You Can Go Home Again
A native son returned to the city he loved and created an industry. How Tulsa became the birthplace of a global movement.
Like many ambitious natives of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Aaron Bolzle left home to pursue a career on both coasts of the United States, first to Boston and New York and then to Silicon Valley, where he deftly navigated the tech ecosystem with the likes of Apple, among others. Fifteen years later, in 2017, he returned to Tulsa with a desire to make a positive impact in the community that raised him.
Aaron Bolzle
In 2018, he launched Tulsa Remote with George Kaiser Family Foundation, a program to reverse the trend of economic migration by incentivizing talented Soloists to live and work from Tulsa. The first of its kind, Tulsa Remote remains the reference in a new form of economic development focusing on individuals instead of companies.
Bolzle left Tulsa Remote in 2020 and while his passion remains supporting his hometown, he now runs Next Here, LLC, a consulting group focused on supporting communities that want to create robust ecosystems for Soloists and help cities around the world prepare for the worker of today and tomorrow.
We recently spoke to Bolzle about the origins of Tulsa Remote, the mobility of the workforce, the power of authenticity in place branding, and what Soloists bring to the growing list of cities, states and countries hoping to attract them.
—Arjun Basu
Show Notes
Tulsa Remote https://tulsaremote.com/
Next Here LLC https://www.nexthere.com/
36 Degrees North: https://www.36degreesnorth.co/
City of Tulsa: https://www.cityoftulsa.org/
Tulsa Tours: https://www.tulsa.tours/greenwood-black-wall-street-tour
Ray Oldenberg “Third Places” https://www.steelcase.com/research/articles/topics/design-q-a/q-ray-oldenburg/
Grow Remote (Ireland): https://growremote.ie/
American Solera Brewery: https://www.americansolera.com/
Topeca Coffee: https://topecacoffee.com/