Networking in Las Vegas for the Week Ending June 21, 2014 (Startup Grind, Med Marijuana Hearings, Econ Priorities, Interim Finance, Empowered, Father Max & CEO-CFO Mixer)

Attended the Startup Grind at the mansion formerly owned by Mike Tyson (and Wayne Newton) which is now owned by Equiinet to hear Rick Duggan of Rolltech and Vegas Tech community leader talk. Mike Terpin, founder of the Las Vegas Startup Grind and owner of Social Radius, started the meeting by interviewing Rick on his career, the Vegas

Tech community and Rick's new position. When Rick worked for Zappos, he volunteered to help develop the Las Vegas Tech community. One of the first things he started to work on were the downtown Jellys which brought coders (programmers) and startup companies together. The Jellys started slow in 2011 but after a couple of months, the room, over the Beat Coffee house was jammed to capacity. It was truly the start of the Vegas Tech scene. After a couple of years the Jellys were discontinued due to their success. Several groups sprang out of the Jellys and are still meeting. Rick was also advising several companies as a consultant of which Rolltech was one. Rolltech is focused on bringing useful apps to bowling. Bowling is a $6 billion market with millions of dedicated players. Rick decided to become the CTO for Rolltech. At the event were Ruth Hedges of Crowd Funding Roadmap, George Moncrief of the Vegas Tech Fund, Sonya Levy, giga fiber activist; Dan Hugo of Intel and technologist, Steve Mason of Brand Mason, Matt Waymire CPA and Startup Strategist, Stu Waymire, Entrepreneur; Ross Newman of Innovate Health Research and many other leaders and entrepreneurs. Over 70 attended the meeting.  

Attended the Medical Marijuana hearings at the Clark County commission hearings. The aim of these hearings was to review the applications for cultivation, production and labs. Most of the applicants had been seen by the commissioner at the previous dispensary hearing two weeks ago. Most of them were applying for cultivation and production. Two companies were seeking labs. Over 100 applicants were on the agenda. Because the state has not put a limit on these licenses, the county approved all of the applicants. 

Attended the Southern Nevada Economic Priorities meeting. The meeting is primarily run by Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams. This meeting's focus was on the opportunities for Southern Nevada in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (drones). We had several speakers including Tom Piechota, PhD from UNLV talking about the minor in UAV systems available at UNLV. Over 40 people attended included Assemblyman James Healy, Arnold Lopez from NV Energy, Bob Coyle from Republic Industry and lobbyist George Ross. 

Stopped in to review the proceedings of the Legislative Interim

Finance Committee. The interim finance committee reviews budget issues that affect that state's finance. Since the legislature only meet every other year, the interim finance committee keeps track of the items that affect the budget. The meeting was taking place in Carson City but those interested could watch it from the 4th floor at the Grant Sawyer Building. A number of changes were occurring to the budget. One of the key changes was the loss of $70 million of projected tax revenue from mining. About 30 people attended the talk, mostly government workers and a few lobbyists. 

Met with Scott Fraser, CEO of Empowered Products. Scott's company manufactures a number of products for the Sexual Wellness market. He moved the company to Las Vegas to avoid the taxes, regulations and challenges of California. He has set up an impressive manufacturing facility and has his products in over 30,000 locations.

Met with Father Max Oliva, Joe Brown and Steve Curtis for cigars and drinks at Binions. Father Max has finished his book on the ten commandments and was the reason we were celebrating. 

Attended the CEO-CFO Group mixer at the Art Bar at the Grand Hotel Downtown. Over 70 attended the mixer. John Guedry, President of Bank of Nevada spoke briefly about his involvement in education and that answer to help fund education, the Gross Margins Tax, would not help and would be devastating to businesses in the state. 

John Lau