Demystifying Startup Funding in Las Vegas— Part 3: Alternative Sources
“Demystifying Startup Funding in Las Vegas” is a three part series that will evaluate several sources of startup funding in Las Vegas and Stefan Colovic’s experiences with them.
Part 1: VC Funds | Part 2: Angel Investors | Part 3: Alternative Sources
In “Part 3: Alternative Sources,” I’d like to discuss funding options for Las Vegas startups that don’t necessarily fall into the traditional VC fund or angel investor category. I recommend you consider these with an open mind.
The Mill
Who are they?
The Mill, which I briefly mentioned in Part 1 of the series, is a startup accelerator (and an idea accelerator, too) in Downtown Las Vegas, which is a part of Tony Hsieh’s Downtown Project. The Mill aids seed-stage startups focused on developing an exceptional customer service culture (not a bad idea to do this in Vegas, right?). The startup accelerator program lasts for three months, which includes a $25,000 investment, office space, and access to mentors.
Why choose them?
Las Vegas is not known for its accelerators; however, The Mill is relatively new to Las Vegas and it shows a lot of promise. The list of amazing mentors seems to be endless, and — as opposed to Y Combinator — smaller cohorts allows startups to get more exposure instead of being lost in a massive sea of startups. I never quite understood cohorts of 100+ companies, but that’s a discussion for another day.
Stefan’s experiences with them:
I briefly met some of the mentors throughout various startup events in Las Vegas, including Ernesto Paiz and Sarah Hill, who is the Managing Partner at The Mill. They all struck me as smart, capable, and genuine people. If you have the chance to get to know any of them, it will likely be well-worth your time.
Note: I’ve heard some chatter of a new hospitality-focused accelerator and even a hardware accelerator in Las Vegas. I‘ll keep tabs on this moving forward.
Originate
Who are they?
Originate is a group of designers, developers, and product strategists across eight global offices. Instead of directly investing cash in your company, Originate works through a unique partnership model. Essentially, they provide you with talented teams that apply their Origin process in exchange for equity, profit sharing, cash, etc.
Here’s a diagram of their process:
Why choose them?
Originate can be of great help when your team is lacking an important skill that is needed to help your startup succeed. Need a strong backend developer? Maybe a product designer? Originate has you covered.
Stefan’s experiences with them:
None.
Silver State Opportunities Fund
Who are they?
The Silver State Opportunities Fund has $50 million of commitments to invest in both fund partnerships and directly in Nevada companies through co-investments. This fund is managed by Hamilton Lane.
Why choose them?
I don’t personally know any startups who have tried this route for funding. If you startup could benefit from partnerships with governmental entities, an investment from one may help.
Stefan’s experiences with them:
I do not know the Silver State Opportunities Fund itself, but Miguel Luina, VP at Hamilton Lane, joined the Management Board of the Rebel Venture Fund toward the later stage of my tenure as CEO. If an investment from the fund presented the opportunity to work with Miguel, I would definitely consider it.
There are also a number of boutique firms that will invest in startups, though it is not a part of their core business. They are an alternative source of startup funding if it interests your company.
If you know of any other sources of funding in Las Vegas that I missed, let me know and I’d be glad to discuss them in the future.
I hope the three part “Startup Funding Landscape in Las Vegas” series helped you better understand how to approach raising capital in Las Vegas for your startup. Best of luck to you!
