Big-idea gatherings give Reno a vibrant edge

While writing this story, I’m listening to a 2001 compilation of local punk bands called “Reno: Where Dreams Come to Die.”

That sentiment brings to mind something business leaders often mention: the Reno brain drain. Young, creative, inspired people didn’t see a future here and left to the Bay Area, Portland, Seattle and places beyond.

Such a loss of talent can affect a community for decades as those with fresh ideas take their visions with them to more supportive places.

This brain drain is decreasing, and one reason is the rise of intellectual forums in Reno.

Wow, what a horrible phrase: “intellectual forums.” Brainstorming summit? Let’s come back to that.

They’re basically meetings where smart people talk about ideas. If you've seen a TED video , you know the concept. They’re inspiring and fun and give the feeling that things are happening, that Reno is not in fact a dead end.

Perceptions of Reno

As CEO of the Cloudsnap startup company, Colin Loretz is knee deep in such forums.

He said, “We call them intellectual gatherings or communities of practice. The difference between a university and a community of practice is that the practice is really doing what you’re talking about.”

Loretz is part of the Reno Collective, a collaborative workspace where people with jobs that don’t require a fixed location — software development, design, marketing, freelance writing, rocket science — can work in an unstructured but supportive environment.

It’s built around collaboration and community. You join as a member with fees for a workspace based on how often you want to show up for work there. As the group’s site describes the top member benefit, you’ll get to “meet fellow entrepreneurs and play off each other’s creativity and excitement.”

“I only live in Reno because of the Reno Collective. If it goes away, I'll go away,” he said.

Ignite

Loretz has also got a hand in Ignite Reno, which started in 2009. It features casual networking meetings at bars where 10 people give five-minute talks as 20 PowerPoint slides rotate every 15 seconds behind them.

“They feature a wide variety of disciplines that wouldn’t normally be put together, and they offer a fresh perspective on how to tackle problems such as how to change the perception of Reno in a way that hasn’t been done before,” Loretz said.

“We travel around to San Francisco a lot” — Cloudsnap is based in Reno and San Francisco — “and people don’t necessarily have the best perception of Reno.”

The events are free. The main rule is that you can’t pitch — you can’t sell people anything, you’re just sharing something you're excited about.

“Traditionally, a group of us from the Collective reach out and select speakers because these events are new so a lot of people don’t end up applying — even though they should — because they don’t think they have anything to say. So we look at who’s popping up in the media,” he said.

“But with the next Ignite in February, we expect to have more submissions than we’ve ever had. People are starting to notice.”

Past speakers include a city planner who talked about why the streets of Reno look the way they do, such as why Kietzke Lane is curved. Another was a Reno High School teacher who talked about what history can teach us.

“That was one of the best talks we’ve ever had,” Loretz said.

You can watch the five-minute videos of past talks on the Ignite Reno website .

“It’s the best networking event, not stuck up, very genuine,” he said. “People aren’t showing up just to exchange business cards. The attendees are meeting people they never would’ve met before.

“On a larger scale, Ignite is put on all over the world so Ignite Reno is part of a bigger map. Reno is a big outlier so we’re on this international list with San Francisco, Taipei, Paris, Chicago — we’re a very vocal one of those because we’re happy being in Reno and we want people to know.”

Hack4Reno

Hack4Reno is another brainy event Loretz is involved with.

It’s an event where the area’s software developers gather over a weekend to brainstorm things that would benefit Reno’s residents.

“Last year was a big rallying point of getting developers in the community together because, before, they were in niche groups for specific (programming) languages or technology, but this is for people of all experience levels and all technologies to help the community and their neighbors,” Loretz said.

“Things that get built are things they wanted to get built like how to find food trucks, bike trails or parks.”

The city gave developers a bunch of data to see what they could do with it. One project calculated how much it costs the city of Reno every minute to fight a fire or flood. Another created renoartexplorer.com, which guides you on a tour of Reno’s public art based on your smartphone’s GPS coordinates.

Genius, Startup Weekend

Reno Startup Weekend will begin Feb. 22 and go for 54 hours.

Daniel Herr, who is behind the event as well as project manager for the Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization, describes the event:

“It’s an active, hands-on learning experience, starting with people coming in Friday evening,” he said. “Anyone can pitch an idea to everyone else. The ideas are discussed and voted on, and then we divide quasi-organically into groups to turn an idea into a viable business over the weekend.”

