Reno Means Business
Vol. 2 | ISSUE 12 | May 2018
Celebrating 150 years
LETTER FROM THE
EDITOR
Corrine Casanova As we celebrate Reno’s Sesquicentennial, it’s fun to look back at our roots. A great way to do so is to view Reno’s comprehensive history called Reno at the Crossroads: A Sesquicentennial Exhibit 1868-2018 on display at the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center. The exhibit explores Reno’s colorful evolution to the present and will be on display throughout the rest of the year. As we celebrate our 150th, it is also vital to look at our future. And that is where ReImagine Reno comes in. This initiative is a master plan for the city of Reno. It’s been 20 years since there has been a comprehensive master plan update. Since then the region has changed including a population increase of 56,000 people since 2000. The Master Plan is a living breathing document intended to guide dayto-day decision-making, short-term actions and longer-term initiatives and strategies for Reno. Speaking of the City of Reno, Mayor Schieve shares some of her insights on what it means to her personally and professionally to be celebrating the 150th anniversary of Reno. She also explains from a mayor’s point of view how our region is being viewed by other cities across the nation. And finally, I want to draw attention to one our newest features—Starting Up. Each issue we will feature a new start-up company where they will share insights
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on what it’s like being a start-up company in northern Nevada. Our first feature is TrenLot, a company that provides workflow automation solutions. Co-founders Greg Howard and Jeff Urmstron will share how they started out targeting the wine/whiskey industry and how they landed in the construction industry. They recently presented at One Million Cups. If start-ups are an interest to you, you might want to visit One Million Cups at the Innevation Center on Wednesday mornings at 9am. Each week a company presents on their idea followed by a Q&A session. It’s also a great networking opportunity. The presentations are free and open to the public.
LETTER FROM THE
PUBLISHER R i c h a r d W. M o o r e Well, it is ANNIVESARY time. For the city of Reno it has been 150 years. While it doesn’t seem like a significant amount of time, let’s take a moment to reflect and consider some things which have occurred during our first 150 years. How about the 14th Amendment which abolished slavery which was passed in 1868. Our population which now stands at approximately 245,000 (I for one thought it was much, much higher) was just under a 1,000 in 1868. Finally, lets talk about our professional soccer team, Reno 1868, does their name makes sense now?
I plan on celebrating Reno’s 150th anniversary with friends and family as there are not many communities like ours in this country from a business and from a personal perspective. Ah, I almost forgot, bizNEVADA Magazine is also celebrating a very important anniversary, this magazine you are now reading is our 12th issue and completes our first year of business. We would have never made it this far if it wasn’t for you, our faithful readers.
VOL. 2 / ISSUE. 12 BizNEVADA PUBLISHING TEAM PUBLISHERS: Richard Moore and Chris O’Sullivan GRAPHIC DESIGNER: Kaylyn Dazey EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Corrine Casanova PHOTOGRAPHER: Marcello Rostagni ADVERTISING: Richard Moore richard @biznv.com COVER PHOTO: Marcello Rostagni FEEDBACK/IDEAS We welcome your feedback and ideas regarding BizNevada. Send a message to info@biznevada.com @ 2018 Richard Moore and Chris O’Sullivan. All rights reserved. CONTACT US info@biznevada.com www.biznevada.com
EXPERT CONTRIBUTORS Jeffrey Benjamin Corporate Training Breakthrough Training BreakthroughTraining. com 775-337- 1600 Kyle Reeves Digital Marketing Revolution Online Marketing RevolutionReno.com 775-335- 0091 Govind Davis Digital Marketing Agilcore and RSO Consulting RSO-Consulting.com 415-992-7711 Brent Forbush Certified Public Accountants Forbush & Associates ForbushAndAssociates. biz 775-337- 6001
GetPaidRight.com 775-393- 9669 Brian D. Wheeler Financial Advisor Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Agency BoulderBasin. MassMutual.com 775-870- 1552 Mike Menath Insurance Menath Insurance MenathInsurance.com 775-831- 3132 David Spillers Printing Digiprint DigiprintCorporation. com 775-786- 4464 Ward Sutton Golf Hidden Valley Country Club HVCCReno.com 775-857- 4735
Tim Kirk Credit Card, Merchant Services PaidRight
INTHISISSUE PG 4-7
Reno Re-Imagined
PG 8
Historic Reno Arch
PG 10-11
Recycle, Reduce, and Reuse
PG 12-13
Now is the Time to Buy a Home
PG 14-15
8 Ways to Show Appreciation
PG 16
Q.S. Wong, Chinese Herb Specialist
PG 17
Ho Hum Motel
PG 18-19
Calendar
PG 20-21
The Winding Path That Builds a Northern Nevada Startup
PG 22-25
Wild and Free
PG 26
777 Motel
PG 28-30
Barracuda Golf Championship BIZ NEVADA MAGAZINE · WWW.BIZNEVADA.COM · 3
Reno Re-i by Corrine Casanova Reno has a rich history of reinventing itself. Reno was born in 1868 as a railroad town—it became a city when the transcontinental railroad reached town. Shortly thereafter, the University of Nevada was founded in 1885. In the early 1900s, Reno turned divorce into a big business and became known as the Divorce Capital of the World for sixty years. Divorce-seekers could quickly establish Nevada residency, file for divorce and return home a single person in rapid fashion. An entire industry developed in and around Reno to provide divorce seekers lodging, services and employment. The art scene has always been strong here. Today, Artown is celebrated throughout the month of July. And sculpture art is sprinkled throughout the city and highways. Popular events like the National Championship Reno Air Races, the Great
