I don’t like to get political in this newsletter, but this issue affects all of us, regardless of your political leaning.

Dark money –undisclosed money that is funneled in support or against candidates and elected officials in Arizona– is a corrupting influence. Not only do you not get to see who is trying to influence your vote, but dark money is also used to pressure politicians from the governor level all the way down to school board –even obscure water district boards.

And that is the connection to real estate and the economy.

Imagine that a water company wants to use its money muscle to influence a local water district board –the board members of which seldom spend more than $200 to get elected. That company could over-whelm and control that board with a couple thousand dollars!

If you hope that policies will be made on the basis of the merits of laws, rather than who can pressure whom with dark money, then you will want to understand more about the effort to repeal SB1516, “The Dark Money Act.”

Go to StopCorruptionNowAZ.com to learn more.

If you favor an open market, for real estate or almost anything, then you don’t want policy decisions made based on this kind of pressure.

Here’s a video to explain more.

The June Get Your PHX at Tuft & Needle is just a few weeks away. I’m excited to tour an actual manufacturing facility in downtown Phoenix –in an era when manufacturing seems to happen only in other countries.

Tuft & Needle has just moved into the historic O.S. Stapley building on Grand Avenue and Get Your PHX will be one of the first to take a look inside and tour the new headquarters.

Daehee Park and JT Marino met in college and were hired at the same startup company in Silicon Valley. The two were working long hours, barely seeing their families and yet even with all of their time and effort, the business was barely eking by.

“We worked more hours per week than what seemed humanly possible. One colleague joked that we were “burning vats of midnight oil”—and this was a boast, not a complaint,” says Park & Marino.

Amid exhaustion and striving for success at work, JT and his wife began shopping for their first piece of furniture together – a new mattress. Pushy salesmen, unnecessary upgrades and a $3,300 mattress later, the newlyweds were stuck with an uncomfortable mattress they couldn’t even return. JT along Daehee decided to do something about it and in 2012 they launched Tuft & Needle.

Since then, T&N has grown into one of the most successful businesses in the market. In just nearly four years they’ve grown their initial investment of $6,000 to over $100 million in revenue while employing over 100 people.

The decision to move their headquarters to Phoenix was not only an easy choice, but also one that has helped their company continue to reach new goals. From the cost of living to business climate, Park and Marino have found Phoenix and its residents the perfect place to raise a business.

“… It’s been our experience that people here want to build careers and businesses—not resumes. They aren’t hopscotching around, waiting for the latest startup to close a round so they can go off and join the next big thing. No, they’re committed: When equity vests, it’s not time to leave. It’s time to continue to make that equity worth something. They’re fighters, and they’re in it for the long haul. If you’re a founder, you can’t put a price on that kind of loyalty.”

Join Get Your PHX and Local First Arizona for tours inside Tuft & Needle’s new space! As always, please RSVP below.

Date: Thursday, June 23^rd
Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM*
Location: 735 Grand Ave., 85007
RSVP Here
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