2 013 IDA Awards Presentation Downtown Denver Partnership

1. 2013 IDA Awards Presentation Downtown Denver Partnership

2. Why Denver Startup Week? • Denver has a thriving entrepreneurial community and is one of the best places to start, build, and operate a business • The event was designed to bring together the startup community and provide people with the opportunity to convene, communicate and collaborate • The event focused on three goals: • Enhance the sense of community amongst Denver entrepreneurs, with specific focus on Downtown Denver • Highlight Denver as an entrepreneurial center on the local, regional and national stage • Provide education, inspiration and networking events for the Denver entrepreneurial community

3. Event Details • Initiated in March of 2012 by 10 volunteers under the leadership of two area startup founders (Ben Deda and Erik Mitisek) and the Downtown Denver Partnership • Inaugural Event: October 22nd-26th, 2012 • Plans for a larger 2013 event are currently underway (September 16-20, 2013) • Areas of focus: technology, design, social entrepreneurship and business • The event united the entrepreneurial community in Denver and celebrated the great companies, innovation and ideas happening in the City and the people and inspirations behind them

4. 2007 Downtown Area Plan(DAP) Published in 2007, the Downtown Area Plan provides a foundation for strategic actions that shape Downtown’s future development, enhance connections to surrounding neighborhoods and strengthen Downtown’s role as the heart of the region for the next 20 years. The plan serves as a benchmark for public and private decisions that affect the form and function of Downtown. Strategies and projects are organized according to the five vision elements that support the overarching vision of a vibrant downtown: a prosperous city, a walkable city, a diverse city, a distinctive city and lastly, a green city.

5. Denver Startup Week Supports the Denver Area Plan Vision Diverse City A wide variety of individuals were attracted to the different tracks of tech, business, design and social entrepreneurship which included artists, software developers & service providers across all age ranges. Event also highlighted “women in entrepreneurship.” Walkable/Bicycle City All events took place within walking distance, including the Downtown wide Startup Crawl-a walking tour of 40 companies across Downtown Denver. The project collaborated with Denver’s bike sharing program to provide transportation to all events and participants were encouraged to walk, or bike throughout the week. Prosperous City Highlighted successful Downtown startups, showcasing 500 companies that are currently part of the city. Encouraged early stage startups to choose Downtown as a headquarters. Promoted Denver as a thriving, prosperous, innovation center that has strong innovation and job growth opportunities. Distinctive City The event was held throughout all neighborhoods of the downtown area plan to showcase the diversity & unique qualities of each neighborhood and sense of community. Denver Startup Week highlighted the growth of areas such as the Central Platte Valley, Arapahoe Square & the Ballpark Neighborhood which are all home to local startup companies.

6. Benefits to the City • Created an annual event that encourages collaboration and communication within the startup community • Denver is currently the number one city for 24-35 year olds, most of whom move to the city looking for jobs, 96% of all new jobs are start-up based • There are currently 500 active startups in the Denver community • Entrepreneurs attract the best, brightest and most creative people • Startups are highly-dense companies and high density brings services, businesses, amenities and investment • Increasing national recognition of Downtown Denver • Denver Startup Week gives Downtown Denver the potential to become a destination for major entrepreneurship and innovation events and conferences • The event hosted 3,500 participants to Downtown Denver which boosts Downtown economy • Denver Startup Week raised $142,000 in sponsorships and provided opportunities for the public and private sectors, in addition to non-profits to have access to the event

7. Benefits to the Community • Denver Startup Week enhanced the economic environment and attracted businesses, employees and visitors to Downtown • Since the event, three startups have relocated to Downtown (Swift Page, Sendgrid, Rally Software) • The event brought together successful startups, tech companies, service providers, government officials, educators and individuals and gave an opportunity to collaborate on big ideas • The event supported local businesses and services (Denver B-cycle, caterers, vendors, etc.) • Denver Startup Week highlighted the Denver Downtown startup community on a local, regional and national scale

8. Event Highlights • Over 70 events celebrating everything entrepreneurial (exceeding initial forecast of 16 events) • 500 Companies Involved in Events, Seminars and Panels over the six day event • 3,500 Startup Community Members Visited Downtown Denver and participated • National media exposure provided a launching pad for creating awareness of the incredible movement in the Denver startup scene