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Reno Balloon Races and Hot August Nights keep tourism alive and Reno on the map as a tourist destination. While gaming has always been part of Reno’s culture, the legislature officially legalized gambling entirely in 1931. Reno was also known as an early supply center for the region’s mining and agricultural communities. Manufacturing and distribution became big business because of Reno’s proximity to multiple railroad lines and water. And in the 1940s and 50s the University of Nevada, Reno received national attention as a place where Hollywood producers came to shoot movies. Students often had an opportunity to become extras in the movies. As Reno embarks on its 150th anniversary, or sesquicentennial, this month, the City of Reno has been celebrating 150 extraordinary individuals
imagined who they refer to as “Reno People” with something they call the Reno People Project. Past and present residents of Reno have been nominated and awarded as one of the 150 people who have made significant, positive and an influential impact on the community. For nearly a year, the Project has been gaining traction. According to City Councilman David Bobzien, “It is an honor to recognize 150 people both from the past and people that are currently living that have made a contribution to Reno’s arts, culture, business and government community. If the person is no longer living, we make efforts to track down relatives and descendants to accept the award.” Mayor Hillary Schieve shared, “This Project allows us to tell this incredible story about not only our history, but also the people that have shaped our community and contributed so much to this city. Not only that, they have become such a big part of our future.”
Reno continues to reimagine and reinvent itself. When asked about what changes Schieve has seen in the way the city is viewed by other cities, she shared, “Well, that is a big one. When I was first elected, people would say why in the world would you want to be elected mayor in the city of Reno in a time like this? At the time, Reno had one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. People were really nervous about the direction we were going to go in. When I would go to the Council of Mayors, people would say, ‘Oh my gosh, you are the Reno 911 mayor.’ I laughed but at the time I was so embarrassed. I really ran for mayor on changing the vision of our city and the Reno Revival concept.” Nevada has something unique to offer businesses. “To do business in Nevada it is about 40 percent more affordable than to do business in California. With our incredible landscape we have about 320 days of sunshine. We have so many things that are
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going for us in this city—we are close to the Bay area which is certainly helpful. The average home in San Francisco is $1.5 million as opposed to our $380,000 median home price. While the home prices here are climbing because people are wanting to be part of this movement, there are still affordable options and a great quality of life. We have one of the best backyard playgrounds in the country so we have a lot of to brag about and I am really proud of it. I always say the grains of sand make the beach. It’s kind of like this whole community coming together and championing the new Reno. It is exciting but success also comes challenges. We want to keep housing affordable, continue to have a great quality of life and open businesses and have a thriving city so we have to keep those things at the forefront of our mind because we have had so much success. It’s all about balance,” Schieve explained. Revitalizing downtown Reno is a huge City of Reno initiative. Reno is still playing catch up from the recession. “During that time our downtown was really neglected. One of the things we are doing is the Business Improvement District which is a private sector funding mechanism designed to improve the environment of a business district. With this program, we put ambassadors downtown and also work with the chronically homeless and mentally 6 · ISSUE 12 · MAY 2018
ill. We aim to keep our sidewalks and streets clean. It really is a collaboration with the downtown business owners and the city and county. We wanted to bring that model here,” Schieve said. One of the biggest projects of the Reno revival is the Kings Inn which was vacant 30 years. When Schieve first was running for office the question always was, “What about the Kings Inn Casino?” Today it is home to the 3rd Street Flats, a millennial-esque project that signifies that Reno is changing. Midtown has also seen some big changes too particularly for Schieve as a business owner. In fact, she decided to run for mayor because the city of Reno wanted to charge her $5,000 to move a sign two feet in front of her business. Midtown was created during the recession and Schieve believes, “There’s no way we could have done that if the economy was good because landlords were not receiving income on those properties for a long time so it gave us the opportunity to work with artists and entrepreneurs and allow people to open up shop who normally couldn’t have. More millionaires are created during recessions because people have to reinvent themselves so for some people that can be a positive thing. When I look at Midtown, I think of it as the little train that could. It reminds me that people embraced this because they wanted to have something to look forward to. They wanted to
see their city succeed and thrive in any way they could participate. Midtown had that local organic growth that I am really proud of.” The City of Reno is working hard to have Reno recognized as a university town since the UNR campus is right across the freeway. Currently, the Innevation Center powered by Switch is beginning to help bring some of that university energy downtown and into the city of Reno. When it comes to reimagining Reno, the City’s Master Plan is geared toward working with regional partners to diversify the local and region economy. The focus will be high-tech industries and keeping and attracting small and local businesses. While both tourism and gaming will continue to play a role in Reno’s economy, there’s a prediction that outdoor/lifestyle and related industries will step up. Cheers to the next 150 years!
