Growing state’s tech industry key to diversification

This month, I joined Gov. Steve Sisolak and nearly a dozen local entrepreneurs for a small-business roundtable in Las Vegas as part of the governor’s Summer of Small Businesses Tour. I shared my experience as a tech entrepreneur, including my businesses’ current challenges and goals. We also collaborated with the governor on policy priorities for a second term to support Nevada’s businesspeople and grow our economy.

During the discussion, my fellow small business owners agreed that while our economy is growing and on the right track, there’s more work to do to support business creation, create jobs and diversify our economy. I know Sisolak shares that opinion, and I’m glad to see him seeking advice directly from entrepreneurs as part of his tour.

During the pandemic, I launched my own company and solution-based app, BRBCK (Be Right Back), to support small businesses in my community. From helping businesses connect with resources, access grant applications, change their business models, or advertise themselves to their local markets in a more efficient way, BRBCK is based on the idea that when we work together, we all succeed. We’ve been very successful and are now partnering with the City of Las Vegas to expand our reach.

In the future, we want to support small businesses in every corner of Las Vegas — especially small businesses off the Strip. We can do this by leveraging our city’s existing strengths and taking advantage of our multiple pro sports teams by getting former or current athletes invested in our work. We also want to continue spreading awareness of grant programs and applications to help entrepreneurs take advantage of state and federal assistance quickly and more efficiently.

Right now, our biggest challenge is recruiting talented, experienced workers — especially young people — with the tech knowledge needed to hit the ground running. The tech industry is growing in Nevada but we can do more by investing in tools to build a top-tier talent pool, providing early support to entrepreneurs and small business owners and strengthening tech-skills in our K-12 schools to ensure our kids are ready to meet the workforce demands of the future.

I shared these concerns with Gov. Sisolak during our discussion, and he agreed that growing our tech industry is key to Nevada’s future success.

I’m thankful that Sisolak is already taking steps in the right direction by investing in free community college and other apprenticeship programs to support our workforce. He’s also funded our K-12 schools at their highest levels ever to ensure our students are learning the skills they need to succeed, kept Nevada a low-tax state to support business creation and keep the cost of living low, and is working to lower the cost of housing, child care, and health care to support our workers.

I love this city and state. I want to stay and grow my business here, and I see our endless potential. I look forward to working with Gov. Sisolak to continue growing our economy and supporting our small businesses for years to come.