Axios Live: Denver aims to become "the easiest place to do business"

DENVER — Mayor Mike Johnston wants the city to lower costs, speed up permitting and revive downtown foot traffic to keep businesses from leaving.

Why it matters: The city has faced "deteriorating" economic conditions, and companies are moving their operations elsewhere.

Axios' Courtenay Brown and John Frank moderated conversations with Johnston; Olive & Finch and Little Finch chef and owner Mary Nguyen; and Rocky Mountain MicroFinance Institute CEO Jessica Sveen during a May 27 event sponsored by JPMorganChase.

By the numbers: 99% of Denver's businesses qualify as small, according to its Chamber of Commerce.

• Those employers account for nearly half of the city's jobs.

What they're saying: Cost of living heavily influences whether employers stay or go.

• "We're about making this the easiest place to do business and the best place to live," Johnston said.
• Working to reduce crime rates and homelessness, while controlling costs, creates "the right conditions" for business growth, he added.

Yes, but: "It's tough out there" for small businesses in Denver, Sveen said.

• "There is not going to be enough city dollars to be able to solve the financial challenges of every business in the city," Johnston said.

What's next: "We want to successfully deliver all the large projects we've started," Johnston said.

• The new Broncos football stadium, National Western Complex, Park Hill Golf Course and River Mile are "catalytic," he added, and will add jobs, housing and destinations.

• "I truly believe that Denver is going to come back," Nguyen said.

Content from the sponsor's remarks:

Gavin Borowiak, JPMorganChase's West Division business banking director, said in a View From the Top conversation that "everyone wants to chase the American dream. That usually means starting a small business."

• If the public and private sectors can collaborate on policy "that supports the small-business community, then you've got small businesses that are willing to take chances," Boroviak said.
• JPMorganChase is going to "stay in our lane" and focus on how to "help small businesses start, grow and hire."