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Historic Reno Arch
by Cindy Ainsworth The historic arch now located on Lake Street at the Truckee River is Reno’s most recognizable symbol. Fashioned after California city gateway structures, the steel arch was erected in 1926 at the intersection of Commercial Row and Virginia Street to promote the 1927 Nevada Transcontinental Highways Exposition, commemorating the completion of the Lincoln and Victory highways. At a cost of $5,500, incandescent light bulbs announced the exposition with blazing torches bracketing the name “RENO.” When the exposition closed, the Reno City Council voted to keep the arch as a permanent downtown gateway, and Mayor E. E. Roberts called on Reno citizens to suggest a slogan for the town to be displayed on the arch. When none of the entries proved acceptable, a prize of $100 was offered, and awarded on March 14, 1929 to G. A. Burns of Sacramento for the winning slogan: “Reno, Biggest Little City in the World.” With the move to neon lighting in 1934, the slogan was thought to be outdated and was replaced with the single word “RENO” in green neon letters. In response to public protest, the slogan was returned to the arch, in new Art Deco neon lettering. The arch remained unaltered on Virginia Street for the next three decades. By 1963, the community launched 8 · ISSUE 12 · MAY 2018
a campaign to raise $100,000 to replace the arch in honor of Nevada’s 100th birthday. The old arch was moved to Idlewild Park and replaced with a futuristic model in time for the 1963-64 New Year’s Eve celebration. That arch, modified to reflect its new home, now stands in Willits, California. The arch currently located on Virginia Street was installed in 1987. A 1969 street widening project forced the move of the original arch to Paradise Park, and in 1988 it was moved to the city’s storage yard because the cost of necessary repairs was too high. There, it languished in disrepair until 1994, when a movie production company came to its rescue while shooting the film Cobb, about legendary baseball player Ty Cobb. The film company restored the arch and placed it over East 4th Street near Valley Road for four days of filming. No sooner had the production company removed the arch than the public clamored for its permanent return. A community-wide grassroots effort was launched, and in 1995 the arch was reconstructed on Lake Street next to the National Automobile Museum, home of William Harrah’s famed automobile collection, where it once again welcomes visitors to downtown Reno. Courtesy of renohistorical.org, a website and free mobile app that puts Reno history at your fingertips.
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Recycle, Red BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT:
Intelligent Life Cycle Solutions
by Corrine Casanova According to the Environmental Protection Association (EPA), we generate about 3.2 million tons of e-waste (electronic waste) per year in the U.S. Only about 12.5 percent of that is recycled. Not only is that a danger to the environment, the data that can be retrieved from these electronics can be a security breach for your organization. For example, most multi-function copiers have Hard Drives and can hold as many as 25,000 documents. When those documents contain sensitive information, you may be putting your clients and your company at risk when you discard your copier and purchase a new one. By not recycling your e-waste, you also could be losing out on an additional revenue stream for your business. Intelligent Lifecycle Solutions, located at 725 Greg St. in Sparks, NV, specializes in end-of-life issues for computers and all other electronics by either recycling or reusing them. They also provide data destruction and IT asset management. An average of 400,000 pounds of electronics are recycled in their 80,000 square foot warehouse each month. Considering how much of our e-waste ends up in landfills and incinerators, Erich Schmitt of Intelligent Lifecycle Solutions, would like 10 · ISSUE 12 · MAY 2018
to see that increase. “All businesses should have an e-waste policy. I am often surprised how some companies and organizations don’t realize the value of their IT assets. Most organizations cycle through their electronics every three to five years. They typically purchase new PCs, laptops, servers and copiers to keep up with technology. Just like if you were to purchase a new car, there’s still value in your used car so you would either sell it or trade it in on your new vehicle. The same can be done with your electronics. In addition to having it recycled or reused, we also provide data destruction so confidential data is not compromised. So, while I charge for the data destruction service, I also write them a check for the materials,” said Schmitt. Providing services to school systems is something that Schmitt is very passionate about as it provides additional revenue to a budget stretched educational entity. “The school systems in both Storey and Landers County have received checks from us because they recycle their IT assets with us. These assets have value. We pay a certain price per pound on laptops, PCs and servers. Other area school systems are giving away their valuable IT assets without considering how the money would
educe and Reuse help the schools in their areas.” When electronics aren’t recycled or reused properly, compromised security is always an issue. Medical, dental and insurance agencies need to be particularly cautious as they have a lot of confidential information about their clients. In additional to environmental hazards, it’s also an opportunity for data to be compromised and to steal identities.