9. Event Highlights • Kickoff luncheon: Showcased the entrepreneurs, leaders & builders making the startup community happen including Gary Vaynerchuck, Andre Durand (Ping Identity), Krista Paul (Using Miles), Alex Welch (Photobucket) and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock • TechStars: Attendees had the opportunity to interview and solicit feedback on their ideas from the leaders in the startup tech arena • Startup Crawl: The Denver startup community opened their doors to the community to showcase what they are building. Featured companies were Itriage, Galvanize, Closely, ModeSet, Full Contact, SendGrid and many others.

10. Denver Startup Week Media Highlights Stack Exchange Stack Exchange partners with Denver Startup Week The Mile High City was buzzing last week as it hosted its first ever Denver Startup Week. With more than 80 events hosted by startups all around the city, the week attracted hundreds of entrepreneurs from the Colorado area. Denver Business Journal  5 high-growth businesses recognized for Denver Startup Week The Denver Office of Economic Development (OED) on Wednesday recognized five high-growth local businesses as “Denver Gazelles” in conjunction with Denver Startup Week. WestwordGalvanize opens its doors for the start of Denver Startup Week In October 2011, entrepreneur Jim Deters founded Galvanize, an organization dedicated to "growing start-ups through capital, community and curriculum." Today, the most recent manifestation will be unveiled when Galvanize's new community center opens its doors during Denver Startup Week. 9NEWS Denver Startup Week highlights entrepreneurial spiritAwesome companies, awesome events and an awesome community. It's all part of Denver Startup Week, which kicks off Monday. 7NEWS & TheDenverChannel.com Denver Startup Week begins Monday Denver Startup Week begins on Monday as entrepreneurs and investors gather in the Mile-High city to try and find the next big hit. Fox 31 Start-up companies like AppIt Ventures booming in Denver One of the biggest talking points of this presidential election is jobs, and how to create them. Business Insider Colorado – Entrepreneurial By Nature Some time ago a group of entrepreneurs including my partner Seth Levine came together to talk about how to promote entrepreneurship in Colorado and celebrate the fact that entrepreneurship has become a huge part of the Colorado business ecosystem. New York Times This Week in Small Business: Good News for the Next President A start-up hub emerges in Chicago and Denver’s Startup Week attracts 3,500. Inc. Magazine 5 Reasons Denver Is Hot for Start-ups After selling his Silicon Valley-based startup Brightkite in 2009, Brady Becker and co-founder Martin May decided to go home to Denver and haven't looked back. Here's why Becker says the Mile-High City is a great place to start a business. Denver Post Denver Startup Week attracts 3,500 attendees, second edition in the works for 2013 The inaugural Denver Startup Week attracted three times the crowd that organizers expected, drawing 3,500 community members to more than 70 events over six days. Denver Startup Week features more than 70 eventsDenver Startup Week is under way and runs through Saturday. Guest Commentary: Invest in Colorado's startups With three times the expected crowd and more than 500 companies participating in Denver's first Startup Week in late October, it's tough not to feel a sense of optimism when it comes to the future of our local startup scene. Web Host Industry Review Web Host ViaWest Sponsors Denver Startup Week Denver Startup Week connects entrepreneurs in the Denver area and includes more than 80 activities including interactive workshops, panels, networking events and a career fair. Yahoo! Finance ViaWest Is Sponsor of Denver Startup Week ViaWest, one of the largest privately held data center, cloud computing and managed service providers in North America, announces its sponsorship of Denver Startup Week, a series of events celebrating entrepreneurs in the Denver area.

11. SUMMARY • Denver Startup Week made significant contributions to Downtown Denver in its inaugural year • The event supports the vision of the Downtown Area Plan and the Downtown Denver Partnership including highlighting a: • Walkable City • Diverse City • Prosperous City • Distinctive City • Based on final figures and stats, Denver Startup Week’s success was unprecedented, was deeply embraced by the community, and is looking forward to an even bigger event in September of 2013.