CEO Updates

Congratulations to the Wolf Pack Basketball Teams as they celebrate a great year.  The men’s team had an amazing NCAA Tournament run. 

The Wolf Pack, who beat Texas in the first round and Cincinnati in the second round, fell short to Loyola Chicago in the Sweet 16.  While the women’s team played in the Women’s Basketball Invitational, their first postseason tournament since 2011. The team made it to the semi-finals. What a great Year – Go Wolf Pack.  Here is the RGJ article. 

Congratulations to the 2018 NCET Tech Awards and EDAWN Award Winners!

Winners will be honored at the NCET / EDAWN Awards Dinner on Thursday, April 5th. This celebration of our entrepreneurs and the many people and companies nominated for the awards represented an amazing and impressive cross-section of our region’s best and brightest. Here is the list of all the winners!

Washington Post: Taking a gamble on a revitalized Reno – By Elizabeth Zach –

“When I moved back to California, I found that friends were swooning about the “Reno-ssance” that began around 2011. The city attracted companies like Apple, Amazon, Panasonic and Tesla to move to Nevada. To satisfy its growing population of younger residents and families (and more retirees from California seeking cheaper living), new art galleries, a revamped river promenade, brasseries, microbreweries and quirky areas such as the Midtown and Riverwalk districts have taken root and replaced some of the seedier landscape for which Reno is typically known.” Here is the full article.

Barron’s – Big Tech Discovers America; By Jon Swartz – March 15, 2018.  RENO, Nev. – “Gov. Brian Sandoval had reason to beam and boast at a tech show here recently. 

The city of 300,000 he affectionately calls “Silicon Bridge” for its proximity to San Francisco-about 218 miles-has emerged as a capital of big tech investments. From Tesla‘s 5.8-million-square-foot Gigafactory and Apple‘s sprawling new $4 million warehouse downtown, to Amazon‘s 630,000-square-foot fulfillment center and Google expansion efforts, Reno is a case study of tech sprouting outside the two coasts.” Here is the article.

NNBW News – With a prime location, Reno-Sparks becoming major distribution network –

Reno-Sparks has become a natural launching pad for distribution in the western United States with its proximity to Interstate 80. It is a selling point that regional economic development entities use to coax companies looking to relocate. Along with other secondary factors of availability of land, easy access to our freeway system makes it easier to do business here.” Here is the full article.

City of Reno Blog story – EDAWN Conducts symphony of organizations creating a sustainable economy.

Creation of a sustainable local economy is complex and multi-faceted. Quality jobs need to be created across diverse industries and skilled workers need to be trained to take those jobs. EDAWN coordinates the work of dozens of organizations that together create the sustainable economy that benefits individuals and families in Northern Nevada. Their efforts contributed to the City of Reno’s recognition as a Certified 3-STAR Community. Here is the blog.

SF Gate article – Surprising alternative cities Bay Area residents can move to, for all types –

For every 10,000 LinkedIn members in the San Francisco Bay Area, 0.69 moved to Reno in the past year. Here is the article.

Area Development Magazine – The Surge of Hyperscale Data Centers Large content enterprise users are building data center complexes around the world, with nearly half in the U.S.,

many in secondary markets. One of the areas seeing an explosion in interest from big companies for new data center locations is Reno, Nevada. Reno’s popularity with large enterprise users can be attributed to its safe location, proximity to main fiber channels, and access to renewable energies. Here is the full article.

24/7 Press Release – Austin Blockchain CEO of  Titan Seal, Philip Dhingra, 35, moves to Reno and finds success as Nevada favors Blockchain initiatives and legislation.

Reno sees a surge in tech companies relocating to the ‘Biggest Little City’ from larger tech hubs. He’s one of a handful of tech founders in the blockchain space who are starting to see Nevada as an attractive place to relocate– a favorable tax structure, a thriving tech co-working space, and access to local and state officials who understand the benefits of the technology–are just the beginning. Here is the press release.

 

The Northern Nevada Math Club will be holding the 3rd Annual State of Nevada Elementary Math Championship on April 21, 2018.
All students in grades 1-6 that live in or attend school in Nevada are eligible to participate.  Check-in will begin at 10:50 am and the first round will start at 11:30 and is scheduled to end between 2:15 pm. Students will be organized on teams as needed but all students will get to participate in the team round as part of a team. Trophies will be awarded to top placers of each grade. Sponsors are needed. Please contact sherry@nnvmath.org for more information.

The EPIC Report with actual numbers updated.

 Now three years into the five year projections of over 52,400 new jobs, we are ahead of projections as Tesla, Panasonic and Switch continue to ramp up their hiring efforts. Here are the Actual numbers graphs.

