GROUP: GIVE AMAZON A COLORADO LOVE LETTER
Colorado Loves, a grassroots public campaign, is asking the public to share what they love about their state in hopes a collection of those anecdotes and details will persuade Amazon to build its second headquarters in the Centennial State.
A grassroots public campaign is asking Coloradans to share what they love about their state in hopes a collection of those anecdotes and details will persuade a tech giant looking for a second home to love it, too.
Colorado Loves is the name of the effort, and ColoradoLoves.com is the website on which to share.
The idea is simple. Collect heaps of videos, photos and written material from state leaders, luminaries and everyday residents that capture what makes the Centennial State special. Roll out that material online just as Amazon is receiving bids from communities angling to be the landing spot for the Seattle-based company’s second headquarters. And hope that all the love letters help sway Jeff Bezos and Co. to bring a mega tech campus, with tons of high-paying jobs, to Denver — and add to the list of what makes Colorado lovable.
“The goal is to highlight all the things that are great about this region and why we can support 50,000 new jobs and tons of new innovation,” said Stephanie Donner, who is leading the campaign. “If you’re inspired, we want you participate. There is no area where we have too much or too little. We need content and we want it to be user-generated.”
Donner is a former deputy chief of staff and chief legal counsel to Gov. John Hickenlooper. She is now working as outside corporate counsel for Denver-based tech bootcamp and co-working company Galvanize. She said she was approached by friends three weeks ago about taking on Colorado Loves.
Right now, there’s not much on the site. Just a royal (Colorado) blue background and a couple prompts seeking visitors’ names and email addresses. Once a person signs up, an email pops up in their inbox suggesting ways they can contribute: Send a photo; write a 300-word blog post; submit a quote or a one-word description of what makes Colorado great; or — and here’s the option Donner is most hopeful that people will embrace — use a cellphone to shoot a video (no longer than a minute) explaining what they love about Colorado, why they choose to live and work here, and why they think the area is a good fit for Amazon.
Donner has been working to collect sub-
missions from notable Coloradans, both in the metro area and beyond. She said the site will feature artists, outdoor enthusiasts, elected officials and more. She said she wants people to talk about everything they love, whether it’s the mountains, local sports teams or the business environment.
On Wednesday, Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers shot a video for the site. The former Colorado attorney general knows his city is not in the running to land Amazon. It’s too far from Denver International Airport and too small a population center to meet the requirements of Amazon’s request for proposal. But he feels strongly that Amazon’s choice of Denver would have a positive impact on El Paso County and bring opportunities to businesses there.
He said his video focuses on the collaborative, innovative character of Colorado’s business community.
“Even our very wellestablished tech companies here, they know that they have to be engaged in innovation and research and development to stay on top of their game,” Suthers said. “Our bread and butter is innovative companies, both small and large. I think that’s the type of culture conducive to attracting a company like Amazon.”
It’s possible that Amazon potentially coming to town could mean some employees from established local tech companies jump ship to work for the e-commerce giant promising average salaries of $100,000. Bryan Leach, CEO of Denver-based mobile retail rewards app maker Ibotta, is OK with that. He said Amazon’s presence would attract a greater talent pool to the area from which all companies could draw. Leach, too, shot a video for Colorado Loves.
“My main focus was how supportive is the city and state? How supportive is the (business) ecosystem itself ? What has it been like recruiting talent to Ibotta in the last five years?” Leach said. “The bottom line is it comes down to where does the next generation of talent want to live and work and how do they want to live and work? And the next generation wants to live and work in Denver as evidenced by the growing millennial workforce here.”
The Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. has winnowed 30 submissions down to eight metroarea sites that could accommodate 8.1 million square feet of Amazon development. The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade is expected to submit that bid to Amazon on Oct. 16. Donner said Colorado Loves will go live with its stockpiled content on Oct. 17 or 18, using social meeting to spread the love. Even if Amazon doesn’t pick Denver, Donner said she thinks Colorado Loves will stick around awhile. Who knows when the next major employer might come knocking?
“I think for now we’re going to leave it up in perpetuity and see what kind of interest we get,” she said.