Author: nvgrow

SSBCI Venture Capital Program Seeks Institutional Co-Investors

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GOED launches Venture Capital Program strengthening capital access for local startups

CARSON CITY, Nev. – Nevada is seeking to attract additional venture and seed capital from institutional investors, such as Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), to invest alongside Battle Born Growth Venture’s deals. This new Venture Capital Program is now operating under the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program and overseen by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED).

“The SSBCI Program provides Nevada with the opportunity to attract substantially more local and out-of-state investment capital that will strengthen our startup businesses and Nevada startup founders are highly encouraged to apply,” said Governor Joe Lombardo.

Battle Born Growth Venture utilizes a unique application process which will result in a higher-level investment in minority entrepreneurs than with standard Venture Capital.

“We are taking advantage of data captured over the past decade to inform this process” said Nicola Kerslake who founded Newbean Capital, a female owned Reno-based registered investment advisor that has performed the role as the SSBCI program’s investment manager since inception of the predecessor program in 2014. “Our current investment portfolio shows that half of funds have gone to minority or women-led startups, so the process is working, and we are particularly seeking applications from startups of traditionally disadvantaged and underserved communities.”

As with all other SSBCI programs, the Battle Born Growth Venture also requires private sector co-investments.

“We strongly encourage any institutional seed and venture capital fund to reach out to us to explore co-investment options,” said Karsten Heise Senior Director of Strategic Programs and Innovation at the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “One major objective of this program is to put Nevada startups on the map and spur investment fund interests from out-of-state thereby attracting vital seed and venture capital to Nevada to strengthen our local startup ecosystems. Key to the success of this program will be getting capital to Nevada startups from nationally operating institutional seed- and venture capital funds.”

Last October, Nevada’s SSBCI Program application was approved for up to $112.9 million and Nevada has received its initial tranche. GOED acts as program manager and oversees a total of five component programs. Initially, Battle Born Growth Venture has been allocated a total of $36 million.

Unlike traditional venture capital funds, any Nevada startup can apply through the program’s website at battlebornventure.com. Interested applicants are further encouraged to confirm that they will meet the program’s criteria by visiting battlebornventure.com/are-we-a-fit.

One additional feature of the venture capital program’s structure is the partnership with two Nevada accelerators for deal-flow generation. Battle Born Growth Venture co-invests in cohort startups of nationally ranked gener8tor and local Nevada StartUpNV. So far, the program has co-invested with gener8tor in cohort companies Loop Software, Vistro, GrantCycle (formerly Atlas Solutions), Clotheslyne, Prosper and Sage Medical as well as with StartUpNV’s SeeID, Let’s Rolo, Revonate, and Terbine.

“The first gener8tor cohort last fall has proven to be a big success,” said Jared Byer, Managing Director of gener8tor’s Reno-Tahoe accelerator. “Two of our companies reached their fundraising goals within a couple of months after the program ended and a third should be finalized by April. The funds will be used to scale their businesses operations in Nevada, hire additional staff and open more locations in the state.”

The upcoming cohort programs will take place this fall in both Reno and Las Vegas, and any startup company is encouraged to apply. Reno is currently accepting applications via its website www.gener8tor.com/investment-accelerators/reno-tahoe.

“StartUpNV saw great potential with these four companies, so we were excited to support them with co-investing alongside SSBCI, a program that no doubt will significantly enhance our state’s ability to grow our startup ecosystem and enable entrepreneurs to achieve their goals,” said Jeff Saling, executive director of StartUpNV.

StartUpNV is operating an ongoing non-cohort-based accelerator via its website https://startupnv.org/.

About the Governor’s Office of Economic Development

Created during the 2011 session of the Nevada Legislature, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development is the result of a collaborative effort between the Nevada Legislature and the Governor’s Office to restructure economic development in the state. GOED’s role is to promote a robust, diversified and prosperous economy in Nevada, to stimulate business expansion and retention, encourage entrepreneurial enterprise, attract new businesses and facilitate community development.

About the State Small Business Credit Initiative

On March 11, 2021, President Biden signed The American Rescue Plan Act, which reauthorized and funded the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The new version of the SSBCI program provides a combined $10 billion to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and Tribal governments to empower small businesses to access capital needed to invest in job-creating opportunities as the country emerges from the pandemic. The funds will also support recipient jurisdictions in promoting American entrepreneurship and democratizing access to startup capital across the country, including in underserved communities. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) oversees the Nevada SSBCI Program. It is operated by Nevada Battle Born Growth Escalator, Inc. a corporation for public benefit and 501(c)(3) non-profit created by GOED in 2016.

CSN Blackstone LaunchPad Entrepreneurship Center Launches Monthly Education Series

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Starting in March of 2023 community education takes centerstage at the College of Southern Nevada Blackstone Launchpad Entrepreneurship Center. This center is where a number of free educational workshops are now being offered for anyone in the community.

The first class was taught by Patranya Bhoolsuwan, a 3-time Emmy Award winning journalist and founder of media consulting agency, Patranya Media LLC. Her class “Media Training 101” is a 2-hour workshop that covers the following a variety of topics from understanding the media industry to public speaking coaching and storytelling tips for businesses and nonprofits. Registration to this class was full and attendees represent a wide variety of professionals including small business owners, registered nurse, nonprofit leaders, realtors and communications officers from The Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada (RTC)

“Working as a journalist for many years, I know the importance of effective communication skills,” said Bhoolsuwan. “Now that I run my own media consulting agency, I help my clients tell their stories in a clear and compelling way. I am thankful that the CSN Blackstone LaunchPad Entrepreneurship Center is making this learning opportunity available for the community”.