Then there’s House of Genius. With it, three or four people share a key problem their business is facing. Then every attendee offers questions, insights and suggestions that may help, in a rapid-fire fashion.

“And no one reveals their identity so you won’t know who’s giving the feedback — whether it’s a professor, a venture capitalist or a garbage man — until all the feedback is given,” said Ryan Heck of the university’s Technology Transfer Office.

TEDx

Most of these events can be traced back to TED, which stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. It’s a set of global conferences formed to spread “ideas worth spreading.”

As of Nov. 13, online videos of TED talks have been viewed one billion times. Speakers have included many of humanity’s greatest minds, both well-known and obscure.

In 2009, TED started granting licenses to allow others to organize independent TED-like events. These are called TEDx events, and two are coming up in Northern Nevada.

One will be Jan. 25 at the University of Nevada, Reno, with the other April 26 at the Nevada Museum of Art.

TED has rules. For one, the events can’t make a profit. For another, they can only be held over a single day. And for a third, unless the organizer has attended an actual TED event — the tickets for which cost about $8,500 — a TEDx event can’t be held in a place with more than 100 seats.

Not surprisingly given the limited size, the TEDx UNR event is already sold out, but organizer Bret Simmons will attend a TED event soon, which means the next one can be at a larger venue.

“Our intention is to bring together a broad section of voices in community,” he said.

“All speakers are local, there’s no one from out of town. A lot are people who are not on the speaker circuit, just regular people with extraordinary stories.”

Among the speakers will be Michael Morkin, who was a doctor in Renown’s emergency room on the day when a plane crashed into the crowd at the Reno Air Races, and Grant Korgan, who was paralyzed after a snowmobiling accident and later skied the 80 miles to Antarctica’s South Pole.

“Another advantage of doing this is to professionally videotape the talks and post them to the TEDx website,” said Simmons, who is an associate professor in UNR’s College of Business. “By doing that, we help brand Reno for all of its breadth and depth of talent and skills and diversity. That’s the big takeaway: we get to showcase just how rich this community is on a global stage.”

He said he’s watched many TED talks 10 or 15 times because they’re so inspiring.

“That is my challenge to every speaker: create the TED talk that goes viral,” Simmons said. “Yes, you’ll be at this event for a day, but the person who goes to YouTube doesn’t know or care but wants to know if you have something to say to them to change their life. There’s the potential your video could be seen by anyone anywhere in the world so speak to them. Think of a global issue with an innovative solution and a local example.

“Even though you’re speaking in Reno, you’re not speaking to Reno. You’re speaking to the world. And we’re using our lives and our stories here in Reno to demonstrate points that hopefully can benefit people everywhere.”

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Some upcoming brainstorming events:

TEDx UNR: The next event will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 25 in the Joe Crowley Student Union Theater on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. Topics will be Health and Hope, Education, Business and Entrepreneurship, and Bold Ideas Worth Spreading. Speakers include Robb Smith, Laura Zander, Pedro Martinez and Leilani Schweitzer. Details: www.tedxuniversityofnevada.org.

House of Genius Reno: The group’s next event will be from 5:32 p.m. until 8:38 p.m. Jan. 29 at 140 Washington St. RSVP by Jan. 22. Details: houseofgenius.org/location/reno or email Chase Whittemore at cwhittemore@naialliance.com.

Ignite Reno: The next event will be Feb. 21, with time and location to be determined. Details: ignitereno.com.

Reno Startup Weekend: The next event will be over 54 hours from Feb. 22 to 24 at Southside School, 190 E. Liberty St. in Reno. Details: reno.startupweekend.org.

TEDx Reno: The next event will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 26 at the Nevada Museum of Art, 160 W. Liberty St. the theme will be looking at Reno in transition and what it could be next. Speakers will include Jason Pyle. Details: tedxreno.com.

Hack4Reno: The last event was earlier this month. Another one where teams build apps that somehow benefit the community is expected to be next year at a time and place to be determined. Details: hack4reno.com.

Caption: Daniel Herr, left, and Bryan McArdle with the Nevada Institute for Renewable Energy Commercialization pose near solar panels at the Desert Research Institute this month. Along with Colin Loretz, they organized Startup Weekend Reno. Herr also participates in Hack4Reno. Marilyn Newton/RGJ