High-tech manufacturer growing fast since 2018 launch in Reno

RENO, Nev. — Before the coronavirus pandemic pumped the brakes on the U.S. economy, Northern Nevada was on a roll.

Thanks to greater Reno-Sparks’ business-friendly climate, deepening talent pool, and access to a high quality of life, companies from across the country have been flocking to the region like clockwork over the past several years.

Though the growth stalled for a few months because of the COVID crisis, the economic engine is revving back up in Reno-Sparks as the state continues to gradually reopen.

With that in mind, the NNBW is periodically checking in with CEOs of some of the companies that launched here, or migrated to the region, over the years to find out exactly why they chose Northern Nevada, and what opportunities and challenges they have faced since launching in Reno-Sparks.

Q: Why did you decide to launch SendCutSend in Northern Nevada?

Jim Belosic: For this particular business, access to logistics is really critical for us. And Reno is a pretty amazing location, being able to serve seven states within one day of transit — especially, California, which is our largest market by far. We get all the benefits of selling to California without actually having to be there. The other reason is the quality of life is really good here. There’s no traffic. Housing is reasonable, especially compared to the Bay Area. And there’s hunting and fishing and skiing … you can let your kids go outside and play.

Q: What is it about Nevada’s favorable tax climate that makes doing good business in the Silver State possible?

Belosic: I think there’s a ton of incentives here. Along with great resources, such as EDAWN and NSDC, those guys have helped us navigate all kinds of awesome growth incentives. Gov. Sandoval was able to give us some tax incentives in order to hire people as well as invest in real estate and capital equipment. That was huge for us. And just the fact that there’s no state tax and everything, it just doesn’t make sense to go anywhere else.

Q: What’s the biggest thing that’s changed about your company since launching here?

Belosic: Our growth rate was really unexpected. Where we’re at now, we thought we’d be in four years. The growth has happened really quick, and I think part of that is due to the location. We are super competitive to people that are doing something similar, but they are operating out of California or Seattle or wherever. We can come in and be crazy competitive compared to those guys just because our overhead is so much lower.

Q: What kind of job growth has your company experienced since launching here?

Belosic: We started with three people. Now, we’re almost to 20. And we’ll probably double that in a year. Right now the job market is pretty tight. Even when we start people better than Panasonic or Telsa or Amazon, it’s really hard to hire right now. I’m hoping that kind of fixes itself here in the fall.

Q: What levels of financial success has your company enjoyed since first starting here?

Belosic: We hit our one-year financial goals within three months. And we hit our two-year goals in about six months. Now, it’s just a race to expand fast enough and keep reinvesting in not only real estate and equipment, but also back into the community. We’re trying to make sure that we’re working with trade schools and the university. We’re trying to see, hey, if we’re going to grow this fast, can we hire the right people? Can we be a bigger part of the community?

Q: What opportunities for growth are on the horizon for your company here in Northern Nevada?

Belosic: Luckily there’s still land and large buildings available at reasonable rates. Even if you can’t be near the airport or downtown, the outer areas are still great. If you’re going to be a massive manufacturer, there are tons of places still. Along with that, as more large companies come in, the logistics get better and better; we have more options for trucking and shipping … we have more FedEx flights. The rising tide floats all ships.

Q: What challenges, if any, does your company address when it comes to recruiting a strong local workforce that’s paid well and can comfortably live here?

Belosic: The workforce is there, but getting the word out has been a challenge. We’ve been using social media in that mix and also working with local agencies to help hire people. You can’t just put an ad on Craigslist anymore. You’ve got to be everywhere that they are. There are some really good companies in this town who are offering great rates. But if you’re working all day and you don’t know about it, you’ll never switch jobs. So, that’s been a challenge. Post-COVID, we’re hoping things improve a little bit. But right now with COVID and the stimulus and stuff like that, it’s a little challenging to get someone to come into an unknown environment and join a new bubble. I think everyone is in that same position. Beyond that, there are not too many challenges. The local trade schools and tech schools are giving us really good candidates. And all the candidates are out there in this community; it’s just letting them know you exist.

Q: If you could change anything about your decision to plant your flag in Northern Nevada, what would it be?

Belosic: The central location has been really good — I would not change that — but I wish I would’ve started out with more square footage. I wish I would’ve started out with 500,000 square feet instead of 5,000. Especially in this area, you can think a little bigger and grow into it, because the penalty on the cost of rent or real estate is not as bad as it is in other cities. So, if you think you’ve got something good, start a little bigger and grow into it.