laborative relationship with their clients. “When we initially meet, we examine their e-waste policy. We want the relationship with our clients to be mutually beneficial. We not only want to be environmentally conscious, we want to save our client’s money and keep their data secure. Our agreements reflect this. We are currently seeking ‘target rich’ environments where we can make the greatest impact. Those envi-
Intelligent Lifecycle Solutions has clients throughout the United States. Most of the materials they receive arrive on 53 foot trailers filled with pallets of electronics. The e-recycling process involves sorting the electronics and then dissecting them to pull precious metals out. There is definitely monetary value in e-waste. For example, each year cell phones that are simply placed in the trash contain over $60 million in gold and/or silver. Circuit boards contain 40-800 times more gold than one metric ton of ore. Data destruction is dictated by the client. Schmitt and his sales executive, Trista Begovich, have a col-
ronments can be big or small. We are eager to serve clients with one employee to thousands,” explained Schmitt. For more information on Intelligent Lifecycle Solutions, go to lifecyclesolutions.net or contact Erich or Trista at 775391-1319. While they do have a global reputation for their electronic recycling, data destruction and asset management services as they were founded in the UK, they are a local business with about 40 employees servicing the western portion of the United States. BIZ NEVADA MAGAZINE · WWW.BIZNEVADA.COM · 11
Time
now is the
by Lindsay Clarke and Nicolle Gust The Greater Reno-Sparks-Lake Tahoe area has become a very appealing place to call home. The economy is in full recovery mode with major companies moving in to take advantage of the tax benefits, tourism is back on the rise and the unemployment rate has considerably decreased. Coupled with the proximity to California, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, entertainment and recreational opportunities, it is no surprise that people are moving here in droves. When the Great Recession hit Nevada 10 years ago many homeowners had no choice but to either stay put and ride out the hard times, sell their homes for far less than what they were worth or worse, foreclose altogether. With the improved economy, job growth and rising house prices, northern Nevadans are finally starting to see equity back in their homes. Homeowners now have the opportunity to take advantage of their equity and finally consider purchas-
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Ho to
ing their ‘move-up’ home that can accommodate their wants and needs. Homes priced under $1million dollars are selling at a record rate due to low inventory. According the National Association of Realtors Home Sales Report dated 3/21/18, existing inventory is down 8 percent from last year. This seller’s market gives the seller greater control of the price point and a chance to maximize their gains. Luxury homes, however, are not moving as quickly. According to the Luxury Market Report dated 3/22/2018 by the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, inventory of homes priced over $1 million are actually up 7 percent from January of last year, which puts that particular price point in a buyer’s market. This gives more control of the price and terms to the buyer. What does this mean to you? If your current home no longer fits your needs or if you are looking to finally purchase your dream home NOW is the time. The sale of your current starter or ‘trade up’ home can yield high returns in the current market making it possible to put down a larger down payment on your
ome buy a
luxury home. Even if you do not have a home to sell but are considering purchasing a luxury home, the inventory of homes exceeds the number of buyers which ultimately means that homes are on the market longer and discounts can be negotiated. Long and short, the optimum time to sell anything is when supply is low and demand is high. Conversely, the best time to buy is when supply is high, and demand is low. If you’ve been considering purchasing your dream home, now is the time to contact your local real estate professional to discuss your options. Lindsay Clarke and Nicolle Gust of the Clarke & Gust Group are Residential Real Estate Specialists and Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialists in Reno-Sparks area with over 15 years of experience.  For additional information or a personal market analysis of your home contact them at cggroup@wesellrenotahoe.com or visit wesellrenotahoe.com.
Appreciation 8 Ways to Show
by Jeffrey Benjamin 1. Send a handwritten note. Americans spend 8.7 hours per day working. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, at least one-third of your life is spent conducting work-related activities. The Gallup Polls on Employee Engagement say more than 70 percent of U.S. employees are not engaged at work. Acknowledging positive behavior is the best way to perpetuate it. One way to create a positive workplace that engages employees is through appreciating and rewarding people for their efforts. Here is a short list of ways to acknowledge and appreciate employees and coworkers: 14 · ISSUE 12 · MAY 2018
In a digital era, handwritten notes are rare and can have a huge impact on the recipient. A thoughtful handwritten note is often saved by being taped in their work area or saved in a drawer that is referenced many times over. Albert Schweitzer remarked, “We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”
2. Display a photo of The tttHave
a Wall of Fame that highlights all of your employees. Add their photo on the company website and post it on company social media sites. Also, submit the photo with press releases. Additionally, you can offer an award plaque to celebrate them. The best practice is to use a professional photo.
3. Hold an appreciation ceremony.
This can be a formal event or even an informal part of an agenda item for your weekly team meeting where you take a few minutes for employees to verbally acknowledge the efforts of coworkers. Williams James says it perfectly, “The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.”
4. Give credit to others.
Abraham Lincoln remarked, “Everybody likes a compliment.” Cite your sources, publicly applaud the ideas of others and recognize the people in your life that have helped you. A deep sense of admiration and respect is built when a person gives credit to others. The opposite occurs when a person claims all the credit for him or herself.
7. Give the power of voice.
5. Say, “thank you.”
Mark Twain wrote, “I can live for two months on a good compliment.” It’s easy to offer your appreciation, just say, “thank you.” It only takes two seconds! For some people, uttering these words is like an act of Congress. For others, they have simply fallen out of the habit of being courteous. Make it a point to say “thank you” when people honor your requests or when someone does or says something that supports you.
