Another company that uses blockchain technology is expanding in the Biggest Little City. Bay Area-based Figure Technologies announced on Monday that it will create 240 jobs in Reno-Sparks as it expands operations into the area.

The financial technology company, which just started in January, is ramping up at a fast clip after raising more than $50 million in March. It has 105 employees working in San Francisco, Texas and Montana, including 17 customer operations staff in Reno.

“We’re used to moving very fast,” said June Ou, co-founder and chief operating officer of Figure Technologies. “We anticipate steadily expanding that (Reno) office through 2019 into the next couple of years.”

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The company cited several factors for picking the Reno area for its newest location. Nevada is one of only a few states that allow for online or electronic notarization, which is essential for Figure Technologies’ business. Hiring also should not be an issue in the area, said Alana Ackerson, Figure Technologies’ chief people officer in charge of human resources and business operations.

“We were impressed by the engineering school but beyond that, there’s just a lot of entrepreneurial, energetic and creative talent,” Ackerson said. “We were very excited about the talent pool out there.”

Catalyst incentives

Easy access to local government was another plus mentioned by the company, which received incentives from the state. This summer, Figure Technologies applied for a $600,000 grant from Nevada’s Catalyst Fund, according to records from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. To receive the full amount of the award, the company must create 150 jobs that pay more than $25 per hour — which equates to $4,000 per job. Positions that the company expects to fill include engineering, finance, and sales and marketing staff.

Figure Technologies’ line of products includes wealth management solutions, home equity lines of credit and reverse mortgages. One of the challenges for the new company involves raising awareness among potential customers about products that are already complicated by nature and explaining how its technology distinguishes its offerings from traditional options. The use of electronic notarization, for example, allows Figure Technologies to process and approve applications much faster. The company also uses blockchain technology, which was popularized by cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, as a security platform for transactions.

“In some cases, reverse mortgages might make sense for people but it’s a very difficult product for people to understand and you also have a quite a few bad actors in that industry,” Ou said. “We’re just trying to provide an alternative.”

Blockchain use

The company is also constantly looking to add to its product portfolio. Figure Technologies, for example, is in talks with the Washoe County Recorder’s office about another project that potentially could have national impact, Ou said.

The company’s technology is also a natural fit for blockchain technology, Ou added. Blockchains are essentially an electronic record composed of digital blocks that are chained together and designed to resist tampering. Figure Technologies built its own customized blockchain on top of an established blockchain framework known as Hyperledger Fabric.

The company primarily uses the technology to securitize its loans by pooling them together to create public bonds that can be sold to investors on the market. Ou cautioned against using blockchain technology just for the sake of using it, which she described as “looking for a nail for a hammer.”

“I think people are experimenting and some people are looking for a problem to solve with blockchains… when it’s really not the right solution,” Ou said. “I think the danger with blockchains is that you boil the ocean. You need to have a clear use case for it, rather than trying to build something that doesn’t make much sense and nobody knows why you’re building it.”

Correction: This article was updated to correct the amount of money Figure raised in March.