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That's exactly right. The best bookstore in town shut down. The best coffee shop is still there, a wonderful place, but not much else, sadly. (Disclosure: I am
by blnqr 6y ago
That's exactly right. The best bookstore in town shut down. The best coffee shop is still there, a wonderful place, but not much else, sadly. (Disclosure: I am a 24-year local in tech who really wanted it to work.)
- prawn 6y agoDid he or others invest as much as was originally implied? I remember it being spoken of as a long-term project. If it was a little shipping container mall, that's a bit of a meagre attempt. You'd need to loss-lead dramatically to attract people across from The Strip to visit.
- blnqr 6y agoGreat question, and you hit it squarely: Hsieh and company did not invest the $350 million (!) as originally announced https://www.technologyreview.com/2013/07/17/15645/zappos-ceo-bets-350-million-on-a-las-vegas-startup-scene/ https://www.technologyreview.com/2013/07/17/15645/zappos-ceo...
- prawn 6y agoFor just part of $350m, you could comfortably bankroll 20 small businesses to effectively create the dynamic you wanted. Couple that with some drawcards to lure tourists across, free travel, etc. That would've worked.
- blnqr 6y agoYou got that right, 20 startups or even 200. And they might have made a great return. Instead, they focused on bars and public art (which I think is cool btw) and made a fundamental real estate mistake by loudly announcing where they were going to buy and how much they had to spend.