6. Provide autonomy.
Set forth the expectations that are to be met. Provide the necessary training to meet or exceed performance. Then, allow the independence and self-determination to fulfill defined expectations. Freedom to perform is appreciation in action.
Create a culture of insight and innovation by allowing employees to be heard. This confirms that you value their opinion and perspective. Important ideas come from both ends of the organizational structure. Allow for brainstorming and input from everyone on how to best achieve goals. Eloquently stated by Henry David Thoreau, “The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when one asked me what I thought and attended to my answer.”
8. Compliment more than you criticize.
Search for ways you can compliment. If you are only criticizing, it will be hard to establish a positive working relationship that is needed to achieve organizational goals. The same is true in your personal and family endeavor. Create a culture of engagement through celebration. Use a few of these ideas on how to acknowledge others and to show appreciation. Best of success to you! Jeffrey Benjamin is the founder of Breakthrough Training in Reno. He is the co-author of the Real Life Habits for Success book series. Contact him at BreakthroughTraining.com or at 775-337-1600.
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Q.S. WONG
Chinese Herb Specialist by Alicia Barber Chinese herbalist and chiropractor Q.S. Wong opened his practice at 138 West Street, a building whose construction he likely financed himself, in 1924. A Reno resident since at least 1913, Wong was a well-respected local businessman who occasionally found himself in the crosshairs of a community not entirely free of prejudice toward his ethnicity and traditional approach to medicine. At least twice, charges were levied against him: first in 1917 for cohabitating with a white woman, and again in 1941 for involuntary manslaughter after one of his patients died of epilepsy. The manslaughter charge came from Myron R. Adams, Washoe County assistant district attorney, who
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claimed that Wong had been practicing medicine without a license, leading to the death of patient Velma Valentine Webb. A search of Wong’s offices had revealed surgical instruments which Adams claimed Wong was not licensed to use. Just one week later, notices were served to five Chinese herbalists to close their businesses immediately. The herbalists refused, arguing that the abatement notices were illegal and that they were not public nuisances but respectable service providers. In court, Wong successfully argued that the instruments in his office were gifts and had never been used, and that his treatment of Webb had consisted solely of a standard regimen of Chinese herbs. Charges were dropped, and he went on to practice until just a few weeks before his death in August of 1945. In addition to his private practice, Wong also served as the longtime Nevada head of the Chinese Nationalist Party, which used his building as their headquarters. The Nationalist Party was connected to the Republican government in China and was its spokesperson in the United States. In the 1950s, 138 West Street became the home of the Reno Cancer Center, an affiliate of the American Cancer Society which offered medical examinations and information about symptoms and treatment. An insurance company and realtor also occupied offices there through the 1960s and beyond. The property was folded into the new West Street Market in 2008. Courtesy of renohistorical.org, a website and free mobile app that puts Reno history at your fingertips.
Original owner Sidney Leggett was already in the lodging business, having opened the Sutro Motel on East 4th Street in 1951. The property where the Ho Hum sits was adjacent to commercial buildings he already owned, including his namesake building just to the south (see separate entry).
HO Hum Motel by Alicia Barber with research support from RTC Washoe Tucked between two commercial buildings on South Virginia Street, the Ho Hum Motel has one of the most charming names in the business. It opened in 1953, when Virginia Street was not only a major business thoroughfare, but the north-south highway through Reno. The location made it an ideal place to stay for tourists who wanted a little distance from the clubs and casinos of downtown.
The Ho Hum features the same architectural style as the Sutro Motel: brick construction with a Spanish-style red barrel tile roof. In order to maximize the number of rooms for its small lot, the L-shaped, 18-unit motel is two stories tall in the rear. The open building to its south, now used as motel parking, was originally a commercial building where Rauhut’s Bakery and Coffee Shop operated for many years. With the construction of U.S. Route 395/Interstate 580, South Virginia Street no longer served as a highway, and its tourist lodgings shifted primarily to weekly and monthly rentals. And yet the Ho Hum retains exceptional architectural integrity, adding a picturesque touch to this stretch of historic commercial buildings. Courtesy of renohistorical.org, a website and free mobile app that puts Reno history at your fingertips.
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May 2018
CALENDAR OF EVENTS RENO+SPARKS CHAMBER MAY 17 4PM Ribbon Cut: Panasonic Recruitment Office 294 E. Moana Lane
MAY 23 11:30AM-1PM Lunch & Learn: Export Financing Reno Chamber of Commerce MAY 28 11AM-1PM Memorial Day Event 14 Veterans Way, Fernley MAY 31 5-7PM Speed Jobbing Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center, UNR JUNE 1 5-8PM Kids Foundation Wine & Cheese Event The Club at ArrowCreek JUNE 7 5-6:30PM Business After Hours Outside Patio at 4925 Kietzke Lane
NCET
MAY 16 2-4PM Biz Café: Mike Crawford Lessons from a Serial Entrepreneur Rounds Bakery MAY 23 11AM-1:30PM Cannabis Commerce 2.0: The Supplier Story Panel Presentation Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
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JUNE 13 5:30-7:30PM TMCC Health Science Center 18600 Wedge Pkwy.
