From re/code:
Tony Hsieh Answers Some of Our Questions about the Future of Las Vegas’ Downtown Project
After layoffs hit Las Vegas’ Downtown Project this week and in the wake of our special series on the high-profile tech and real estate development in Nevada, we asked him some follow-up questions about what things look like going forward.
He responded this morning via a document in Evernote, which we are publishing in the entirety below.
We’d like to note that in it he seems to take issue with some of our reporting over this past week, such our contention that he has stepped down as leader of the Project and even the basic premise that he is the project’s founder.
“My level of involvement at Downtown Project today is the same as it was 6 months ago,” he wrote. “My role continues to be as an investor, advisor, and equivalent of a board member that sets high-level general direction and strategy but is not involved in day-to-day management of people or projects.”
We respectfully disagree with part of this characterization, based on reporting, and also underscore that we believe he is the Downtown Project’s face, funder and main driving force.
But, in the document, Hsieh said a lot more about a lot of things and even quotes Apple’s Steve Jobs about taking the long view of such an entrepreneurial effort.
He also added: “Like any startup, the path to getting there hasn’t been and won’t be all unicorns and butterflies.”
This week, that has become abundantly clear.
I would also note that I asked Hsieh other questions in later emails and by phone, and, should he choose to answer those too, we will update his responses.
For now, you be the judge of Hsieh’s answers, which are presented as he sent them to Re/code:
re/code Q&A — 10/2/14
10/2/14 Q&A by Tony Hsieh about Downtown Project
We issued a statement on 9/30/14 due to a huge number of misleading or inaccurate headlines that were making their rounds online with little or no fact checking: http://downtownproject.com/statement/
I’ll expand on some of the thoughts in the Q&A below (all the questions below were asked by re/code).
Is there outside money coming in?
Downtown Project is actually not a single company. It is a collection of over 300 businesses and legal entities, and so there are other investors that occasionally co-invest in different projects or companies. We don’t foresee that approach changing anytime soon.
Why did these layoffs happen?
The layoffs were due to an elimination of roles as we move forward with streamlining our operations and are focused on the next stage of growth (described below about the future of Downtown Project).
With regards specifically to the layoffs that occurred on 9/30/14, we eliminated 30 positions from our corporate support staff. We directly employ more than 300 people, and through our investments there are over 800 people working in our porfolio of companies in downtown Vegas. Lost in the news headlines was that this week, we also added over 30 positions as we plan to open up The Market next week. We plan to continue to grow our total job count moving forward.......MUCH MORE
Previously:
That was quick: "Tony Hsieh Steps Down From Vegas Downtown Project"
Big Money Moron Plans to Make Downtown Las Vegas Into Techtopia
