I recently listened to This American Life’s “Origin Story 2014”, a piece about where people come from, how businesses start, and where roots get put down. Everyone and everything has an origin story.

Redstone Strategy Group’s origin is somewhere in the Amazon rainforest, but the company has very deliberately put down roots in both Colorado and California. These states – and the cities Redstone has chosen – share characteristics, values, and culture that are important to the firm and its employees. Boulder and the San Francisco Bay Area are progressive, cosmopolitan environments that attract creative minds with big ideas. They also are both full of energy, with restaurants, universities, start-ups, breweries, hiking trails, stunning vistas, and meet-ups nearby. Here are some of the main reasons we love where we work:

Quality of life
Redstone takes work-life balance seriously. We all maintain active lives outside the office. It helps that Boulder and San Francisco are places where being active – both physically and intellectually – is easy. Rocky Mountain National Park and Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre are within an hour of Boulder. And Colorado has more than 200 breweries! Although California is well-known for its dramatic coastline, it is also full of state parks like Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The beaches of Half Moon Bay are just west of Redstone’s office.

Professional community
Colorado and California are both great places to build careers. According to a recent Forbes article, San Francisco and Boulder rank in the top 25 cities for business and careers. Denver and Fort Collins – each within an hour of Boulder – rank in the first five. Finance, technology, and new media top the list of significant industries in San Francisco while the Front Range (Colorado) features the energy, technology, and aerospace sectors. Colorado is home to Chipotle, Namaste Solar, and the University of Colorado. Stanford University and UC Berkeley bookend the Bay Area, and many of our clients, innumerable exciting start-ups, and established businesses are scattered throughout the region – including myriad nonprofits.

Innovative spirit
Silicon Valley has long been known as an entrepreneurial hotspot, and in recent years Boulder and the Denver Metro area have built a reputation that mirrors that of the California original. As start-up enthusiasts, these communities attract curious and creative individuals who like exploring new ideas and taking chances on “thinking big.” The result is people who are thoughtful, collaborative, and optimistic. The Foundry Group, The Unreasonable Institute, and SendGrid all originated in Boulder.  Beyond its well-known tech scene, the Bay Area also is one of the capitals of leading-edge social sector thinking, exemplified by institutions like the Stanford PACS Center and Global Philanthropy Forum.

Social and environmental conscience In Colorado and California, you can choose between zero-waste football games, locally supported farmers markets, socially responsible businesses, and farm-to-table restaurants. These are just a few of the many ways these regions exemplify the social and environmental values about which we’re passionate.