2. Las Vegas City Hall
It all started with the plan to move Zappos Headquarters to the former City
Hall building in Downtown Las Vegas. What could that campus look like?
How could it influence the city around it? How could it help to revitalize
Downtown?
3. Google
There are some corporate
campuses that you never
have to leave—with dining
options, outdoor
recreation, gardens, even
your dog. But how do the
people there interact with
the community around
them?
4. Nike
Or what about Nike’s World Headquarters? They have a swimming pool,
soccer fields, volley ball courts, workout facilities, and more.
5. Apple
The Google, Nike, and Apple campuses are all amazing. And Zappos
considered creating a similar HQ and polled their employees about what
kinds of amenities they would like at their workplace.
6. Doggy Day Care
When Zappos employees were surveyed about the amenities they would prefer to
have in their new campus, doggy day care was the number one request—not
human day care..
7. NYU Campus
Rather than build a campus that’s insular, that doesn’t create reasons for people
to leave, Zappos decided that it would be more interesting to create a campus
that interacts with the community around it, that encourages people to interact
serendipitously with people they might not otherwise meet. A campus that
functions not only as a workplace, but also as a community gathering space.
8. Downtown Las Vegas
Fremont East
Surrounding the future Zappos HQ is an amazing neighborhood called Fremont
East. It’s filled with bars, restaurants, and shops run by local business owners.
It’s the kind of neighborhood where people run into friends on the street, where
any bar or restaurant you visit, you’ll see someone you know.
9. Downtown Las Vegas
Fremont East
It’s actually one of the most community-focused neighborhoods you can
imagine—in the place you would least expect it. Downtown Las Vegas.
Downtown Project was created as its own entity with a mission to help to
revitalize the neighborhood and catalyze the growth of the community.
10. DOWNTOWN PROJECT
A $350 Million Investment
$ 50M Small Businesses
$ 50M Tech Startups
$ 50M Education, Arts, Culture
$200M Residential & Real Estate
12. ROI vs. ROC
Instead of maximizing short-term
ROI: Return On Investment
We focus on maximizing long-term
ROC: Return On Community
and institutionalizing ROL:
Return On Luck – Accelerating
Serendipity
13. THE BIG BET . . .
Accelerating
Collisions, Community & Co-Learning
…will lead to…
Accelerating
Happiness, Luckiness, Innovation &
Productivity
14. $50M Small Businesses
We’re investing in up to 200 small businesses in Downtown Las Vegas. All of
those Post-Its on the wall represent small business ideas.
15. $50M Small Businesses
We’re primarily interested in owner-operated small businesses that
meet these criteria:
• Are you passionate about your idea?
• Does your idea contribute to community in some way?
• Are you capable of executing your business idea?
• Is your business model sustainable?
• What is it that makes your business unique or the best at what you
do?
• What about your business would make it worthy of a story in a major
publication or national news outlet?
16. Entrepreneurs:
“What would you be
passionate about doing for
10 years even if you
never made a dime?”
17. Natalie
This is Chef Natalie Young. Her restaurant EAT is our first small business investment
to open. Formerly, she worked as a Chef on The Strip. And she was about to leave
Las Vegas for good until she was able to follow her passion and fulfill her dream to
open her own restaurant.
29. $50M Tech Startups
We’re investing $50 I’m
million dollars in tech
startups like Romotive
Romo!
that are located here or
are willing to move their
operations to Downtown
Las Vegas. Tech
startups can grow
rapidly and create jobs
quickly. We believe you
can change the world
with a laptop.
30. $50M Tech Startups
We’re also investing in spaces for coworking, so startups can have affordable
places to work where they can inspire each other and collaborate in ways that
accelerate innovation.
31. $50M Tech Startups
We’re working with Venture for America to bring up to ten of their Fellows to
Las Vegas this year. They’ll be working with us on Downtown Project and
transitioning into positions with local startups. VFA is a program that sends
young, talented college graduates to work in startups to hone their
entrepreneurial skills.
32. $50M Education, Arts, Culture
We’re partnering with Teach for America to bring 1,000 corps members and
alumni to live Downtown. We’re also planning to build a K-12 charter or private
school in Downtown Las Vegas.
33. $50M Education, Arts, Culture
We’re
investing in
organization
s like First
Friday, to
support
gathering of
the
community
and the
celebration
of the local
arts scene.
And we’re partnering with Burning Man to bring exciting, new public art to
Downtown Las Vegas.
34. $200M Residential & Real Estate
We’re inspired by the book Triumph
of the City and the idea that
knowledge is more powerful than
space.
When people live closely together,
they interact more frequently which
creates more opportunities for them
to learn from each other.
Accelerate serendipity ->
Accelerate learning ->
Accelerate productivity and
innovation
35. WHEN CITIES DOUBLE IN SIZE . . .
Productivity and innovation per
resident increases by 15%
But it’s not true for companies
36. HOW TO ACCELERATE
LEARNING & INNOVATION
Maximize the number of
serendipitous interactions
Accelerate learning opportunities
Increase the metabolism of the city
37. 3 INGREDIENTS FOR SERENDIPITY
1. Residential density of at least 100
residents per acre
2. Street-level activity for residents to
collide
3. Culture of
openness, collaboration, creativity, an
d optimism
38. GROUPS COLLIDING
DOWNTOWN
1. 2000 Zappos employees
2. 1000 Teach For America corp
members and alumni
3. Tech Startup Community
4. Small Business Community
5. Art and Music Communities
6. Other Passion Communities
7. Local Residents
39. Learning from Zappos and Coworking
Culture is to a Company
as
Community is to a City
Values
Innovation
Serendipity
Participation
Upward Mobility
Attracting Startups and the Creative Class
40. Our Secret Weapon …
When people come to visit us in Downtown Las Vegas, they find exactly what
we found. A place that is vibrant, interesting, and community-focused. And
they want to stay, to move their companies here. They get it.
41. LEARNING FROM TED, SUMMIT
SERIES, SXSW, BIF…
Curated Content
Serendipity
Learning
Connections
Community
We’re creating a space where innovators, dreamers, doers, and through
leaders from around the world can come to share ideas in Downtown Las
Vegas—to enrich the community, to inspire us all. Call it a Downtown Mini-
Residency program.
42. Downtown Every Day
Curated Content
Serendipity
Learning
Connections
Community
43. We’re building a theater at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont
Street where we’ll host weekly TED-style talks that will given by guests and
community members.
44. OUR BIG BET…
3 Guiding Principles
Accelerate:
1. Collisions
2. Community
3. Co-Learning
And everything else will fall into place…
(productivity, innovation, growth, happiness)
What will people say about
Downtown?
