Zappos

Hsieh wins over Preview Las Vegas audience with keynote address: Jan. 24, 2013; By Richard N. Velotta; Old-school businesspeople may not understand Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh's methods. But the estimated 2,000 people attending Preview Las Vegas warmly received him when he offered details of his Downtown Project.

Joe Downtown: 'Sorceress' Sarah Nisperos and the origin of Tony Hsieh’s Downtown dream: Jan. 23, 2013; By Joe Schoenmann; Get to know the person who steered the Zappos CEO to Downtown Vegas.

Joe Downtown: Entrepreneurs have designs on Garment District in Las Vegas: Jan. 16, 2013; By Joe Schoenmann; Most people think of new taverns, eateries and music when envisioning the unfolding redevelopment of Fremont East, that portion of road east of the canopied Fremont Street Experience. Most people also know Tony Hsieh is behind much of the redevelopment. Hsieh is CEO of Zappos, an online shoe and clothing retailer. For that reason, it isn’t hard to see why much of what’s to come is tied into the garment, fashion and clothing business.

Joe Downtown: Startups sharing offices, skills, ideas: Jan. 15, 2013; By Joe Schoenmann; On a tiny slice of street in downtown Las Vegas, in an area south of Charleston Boulevard between Las Vegas Boulevard and Maryland Parkway, startup companies are sharing homes and each other’s technical skills.

State of change: East Fremont is a little street with a big future: Dec. 26, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; In nine months, 1,400 Zappos employees will start working Downtown. That's just the beginning. Hsieh has talked openly about all the plans he’s been working on for a year or more and how many of those will be unleashed in the next few months. People will see new businesses everywhere. Suddenly.

The valley's top business stories of 2012: Dec. 24, 2012; By VEGAS INC staff; Many of the topics that dominated the discussion in boardrooms and lunch rooms across the valley will continue to make headlines in 2013. So in case you missed them, or to give you a heads up for next year, here’s a look at some of this year’s biggest business stories.

Joe Downtown: Code for America fellows to bring engineering expertise to downtown: Dec. 18, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; First, Zappos and its CEO Tony Hsieh pledged $1.5 million to Teach for America, which will bring hundreds of new college graduates to Las Vegas to teach in economically disadvantaged schools in Las Vegas. Venture for America then received a $1 million pledge. Now comes Code for America.

Joe Downtown: County records show Downtown Project, Hsieh buying up properties: Dec. 18, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; You can’t swing a dead laptop without hitting someone downtown talking about “Downtown Project” and the Oz-like dreams of more and more development the project is expected to bring to East Fremont and surrounding areas.

Joe Downtown: Coming changes 'exciting' to Zappos chief: Dec. 17, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; While being interviewed in front of an audience in the double-wide trailer that doubles as a speakers bureau at at Seventh and Fremont streets, Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said to expect an explosion of development along Fremont Street in the next year.

Joe Downtown: 'Unicorn' fills in for llama at Hsieh birthday bash: Dec. 13, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; Apparently imported from North Korea, a unicorn was spotted Wednesday night in downtown Las Vegas in, of all places, a bar. Friends of Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh were stunned to see the magical beast inside the Downtown Cocktail Room, where dozens of revelers were helping celebrate Hsieh’s 39th birthday.

Zappos school planning builds 'excitement around education': Dec. 13, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; This is how you make a school. At least, it’s how you make a school when Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh and the Downtown Project are involved.

Joe Downtown: Demolition to begin on former 7-Eleven: Dec. 12, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; Demolition of some of the interior of the massive building that occupies almost a half-acre on Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard will begin Wednesday.

Meeting with Zappos chief put chef on fast track toward becoming restaurateur: Nov. 22, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; Natalie Young was done with casino work. But last year when she quit her job as executive chef for a major casino, she had no idea where she was going and she didn’t have another chef’s job lined up. “I was just done with that business,” the 48-year-old said. “I think I might have been on my way to Santa Fe.” That’s when Las Vegas’ reputation as a major city with a small-town feel kicked in. It’s also when Young became one of the first benefactors of the “downtown experiment” that online retailer Zappos had begun in announcing its headquarters’ ...

'Grand Theft Auto' video game developer eyes move to downtown Las Vegas: Nov. 1, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; Take-Two Interactive, the software company behind one of the biggest series in video-gaming, “Grand Theft Auto,” wants to move some of its operations into downtown Las Vegas.

Startups finding success with boost from Vegas Tech Fund: Oct. 30, 2012; By Joe Schoenmann; Call it the little robot that could — with a little help from its friends. Romo, a plastic robot on rubber treads operated remotely with a smartphone, is leading its young developers into new territory, not only for them but for almost any Las Vegas-based business. Place your smartphone into a jack on top of Romo, and with another smartphone or computer, you can remotely move the robot — even if it's halfway around the world. So, a grandma in Las Vegas could operate a Romo being played with by her granddaughter in China.