Why I’m not scared of Amazon HQ2 coming to Atlanta

Reading that headline, you might think, “Wait, why would you be scared of Amazon setting up its second HQ in Atlanta?”

Or if you haven’t been following the news, you might be asking, “Amazon is doing what now?”

Let’s start with the second question. Amazon announced they’re going to be creating a second headquarters to rival their current HQ in Seattle, and they issued a gigantic RFP to the nation’s cities to determine which city will give them the best deals and tax incentives be the best for their employees and customers. And Atlanta is now among the 20 finalists, and is the betting favorite in many cases.

So, back to the headline of this post, why would I be scared of Amazon coming to Atlanta? Well, I’m not. But a lot of my peers in the Atlanta tech community are. Mostly, they’re scared that their employees will jump ship to greener pastures as Amazon looks to hire 50,000 people!

Yes, 50. Thousand.

I’ve talked to several CEO’s that say, “Long term, I think its great because more technology and creative professionals will move to Atlanta, but in the short-term we’re going to have to give people raises and find other ways to incentivize them to stay.”

To which I say, “WHY AREN’T YOU DOING THAT ANYWAY?!”

Personally, I welcome the challenge of Amazon coming to Atlanta and trying to hire my team members at Dragon Army. One of two things will happen:

Either we’ll retain our team members because we’ve done a great job creating a company built on a purpose and a culture that is stronger than any offer Amazon can make

or

I’ll lose people which will force me to re-think my approach and in the process, improve my company.

It’s a win-win for me in the short-term, and definitely a win in the long-term (for me, and Atlanta, IMHO.)

So bring on the competition, Amazon. We’re ready.