There is a housing shortage nationwide.

According to the National Association of Realtors, “Inventory of homes for sale is still well below the 6-month supply needed for a normal market and supply will ‘fail to catch up with demand’ if a ‘sizable’ supply does not enter the market.”  Nevada has one of the hottest markets for sellers.  This month, the index showed (again) that home buying demand continued to outpace the supply of homes available in January. Here is the article.

Housing remains a concern, but we are making progress:

The chart below shows the number of permits for new housing units (including apartments and condos) pulled in the past few years, compared to the goal of 6,000 per year  Note that 12 years ago, in 2005, we were over 6,700 permits.  The 6,000 units a year goal just meets the projected demand for housing, so anything short of that adds to the current housing shortage.
 

Here is the latest RGJ article:

We recently hosted the largest and most exciting technology conference in the history of Reno-Sparks;

Thanks to the passion and support of people like Robert Goldberg, the VentureBeat BLUEPRINT conference held their event here to discuss how to bring technology to cities in the heartland of America.  There were over 300 tech executives and government leaders from over 40 states, many that had never been here before! VentureBeat chose The Reno-Sparks to host and showcase the “blueprint” of our recent, and on-going transformation.  Here is the full article.
 
Prior EDAWN articles, published in the RGJ, are stored on our website. 
Here is the link to the library.

Business Development Update

The Business Development team landed five new companies this month for a total of 582 new jobs, 2 corporate headquarters, and $283M in capital expenditures. 

  • Distribution, 20 jobs, HQ
  • Aerospace, 30 jobs, HQ
  • Manufacturing, 300 jobs
  • Manufacturing, 30 jobs
  • Datacenter, 202 jobs

There were 37 new leads and projects added to the activity pipeline.

11 site visits were hosted, including several clients who have made multiple visits to get a “deep dive” look at the Reno area. Manufacturers continue to be attracted to N.NV where the cost of doing business is lower than many other states and proximity to Western U.S. markets are compelling factors.

Chris Ault, Jr.  attended the Site Selectors Guild and met with 37 site consultants from around the globe.

 The impact and future of economic development from “disruptive technologies”, workforce availability, and tax reform were among key presentations at the conference.

Stan Thomas attended the Gaming Development Conference and met with several International and U.S. companies (11 leads) that are anticipating new product launches later this year.

Take-away messages from these meetings were, (1) CA is too expensive, (2) the need to be recognized in the U.S. to be competitive, (3) pay high wages, (4) 5-20 employees.

To contact the Business Development team, please email EVP, Stan Thomas, VP, Chris Ault, Jr.or Program Manager, Norma Yamaji. 

Partner Update

Our Startup Angel Workshop is 3 weeks away!

 This event is crucial to our mission of increasing early stage investment in our local economy. Make sure to register soon, as spots are filling up quickly! Lauren Klein, Chief Inspiration Officer of Girlmade, writes about just how important time, training and investment is to the future of our local entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Have you registered for the upcoming ReEnergize Reno LEED ID+C Workshop?

A LEED certification provides more than just environmental benefits. According to the U.S. Green Building Council, green buildings help MITIGATE RISK. Green buildings with lower operating costs and better indoor environmental quality are more attractive to a growing group of corporate, public and individual buyers  Sign up for this workshop to learn more.

The Stat Pack is a monthly business e-report, co-authored by Mike PeQueen of HighTower Las Vegas and John Restrepo of RCG Economics, with input from Brian Bonnefant of UNR. 

It combines important metrics relevant to business decision makers and financial commentary on current issues facing the Nevada economy. The Stat Pack features data and dialogue about the Southern and Northern Nevada economies.  Here is last Friday’s Fact Pack!

Major Investor of the Week

ITS Logistics is a leading logistics company that delivers a variety of services in supply chain management, dedicated transportation solutions, warehousing, brokerage, and transportation management. ITS Logistics has an expanded service line in their Brokerage division for Drayage Solutions – click here for more information.

EDAWN Events

SAVE THE DATE!
EDAWN is partnering with the Washoe K-12 Education Foundation for:
“Business of Education – Training a Workforce” Luncheon
Thursday, May 10, 2018
Atlantis Casino Resort Spa
Check-In: 11:30 am
Lunch & Program: 12 noon 1:30 pm
For more information or to sponsor this event, contact cswobe@washoek-12.com
Invitations will be emailed as the event nears!
To view EDAWN’s 2018 list of events, go here. For more information, please contact Sheila Imsdahl or call 775.829.3704.
For a calendar of additional 2018 EDAWN  Entrepreneurial events, please visit Startup Digest Reno. For more information, please contact Elise Leben or call 775.829.3703.