Helping Denver startups start-up
Denver is home to a community of smart, eager and hard working small businesses and accountants, and a thriving tech scene. They’re just some of the reasons why we’re proud to call the city home. Last week, we joined nearly 20,000 members of the local community at Denver Startup Week, one of the largest free entrepreneurial events in North America. Not to mention we put on one hell of a party!
Denver Startup Week defined
Organizers describe Denver Startup Week (DSW) as an event covering innovation for founders, developers, product managers, designers, marketers, sales teams, and makers. The event, which takes place annually in September, is comprised of networking events, panels, and workshops. Startups can attend any of them to learn from top experts in each field.
DSW takes pride in being a free event for attendees, and we loved that idea. Despite being free to attend, there’s a lot of work and resources needed to put it together. This is where we decided we could lend a hand.
Giving back to Denver
At Xero, we’re all about the people. From our customers to our staff. From our product to our office.
Thirty-five staff from our Xero Denver office volunteered to help throughout the week. Daily, Xero staff could be seen moving tables, giving directions, and checking in attendees, among other things. If you attended DSW, you likely had a chance to talk to one of us at Base Camp. Supporting the community also means participating, though. It means speaking, as well as listening.
Andy Burner, VP of People and Business Operations for Xero Americas, joined a panel where he and local tech employers discussed recruiting in the local area.
“We wanted to ensure that the community here not only saw our brand, but understood that we’re here to be a fundamental part of building a thriving business scene,” Andy explained.
“That means not just slapping logos on things for a bit of advertising – it’s way deeper than that. We want to give back. We want to be part of helping it grow, which means sharing our knowledge, our expertise, and our people.”
Two of our Small Business Development Managers went to the event to simply listen. Their task was to attend as many panels as possible. We wanted to hear and learn from our community. As one of our Small Business Development Managers put it, “we’re here in Denver and we want to make an impact. So, we have to be an active part of this event.”
Besides participating in the kick-off breakfast, Xero also hosted the official DSW Bash at Beta on Thursday night. Onstage, Andy kicked things off. It was a great opportunity for everyone to get to know each other, cool down and relax after a long week.
It’s the beginning, not the end
It’s important to us to invest in Denver – to be part of the community we’ve come to appreciate. DSW, we’ll see you next year!
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Source: Xero Blog
