The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) Global Business Development (GBD) division announced today that Humanitix, an Australian non-profit ticketing platform, has selected Denver as its U.S. Headquarters.
Humanitix, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, is the event ticketing platform for all kinds of events which gives 100 percent of its booking fee profits to social causes in partnership with its network of children’s charities. Humanitix arrives in the U.S. as the fastest-growing ticketing platform in Australia and New Zealand, having already transformed over $1 million of booking fees into funding for disadvantaged kids around the world.
“Companies around the world are recognizing that Colorado is the best place to live, work and play so we are thrilled Humanitix, a company that shares Colorado’s values, has chosen to establish its U.S. presence in our state and is helping create over 210 good jobs,” said Governor Polis.
In establishing its U.S. Headquarters in Denver, Humanitix founders Joshua Ross and Adam McCurdie will create 136 net new full-time jobs over the next five years and could potentially create more than 210 jobs over the next eight or more years. These jobs include general management, software engineers, finance and customer support/call center operators. The projected average annual wage of the jobs to be created is $52,276 with a goal of hiring individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds using the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) wage thresholds definition of disadvantaged.
Humanitix’s for-purpose business model resonates with event organizers around the world. As the humane choice for tickets, they also lead the industry in making events more accessible for patrons with disabilities. The company has grown to be a global success story since launching in 2016. Humanitix won a 2018 Google Global Impact Challenge Grant for $1 million and has also received multi-million dollar funding from Atlassian Foundation to scale Humanitix globally.
“We believe businesses that align profit with purpose can solve the world's biggest problems, and that humane use of technology can help us reinvest in humanity far beyond traditional corporate responsibility,” said McCurdie. “The business climate that is authentic to Colorado complements our own business model and will allow us to effectively serve markets across the United States and North America.”
Ross added, “Humanitix is an experiment in compassionate capitalism and a new model for charity and business. The state of Colorado saw and endorsed this potential, and worked with us extensively to secure an incentive through the Strategic Fund that made it easy for us to choose Colorado.”
Humanitix has already started working with clients throughout the United States, including most recently the Telluride Mushroom Festival.
"Since 1981, the Telluride Mushroom Festival has been celebrating all things mycological, from the newest advancements in mushroom science to our famous wild foods. As the world's largest mushroom festival we've switched over to Humanitix given the aligned values in creating a fairer and more sustainable planet, as well as the amazing platform and customer support," said Matthew Guertin, Telluride Mushroom Festival Event Manager.
Denver Economic Development and Opportunity (DEDO) is supporting Humanitix through in-kind office space at its entrepreneurship hub, the Commons on Champa, along with human resource expertise, and facilitating connections to key local foundations and partners.
“We’re proud to have introduced Humanix to Denver through our Global Business Development program,” said Denver Mayor Michael B. Hancock. “It’s been our goal to not only create ideal conditions for international companies to make Denver their U.S. entry point, but to also attract businesses that have the same values as our community.”
Colorado competed with Texas and Pennsylvania for the Humanitix U.S. Headquarters. Humanitix received a Strategic Fund Grant of $884,000 for the creation of up to 136 net new jobs over the next eight years. Jobs would be incentivized at $6,500 per new job contingent on those hired coming from Low and Moderate Income (LMI) backgrounds using the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) wage thresholds. If the company does not hire employees from LMI background, OEDIT will pay out a grant of $1,000 per job. To learn more about Humanitix and the transformative work they are doing, visit their website.