JUNE 20 2-4PM Biz Café: Daniel Price of Breadware How IoT is Transforming Business and Our Daily Lives Rounds Bakery
FERNLEY CHAMBER
TUESDAY MORNINGS Fernley Ambassadors The Golf Course at Fernley MAY 11 2PM Missing in Nevada Service Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial MAY 12 8AM Tee Up for Life Golf Tournament The Golf Club at Fernley
WIN
May 18th
7-9 AM WIN Breakfast
WIN Breakfast Melissa Agnes, Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
CARSON CHAMBER
MAY 16 5-7PM Chamber Social Mixer Carson Nugget
WEDNESDAY NOON Wildcreek Golf Course Famous Dave’s Reno/Sparks Association of Realtors
JUNE 14 8AM-5PM Carson City Leadership Institute Carson City Chamber 1900 S. Carson St.
THURSDAY 7AM Swill Coffee Lakeridge 19th Hole The Plaza Hotel, Carson City Mimi’s Café Napa Sonoma South
CARSON VALLEY CHAMBER
THURSDAY 11:30AM
MAY-SEPT Every Tuesday Minden Farmers Market 1604 Esmeralda Ave., Minden
MAY 12 10AM-3PM Big Mama’s Show & Shine Car Show Lampe Park, Gardnerville MAY 19 7:30AM-1:30PM Fore the Kids Golf Tournament Genoa Lakes Golf Club JUNE 7-10 108th Annual Carson Valley Days Fun in the Great Outdoors Lampe Park, Minden
ONE MILLION CUPS EVERY WEDNESDAY 9AM The Innevation Center
BNI MEETINGS
TUESDAY 7AM Mimi’s Café BizClub Zero Swill Coffee Napa Sonoma South
Famous Dave’s
OTHER EVENTS
MAY 9 4PM Reno 150th Birthday Celebration One Nevada Field MAY 12-13 Reno River Festival Wingfield Park MAY 15 5PM Breakthrough Network Mixer - free Coach’s Grill & Bar #2 4050 S. McCarran MAY 15 11:30AM-1PM AMERICAN MARKETING ASSOCIATION MAY LUNCHEON TBD MAY 18 6:30PM Inspire Reno – Ladies Night Out 615 Riverside Drive JUNE 7 First Thursday Nevada Museum of Art 160 West Liberty Street
WEDNESDAY 7AM Napa Sonoma South Meadowood Courtyard For more complete and up-to-date calendar information, visit www.bizNEVADA.com/events
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The path to success in the startup world is rarely straight. Like 95 percent of the successful startups out there, pivots and morphs are a necessary part of startup development. How does a startup initially design a product for the wine industry end up in the construction industry? I sat down with TrenLot’s CEO and co-founder, Greg Howard and CTO and co-founder Jeff Urmston to find out how. I also wanted to know what it’s like being a startup in Nevada and how the culture differs from other regions. TrenLot provides software to construction contractors that automates accountability and profitability by bringing the office and field closer together. TrenLot makes it easy to keep everything organized by optimizing crew management and tracking real time project profitability.
THE WINDING PATH That Builds a Northern Nevada
START UP by Corrine Casanova
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What is the local startup scene like in Reno? GH: Every region has its own start up scene and its own flavor and culture. The most iconic of all is Silicon Valley. In Reno, we are just starting to see momentum moving us forward. Organizations like StartUpNV are making a big difference by providing resources along with advice and guidance. As entrepreneurs in a small company, we have to be jack of all trades because we have to cover a lot of stuff. The curse of that is you are master of none. JU: We are starting to see the community connect around us. Real ideas are being developed, not just aspirations. Startups can’t survive on islands. They need ecosystems whether it’s funding
from the community or just involvement. Here, we can reach out to other companies and say, “Hey, we don’t have this expertise, you do, can we get some advice and perhaps trade resources?”
to look at but was not super useful until you begin to layer actions and behavior with them. The wine industry wanted to be told what to do with the data. Ultimately, it became all about project management. That is where it really started taking off for us.
What is essential as a startup in Reno? GH: We are not the Silicon Valley where the technology can often go before the business model. There, you often just need to get as many subscribers as you can, then monetize later. In this bootstrap startup community in Reno, we need the business model fully developed. We need to understand the customer’s problems before and be prepared to develop the product and prove our market. The startup community here is coming together with a specific Reno flavor.
