Virgin Mobile takes to downtown skyline for HQ, plans to hire 100
January 12, 2017 | Meghan LeVota
About six months after announcing its move to Kansas City, Virgin Mobile has selected the site of its new headquarters.
Virgin Mobile announced Wednesday that the firm signed a lease at One Kansas City Place at 1200 Main St. in downtown Kansas City. Virgin selected Kansas City as the location for its new headquarters in July as it relaunched its rebrand under Overland Park-based Sprint. Virgin hired 27 full-time employees in 2016, but hopes to hire up to 100 more this year.
“Kansas City is a national hub of entrepreneurial spirit and sophisticated start-ups, which is the perfect backdrop for our new office as we evolve the Virgin Mobile brand and elevate it to new heights,” Virgin CEO Dow Draper said in a release. “Also, this innovation district is a natural setting for a bold brand like Virgin, which does things differently and changes business for good.”
To focus on pre-paid phone sales, Sprint — then Sprint Nextel — purchased Virgin Mobile for $483 million in 2009. English business mogul Sir Richard Branson founded the Virgin Group, of which Virgin Mobile USA was a part. The conglomerate owns more than 400 companies around the world.
If Virgin creates 84 new jobs over the next five years, Missouri agreed to grant up to $1.87 million in incentives through its Missouri Works program.
“We are proud of our role, as well as our Missouri partners’, in attracting the headquarters of Virgin Mobile to Kansas City,” said president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council Tim Cowden in a release. “Virgin Mobile seriously considered several major metro areas for its headquarters, but we made the case through a strong entrepreneurial and tech community along with vibrant livability, proving that Kansas City was the best choice.”
Architecture and design firm GastingerWalker& was tapped for the project. Draper said the design reflects the culture of Virgin, which he hopes will attract the right employees.
“We’re looking for pattern breakers and smart disruptors with restless start-up energy and ideas that will add real value to people’s lives through mobile products and services,” Draper said.
Virgin Mobile now has positions in customer service, mobile technology, digital marketing, branding, operations, logistics, finance, IT and engineering.
2017 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Kansas City Airbnb hosts may face fees with proposed rules
One year after a public meeting to cull input on “short-term stay” rules in Kansas City, officials have released a proposed ordinance on how Airbnb hosts can operate. The proposal would require that Airbnb and HomeAway hosts in Kansas City, Mo. register and pay annual registration fees for short-term renting of their property, which is…
Events Preview: DevFest, Innovation Exchange
There are a plethora of entrepreneurial events hosted in Kansas City on a weekly basis. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, investor, supporter, or curious community member — we recommend these upcoming events for you. The Marketing Series: Maximizing the ROI of Social Ads When: Feb. 15, 11:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Where: Sprint Accelerator The Marketing Series…
Conquer for Good aims to be catalyst for KC’s purpose-driven firms
Editor’s note: Startland News is an in-kind sponsor of Conquer for Good and supports its mission to cultivate a community in which entrepreneurs create positive social change. How can Kansas City create a supportive community for its purpose-driven companies? That’s the key question and mission behind an upcoming event that aims to create a vibrant…
Five Elms Capital leads investment round in Atlanta SaaS firm
Five Elms Capital is continuing a streak of deals to kick off 2017. The Kansas City-based venture capital firm announced Monday that it’s the lead investor in MemberClicks, a SaaS provider that helps associations, trade groups and nonprofits manage members. Five Elms — which was joined by New York-based Level Equity as lead investors —…