Here are some of the testimonials from the students who attended the first media training class:

“Thank you so much for teaching us the basics of media interviews. I truly need help in speaking in front of a group, organization and of course media interviews. With my new position, I will need to prepare a speech and that is also hard for me to put together, but in time like you said preparation, research and the more you get up and speak, it gets easier”.

  • Sally Balecha, NaFFAA Desert Mountain Region President

“Content of the class was perfect. I learned more than I expected. It was very informative and worth coming to”.

  • Boyzie Milner, Owner Buldogis Gourmet Hot Dogs

“The length of the class was perfect. It was great to meet classmates from different business fields. Thanks again”.

  • Mi Sun Han, Owner Buldogis Gourmet Hot Dogs

“I love how we covered many different topics in a short amount of time. As a realtor, I needed to practice speaking in public and using the media to promote my listings. I learned a lot in this class, especially in better understanding how the media works”.

  • Celina Go, Realtor

This educational initiative is also powered by the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) and Blackstone LaunchPad. CSN’s Blackstone LaunchPad group fosters a culture of innovative entrepreneurship within the Las Vegas Community by developing events and programs that help a diverse student population acquire the expertise necessary to create and sustain a successful business.

Floral Architect, Mylo Lopez, Launches Refugee Resettlement Non-Profit, Land to Land

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When renown floral architect Mylo Lopez received a call from a friend in Russia asking for help as they were preparing to flee the country due to the war, she knew that there were more families like them in need. They were ordered to join a war against Ukraine and if denied to do so, would be exiled or tortured, so they decided to flee as they couldn’t imagine killing friends they had in Ukraine. For Mylo, the situation hit home as she lived and taught in Russia and Ukraine for 3 years and saw it as an opportunity to take action. She called on more hospitality industry leaders and partners to join the cause and the nonprofit Tierra a Tierra, better known as Land to Land, was born. In February of 2023, Land to Land was officially launched with a beautiful event full of refugee stories, community members and outstanding floral design by Mylofleur. With help from NV Grow, Land to Land is growing and reaching more families in order to increase the impact.

The organization Land to Land focuses on helping refugees from war torn countries, including Russians, Ukrainians, Syrians and more, have a safe transition to a new home by providing crucial information, guidance, and services like food, shelter and travel assistance. With more than 8 million Ukrainians and Russians escaping their countries due to the war, according to UNHCR, the non-profit works on assisting as many refugees as possible and showing the impact Vegas can have on the global crisis. Land to Land will also be partnering with MyloFleur, a floral design company owned by Mylo, to provide refugees the opportunity to work in the hospitality industry.

The story behind the founder & her booming floral architect business, Mylofleur

Mylo Lopez, Owner of Mylofleur & Founder of Land to Land speaking with Eric Garner, Interim Director of NV Grow

The woman behind Land to Land and Mylofleur is a true example of hard work and dedication. Mylo Lopez, owner of Mylofleur and founder of the non-profit Land to Land, would help her mom clean after floral designers at MGM Mirage events to pay for architecture school. With big dreams and a keen eye, she networked with industry leaders as they would organize the events and through perseverance and opportunity, she soon became their florist.

She then created Mylofelur, a biophilic floral production design company based in Las Vegas that operates around the world, specializing in fresh floral and plant art installations, creating divergence and transforming spaces in special and private events including music entertainment venues, high end weddings, bohemian elopement designs, fashion & corporate events and more.

Now with 20 years of experience with clients like the Grammys, Imagine Dragons, Usher, Anita Baker, Missy Eliott, Bitcoin, Facebook, Twitter and more, Mylofleur elevates your idea and brings it to life, creating a unique space that shows that anything is possible. Now receiving marketing assistance from NV Grow and funding through NVenture Fund, Mylofleur and Land to Land are booming and are only going up from here. You can find the news story aired, below.

***All pictures are credit to McKenzie Taylor from Cactus Collective

Milpa Becomes First and Only Restaurant in Vegas Off the Strip to Grind Corn and Make Masa from Scratch with Handmade Tortillas

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Do you remember the first time you ate a stone ground heirloom blue corn tortilla? It’s like any other and unforgettable right? That very moment of tasting the unique flavor, is what sparked the concept of Milpa for owner and international chef DJ Flores.

After working in some of the best restaurants in the world, DJ contracted COVID and subsequently got fired as chef from a restaurant on the strip. With community in mind, DJ decided to courageously start his own restaurant during the pandemic and bring back that authentic Mexican taste he never forgot about, while also providing a healthy twist. He opened Milpa, a healthy Mexican restaurant in Las Vegas providing high quality ingredients, handmade stone ground heirloom tortillas, and most of all, a taste of homemade Mexican culture.

A community based restaurant that provides locally sourced items & ingredients and provides a space for community events, Milpa lives up to its name: the milpa, which is a crop growing system used in Mexico & Central America where corn is planted alongside squash and beans to help eachother grow. Like the milpa, when one grows, we all grow. Here, he decided to be the first off the strip to make the masa (dough) for his handmade stone-ground heirloom tortillas instead of buying processed masa, like most.

The process used to grind the corn to make the masa in-house is the same one used by the Mesoamerican civilization 600 years ago, one called nixtamalization. Every morning the masa is made fresh to make homemade tortillas, tetelas, tamales and more. With corn brought from small farmers in Mexico thanks to their partner Masienda, while using the molino, Milpa brings a piece of Mexico that the local Vegas community hadn’t seen before.

Also offering vegetarian and vegan dishes, their bowls showcase the grains that also characterize Mexican gastronomy and demonstrate that corn isn’t the only ingredient that steals the show here. With all fresh organic or heirloom vegetables you can truly savor and dressings made from scratch that always include a mexican ingredient, Milpa really is a culture you can taste. A Nevada Grow client, Milpa is now looking to open more locations soon. 

By: Idania Ramirez, NV Grow