JU: We fell into developing a custom project in the construction industry. It turns out they were looking at some of the same issues as the wine/whiskey industry. Issues include project management, real time project costing, collecting data in real time and converting it into actions and behaviors. The majority of businesses are centralized, everything is right there. The construction model is flipped. The gathering of data from the field is costly especially when using a pen/paper or an Excel spreadsheet. Our goal is to bring that field information to the What is different in the Reno startup community office in real time, automating accountability and profitability. from previous years? JU: Hiring technology talent to come to Reno is always a challenge. We are starting to get that build What is TrenLot’s current status? up. Part of building that talent is attracting them GH: Right now, we are entering our soft launch. here. The engine is starting but it takes a long time to We want to talk to as many potential customers to build momentum on the development side. Initially, onboard them. In this first phase we have people even for billion-dollar tech companies, it’s hard to using the system but we need more. This is not just get people to come to Reno. It used to be the first for revenue’s sake, we need feedback to improve the half of the interview was evaluating the candidate’s system and make it more marketable. We are about technical competency and the second half was to embark on a huge customer acquisition period. convincing them to please come to Reno. Who would you like to talk to? What are some of the biggest challenges for JU: Any contractor either general or sub who manages their own crews should be talking to us. small startups? GH: You can have the best talent but if personalities Almost any subcontractor is going to have crews don’t match it won’t work. Think about being stuck that they are managing if they are growing. We are in a submarine with somebody that doesn’t like also seeking investors to scale our business. you. Personalities and culture really matter more in And that is how you go down the winding path from wine/whiskey to construction. smaller start-ups than in larger companies. How did you go from wine and whiskey to construction? GH: When we talked with wine industry operators and owners, the issues boiled down to quality and finding problems before they happened. We built a system of IoT sensors that can be used to gather information in order to predict issues before they happen. Culturally, it’s a hard sell because wineries are super protective about their reputation. JU: The data learned through the winery IoT system was interesting. The data themselves is interesting
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Wild and
by Nancy Kilian
Free
Chances are, if you live in northern Nevada, you’ve seen a wild horse or two roaming around. These are majestic creatures who live to be wild and free. Our organization, Virginia Range Wildlife Protection Association, (VRWPA) would like to keep it that way. We are a volunteer nonprofit that acts on behalf of free roaming horses and wildlife in the Virginia range north of Virginia City. The Virginia range is over 280,000 acres and consists of the area east of Reno to Fernley, south of I-80, north of Hwy 50.
In March 2015, VRWPA and four other wild horse advocate groups entered into a precedent setting agreement with the Nevada Department of Agriculture which was signed by Governor Sandoval. This is the largest ever private-public partnership to manage the wild horses under the umbrella of the American Wild Horse Campaign (AWHC). Birth control is one important aspect of the management. The ASPCA provided resources to launch the management program.
One of our biggest contributions is documenting and recording each of the horses on the Virginia Range. We do this with a computer program. To date, we have over 3,000 horses documented. Our volunteers have spent many hours putting this together. We do this to monitor the wild horse population and provide data.
As a result of the agreement, volunteers were sent to educational and hands on training in Billings, Montana. There they learned about birth control, how it works, how to use it and deliver it, documenting of the horses and keeping records on the horses that were darted. This is how the birth control cocktail which consists of PZP (porcine zona pellucida) derived from pig eggs works. When this vaccine is in-
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jected into the muscle of the target female horse it stimulates her immune system to produce antibodies against the vaccine. These antibodies also attach to the sperm receptors on the zona pellucida of her own eggs and distort their shape, thereby blocking fertilization. This technique is nothing new. It has been used and studied in horses, deer and elephants and successfully used on the wild horses on Assateague Island for over 25 years. In the Virginia range, our volunteers mix the vaccine in the field, inject the vaccine with a dart that’s delivered with a CO2 dart gun. In a little over two years, over 1,000 darts have been darted to mares to prevent pregnancy. It takes a primer dose and booster the first year and a booster every year after to prevent pregnancy. It can be stopped and the mare can get pregnant but usually after six years can be permanent. It is 90 percent effective and has prevented births in over 150 mares on the Virginia range the first year and we are just getting results for the second year which appear very successful. In November 2017, the Nevada Department of Agriculture (NDoA) cancelled the 2015 agreement. As a result, birth control efforts have halted. A Request for Proposal (RFP) was sent out by the NDoA to transfer 24 · ISSUE 12 · MAY 2018
ownership of the Virginia range horses to a non-profit animal advocate organization. However, there was a glitch. None of the wild horse groups could apply to transfer the ownership for one simple reason—no insurance company would insure them for owning the horses as livestock. This opened the door for groups who were not in favor of saving the horses to apply. In other words, they could have ended up going to slaughter. The deadline of April 16, 2018 passed with no RFPs submitted. Currently, the AWHC is attempting to work out arrangements to resume the management of the Virginia range horses once again. They have been our main source of funding for this program with no cost from tax payers or the state. Meanwhile, the wild horse population continue to grow as well as land development on the range. Despite not being able to resume the birth control program, VRWPA volunteers continue to document the horses. We add new events which include foal births, deaths, change of horses to new bands, new photos and other important information. Education is one our top priorities as we educate the public about not feeding wild horses. Nevada passed a law making it a gross misdemeanor and a possible $2,000 fine for feeding the horses. Also, horses fed near developed areas are more susceptible to getting hit on
the roadways and ending up dead or having to be put down. For example, on Highway 50 between Moundhouse and Silver Springs, 26 horses were reported hit in 2017. Horses being killed on roadways has also been a continuing problem in south Reno. VRWPA and other advocates are working with the Nevada Department of Transportation and property owners to get additional fencing. If you’ve never seen a wild horse in its element it takes your breath away. They live in family bands through hot summers and harsh winters, but they’ve survived for many years like that. This is why VRWPA and other advocate groups do what they can to protect them and keep them wild. Nevada benefits from the Wild horses by the tourism they provide. We have the largest amount of wild horses than any other state. The wild horse is on our state quarter so why shouldn’t they be protected but managed in a humane way and left to be wild and free? Contact VRWPA.com for more information. Nancy Kilian is the vice-president of VRWPA. Meetings are held the last Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm at the Virginia City Highlands fire station.
