LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — An influx of tech companies and workers have moved into the valley to find greater opportunities and help diversify our economy.
Throughout the past couple of months and during the pandemic, many companies have looked for more affordable real estate, a better quality of life, and fewer pandemic restrictions.
Arya Bina is the founder of Kobe Digital, and he says that is the main reason why he moved his tech company’s headquarters from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. He says the days of our city only being a destination for gambling, resorts, and entertainment are over.
“There is enough momentum here where it is not like you are going into a place with a completely blank slate,” Bina said.
Bina says based on his predictions, Vegas will be the next big tech hub. His company is an advertising agency that helps tech industries grow. After being in Southern California for five years, he says he realized he needed a city with more opportunities.
“Right now, it is good cost of living, really favorable tax environment, really favorable regulatory environment, and as long as this area continues to offer that, we can continue to see the influx coming in and contributing to the economy,” Bina said.
He says in the past five years hundreds of tech companies and workers have moved to the valley. One of them is his newest client, James Calhoun, who is the chief technical officer of his tech startup company called “Odyssey," a social media platform for investors.
Calhoun says mega-companies are throwing their money behind this city because they see the same momentum his team saw when they selected this location. He says the entertainment capital of the world has the potential to be the next Silicon Valley.
“People go, ‘oh, there is a tech company here, I am going to start learning this,’ and they start acquiring the talents; it creates more of a talent pool, which creates another incentive for companies to move here and just creates this cycle,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun says his company will bring in dozens of jobs to Las Vegas and will offer salaries anywhere from $70,000 to $120,000. He says when people make more, they contribute more to our local economy. A low level of education is a fear for some, but Calhoun says the degree is the last thing he looks at on a resume.
“I think there is a huge opportunity here in Vegas to provide the coworking spaces and trade schools, more so than emphasizing the traditional education,” Calhoun said.
