Creating Genius Magazine Winter Issue | Page 15

They have grown a side project with real purpose into a widely recognized podcast that’s not just increasing local attendance, it’s gaining momentum. Startup to Startup: The Journey Continues S tartups fail and they fail often. Over 90% do, actually, but you never think yours will be one of them. That’s wishful thinking, given all the talent and competition today. Perhaps in our quest to reach the top, getting distracted by the shiny lights of success makes us ignore the things that cause us to stumble backwards. Dylan Jorgensen and Jacqueline Jensen have more than one story. They took their Ticket Cake headquarters and turned it into a place where the community could talk about the news and events that mattered most to them. They call it the Downtown Podcast, and more than news headlines, it offers them a chance to step back from their typical day-to-day hustle and experience the progress of an entire entrepreneur community in the heart of downtown Las Vegas. “When we arrived in Vegas, we were focused on getting money for our company. But the weird part was that they didn’t ask us about return on investment.  They were more interested in return on collisions and what we could do for the community. Nothing was planned, but that was the beginning. That got us thinking on that path.” The podcast has since recorded over 80 episodes with 14 volunteers behind the scenes. They’ve had such guests as Matt Mellenweg, co-founder of Wordpress; Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos; Amy Jo Martin of Digital Royalty, and many more. Over 100 people have connected with the downtown Vegas community through Jorgensen outside of the Downtown Podcast, many have even relocated to Vegas either because of Jorgensen or something that was introduced to them via the podcast. Today, they hope to continue improving the quality of their production with better content and bigger guests. Always learning, Jorgensen and his team are embracing growth, while remaining dedicated to being a show for the community and evolving with it. As the next era takes shape and downtown Las Vegas becomes synonymous with more than just entrepreneurship, I imagine that’s where we will find the Downtown Podcast. Creating Genius Magazine | Page 15