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777 MOTEL by Alicia Barber
South Virginia Street was an increasingly busy thoroughfare in mid-century Reno, with many motels cropping up to serve the traveling public. The 777 Motel was constructed at 777 S. Virginia Street in 1964, one year before the street was widened to accommodate increasing amounts of traffic on what was then the north-south highway through town. The courtyard-shaped motel has a utilitarian design, highlighted by its bright and whimsical sign evoking a lucky pull at the slot machines, three sevens in a row. The site had housed a used car lot since the early 1950s. In the early sixties, the lot was called 777 Used Cars, and that is apparently when a sign was painted to advertise the business on the two-story building just to the north. When the motel was constructed in 1965, the painted sign was partially covered by the new building but some of the letters and an arrow pointing down remain visible. The completion of Reno’s north-south freeway, Interstate 580, from Interstate 80 southward to the vicinity of McCarran Boulevard in 1981 prompted many drivers to bypass South Virginia Street entirely. That, in combination with the opening of large numbers of inexpensive hotel rooms at the downtown hotel-casinos, led to the gradual conversion of many motels like the 777 Motel into longer term housing for area residents. 26 · ISSUE 12 · MAY 2018
Courtesy of renohistorical.org, a website and free mobile app that puts Reno history at your fingertips.
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B arracuda Championship A PGA TOUR This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Barracuda Championship, a PGA TOUR golf tournament and 501c3 nonprofit that will have given back over $4 million to charity by the end of 2018. Our foundation staff, Board of Directors, volunteers and sponsors could not be more grateful for our community’s continued support for the past two decades. Over the years, well-known PGA TOUR pros such as Jason Day, Patrick Reed, Padraig Harrington, Gary Woodland and Jon Rahm–among others, have traveled to Reno-Tahoe to compete for the title of #CudaChamp. While we’re proud to host these interna-
tionally recognized professional athletes each year, supporters of the tournament have come to understand that golf is just one of the many components that make our special event truly special. Since our inception in 1999, we’ve been humbled by the support of local businesses and individuals who’ve all played a part in our ability to give back more and more each year to over 100 deserving charities in our region and beyond. We’d like to recognize and thank our corporate sponsors who’ve partnered with us since the beginning and who continue to show their support of our organization:
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• Atlantis Casino Resort Spa • Eldorado Resorts • VisitRenoTahoe.com • NV Energy • Whitmor Wirenetics • Reno Dodge • Wells Fargo • Peppermill Reno • Nugget Casino Resort Those who’ve partnered with us for several years have witnessed the progression from just a golf tournament to so much more. With the recent addition of the Patio on 18 – featuring incredible BBQ, outdoor games, and a front row seat to the 18th green and fairway, we’ve distinguished ourselves as the “Tastiest Stop on TOUR.”
countless opportunities to contribute and participate, and we continually strive to create new and innovative onsite activations, sponsorship opportunities and avenues for international recognition. Returning on-site favorites such as the William Hill Wine Walk, Discovery at Barracuda STEAM Zone and Fairway Independent Mortgage Heroes Hangout are just a few examples of the fun to be had while out at Montreux Golf & Country Club this year. Currently, the Barracuda Championship is broadcast in 227 countries and in over 1 billion households worldwide. We have and will continue to showcase our beautiful and burgeoning hometown to the world while maintaining our focus on contributing to area nonprofits.
This fact was highlighted in 2017, when the PGA TOUR awarded the Barracuda Championship with Best Ad Campaign/Promotional idea. Being recognized by an international community of Tier-1 professional sporting events was an honor and could not have been achieved without massive community engagement, our incredible volunteer fleet, and our friends at Foundry.
For those who have yet to attend or partner with our event, there are several ways to get involved before tournament time. You can sign up to join our over 700 volunteers–no golf experience required! You can purchase tickets to our event, which start at only $25. You can sponsor an element of the tournament at any level and we work with budgets of all sizes.Lastly, you can participate in our Birdies for Charity program sponsored by Duncan Golf Management and contribute to one or more of your favorite local charities–and you can win fun prizes!
As we move into a new era of professional golf and a renewed encouragement for our future, we’ve begun to see even more involvement from our local businesses and individuals. Our tournament offers
The Barracuda Championship takes place July 30 – August 5, 2018. Please contact our team if you’d like to get involved. 775-322-3900 or visit BarracudaChampionship.com.
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#biggestlittlecity