit me? This is in stark contrast to the friendliness of Denver folks.
I’ll be bold and say, I felt 10x more at home in Denver. Due to its smaller technology community, the people are 20x more likely to lend a helping hand than in San Francisco. Although you eventually recognize that there are really only 2 or 3 degrees of separation max to the top people in Silicon Valley, it’s not the same as seeing them in person. In Denver, people are very happy to help. By helping you, they are increasing the value of the Denver tech community by 10x, and increasing the chance for more Colorado tech IPO’s.
The Denver culture embodies the term, “considerate.” A typical conversation with a new stranger leads to: “I’d love to help refer you/introduce you/send you X resource, etc.” It’s all about lending people a helping hand for the heck of it.
After only 4 days in Denver, both my friend and I had fallen in love with the city and want to return. #DENStartupWeek was the best introduction to any technology industry I have ever witnessed, and I will do my best to make it again next year.
Colorado also has a Colorado Spring Startup Week and a Fort Collins Startup Week. Explore Colorado and experience what I am talking about for yourself.
III. Enjoy the Free, Live Music at 16th Street Mall.
Walking along the main epicenter of 16th Street Mall, pedestrians are graced with the sweet melody of piano music. Beginning in May each year and ending in September, the city of Denver brings its citizens and visitors spontaneous piano playing by local musicians.
Similar to Austin’s vibrant music culture, where every single bar showcases live music, Denver has a fascination for the musical talents of its citizens.
It’s a phenomenal experience to walk along the street, and then all of a sudden, hear the amazing melody of piano music. Every city in America should do it!
Local Colorado artists decorate all of the pianos, which are donated to the program — Your Keys to the City. Learn more about events at 16th Street Mall on its Facebook page.
Who knows, you may even be listening to the next Ray Charles!
Final Thoughts
The only caveat I have is that San Francisco has 3x the number of Asian people and Asian food options. Of course, you can still enjoy delicious Asian food in Denver; it just won’t be the same as home. Overall, the bay area is more cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse. As such, the diversity of food options is outstanding — we have Korean, Lebanese, Japanese, Ethiopian, Italian, Middle Eastern, etc. to name a few.
Also, if you are mixed-race (Japanese, German and English), you may enjoy being the minority and offering your perspective as a mixed-race individual. Regardless of your ethnicity, Denver boasts receptive, open-minded, compassionate and intelligent people. Very few folks would regret, or have second thoughts, about moving to Denver. Best of all, skiing is only 1.5 hours away.
