[von949]

Originally Posted by Idaho Red

Too many people with too much money taking too much ecstacy.

Sounds about right.

[Wolfpacker]

Originally Posted by von949

Sounds about right.

Maybe. Have any of the Tech Fund's investments panned out? Any exits (IPOs or sales)?

[UTES]

It does not look like Container Park is failing anytime soon.

Downtown The Container Park in downtown Las Vegas is officially full.

"Two new stores and the locale’s first full-service restaurant opening in September will take the development to capacity, said Doug McPhail, retail operations director for the Downtown Project, a $350 million land redevelopment initiative."

Bill

[Clarkcty]

Originally Posted by UTES

It does not look like Container Park is failing anytime soon.

Downtown The Container Park in downtown Las Vegas is officially full.

"Two new stores and the locale’s first full-service restaurant opening in September will take the development to capacity, said Doug McPhail, retail operations director for the Downtown Project, a $350 million land redevelopment initiative."

Bill

Love the Container Park and also Bin 702. The bar/restaurant makes a delicious Grilled Cheese Panini using Gouda and Gruyere.

[Wolfpacker]

Originally Posted by Wolfpacker

I applaud Tony's mission and actually putting his money where his mouth is, but I don't understand his vision. I think building up a great college, medical center and school, ect., running his tech fund more like a pure results-driven VC would have a better economic impact. Building buildings/land downtown is nice, but it's gotta make sense and work.

Tony strikes me as almost too intellectual and trying too hard to be cool with his projects, that it might be his weakness.

Let me correct something on this...I don't think his VC model is "broken" or that he (and his team) run it differently, just the concepts they invest in don't make sense to me from scaling. I think the group thinking among VCs is bad and the deal flow to compete for the best companies is tough when you're focused on Vegas. They should be willing to break away away from the mantra of the traditional angel/VC investor and risk in non-traditional entrepreneurs (no team, ect.) and pre-seed ideas. Get creative with your deal structure to make it as entrepreneur-friendly as possible. Do they invest in non-teams and different people?

The Shift concept-formerly Project 100-is interesting. I guess they got their first set of Telsas. I thought it was a cool idea, and still is, but when they got the Telsas and originally said it was $400/month for the car-sharing membership, it missed a big opportunity and priced out the community he's trying to create. Order a mix Honda Civics/CR-Vs (for 100 cars, you'll likely be able to get a very nice deal for that size of an order) and price it accordingly, and it would be a brilliant plan. Can still have the Telsas for an extra premium if you want. Start-up entrepreneurs, Zappo employees, downtown workers, ect. very likely couldn't afford the $400 price tag, but a reasonably priced plan for the Hondas? I'm in!

Now, Downtown is certainly better because of Tony and his money, and hopefully it continues.

[jayway]

Good point about not paying the premium for the Tesla cool factor and going to economical Hondas.

Would it be fair to say that so far DTP has been more successful fostering an artsy district/hip neighborhood rather than a high tech district? I'm curious to hear about truly exciting/innovative startups - tech dev not retail shopping in Downtown...

Has the DTP money brought in/on critical mass/self-sustaining economic activity or is it like desert irrigation - when the water stops, the plants are toast. How many of the Ogden apartments are subsidized by DTP (Da Tony Project) vs residents paying for their space with money they earned free/clear of DTP?