Firebrand is looking to invest specifically in founders who think about big problems and scalable solutions, work collaboratively, produce results fast, contribute to the economic diversification of Downtown Las Vegas, and are new to the challenge of building a company. The program will be administered by a group of seven Downtown Project team members who are also Venture for America Fellows. The group of smart, motivated recent college graduates have themselves made a major impact on the Downtown community over the past year. They have now joined together to focus on finding and supporting the acceleration of fledgling entrepreneurs.

“Their seed investments are made on behalf of VegasTechFund where we never before had the capacity to focus on this type of investment. So we’re very excited to see what kinds of awesome ideas their focus can bring into the growing VegasTech community,” says Zach Ware, a VegasTechFund partner. Laura Berk, of Downtown Project and FirebrandGroup explains that the first round of investments will go to six to ten companies or individuals. “It’s proof of concept capital, so they can hack on idea for three months that they might not otherwise have the time or resources to work on,” Berk says.

The first installment of the residential program, entitled “Progression Labs,” will take place from June through September. In addition to a mentorship network, those taking part in the accelerator will enjoy a host of learning opportunities that only the world’s largest urban experiment can provide. Experiences like:
- The monthly Tech Cocktail Week which brings together thought-leaders from around the country to share their experiences, coach startups, and host startup showcases.
- The Downtown Speaker Series brings people like Kevin Rose, John Mackey, and other innovators to the Downtown neighborhood to help attendees think differently.
- Work In Progress provides workspaces and tools for startups such as a growing mentor network, practice pitch events, workshops, and professional resources.

Interested individuals or startups should check out thefirebrand.co for more details and to apply. The preferred application deadline is set for May 22nd. Those interested in learning more should contact info@thefirebrand.co.

A riff on Tom Wolfe’s infamous The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, the (mostly) vintage shop’s name is as bold and brightly colored as its inventory. But don’t let the psychedelic reference fool you: millennials to the core, Courtney and Kinsey are anything but stuck in the ’60s. “[It’s] intended to evoke feelings of going on amazing journeys and having crazy experiences,” explains older sister Courtney. “We’re not afraid of color, print, or pieces that others are afraid to wear.”

Ohio born and Brooklyn-funkified, the pair may share a passion for vintage style, but their disdain for “copycat chic” means you’ll rarely catch them sporting items from the same era—at least, not at the same time. Asked what they’ll be sporting this summer, Courtney admits to stockpiling 1920s/’30s-era lingerie and loungewear (as daywear, naturally), bright kimonos, and tap shorts under mini-dresses and tunics. Younger sister Kinsey, meanwhile, has her eye on slightly more contemporary pieces, including fun printed dresses, short overalls, acid wash, and “anything with sunflowers.”

“We hunt out styles that have a very modern feel to them,” says Courtney. “Styles that are on trend now, [that] you will cherish for years.” And when the Peters liken their quest for worthy vintage to the hunt, they mean it. Rather than purchasing from walk-ins, the duo prefers to acquire their fashions the hard way. “We travel a great deal; drive hundreds, sometimes thousands of miles to acquire [pieces]. We go through private wholesalers, dealers, and collectors. That way, you know you are getting something incredible.”

Of course, the sisters also stock their store with independent, emerging labels from all across the globe, including multiple fashion and jewelry lines you can’t (and won’t) find anywhere else in town. Such a concept—carefully-curated, quality vintage mixed with cutting edge, contemporary styles—may be familiar to those from more fashion-forward urban area like New York, San Francisco, and LA, but here in Las Vegas, it’s downright revolutionary. Not that this scares the Peters one bit. “We like to distinguish ourselves,” Courtney explains. “Fashion is an art and a form of expression. Let’s become a city where style watchers come to find inspiration.”

Electric Lemonade Shop
220 E. Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89104
Monday through Saturday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Sunday: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
electriclemonadeshop.com
(702) 776.7766

“We all just love this building so much,” says Niznik of the location where the trio chose to situate their art supply store. Watler is the proprietor of Little Art Bodega, also located upstairs at Emergency Arts; Douglas owns Get Up Gallery on the first floor. Niznik is herself a fixture, having worked with numerous other tenants and serving as a barista at The Beat.

Tucked away in a former office space, Art Street Deli offers a mix of products that aren’t offered Downtown. And some of their products aren’t available anywhere else in town. “We’re surrounded by so many artists, but there aren’t a lot of options for art supply stores [Downtown],” explains Douglas. Just around the corner from the shop, the deli also provides a small studio space where creators can hang out, paint, listen to music, get inspired.

In keeping with the shop’s theme, supplies are displayed in a lighted deli case, a stand up drink cooler, and on metal restaurant shelving. In addition to canvases, palettes, sketchbooks, easels, and paintbrushes, Art Street Deli sells supplies to feed the souls of artists of many genres. Rattle Cans, Montana Black and Gold series paints, which Niznik says are big sellers. Also available are System 3 Acrylics, which can be used for painting or screen printing, and Krink paint markers, which are not easily found elsewhere in Las Vegas.

In addition to more traditional supplies, Art Street Deli also sells a wide selection of DIY vinyl dolls, including Munny and Foomi from Kidrobot, that can be the basis of an artist’s creation. Niznik says the Deli has already held one group show based on the dolls in the building’s common area and has plans for another in the coming months. Unfinished skateboard decks are also for sale, inspired by the highly successful annual LVSK8 art shows. The Deli’s collection of supplies for sale is complemented by their ability to make custom orders for artists.

Art Street Deli isn’t only focused on artists’ supply needs. The businesses hours may seem unusual for a more traditional business, but they were created with student artists’ schedules in mind. Open Monday to Friday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. makes sense for the Deli. “I remember when I was going to art school. All of the art supply stores closed at 7 or 8 o’clock. Sometimes I wouldn’t get out of class until after they were all closed,” explains Niznik. The trio is also looking to expand their hours in the coming months.

The store is Watler’s brainchild which she has brought to life with the help of her friends Douglas and Niznik. “Being an artist myself, I know—without supplies we can’t create,” Watler says. “I’ve had this dream for years. I’ve always wanted to open a store that was more than that. It’s a hub for artists.” She and her partners have worked hard to create that environment through their product offerings, their hours, and their spirit. Says Watler, “We’re here to feed the hunger for art supplies.”

Find Art Street Deli on Facebook at facebook.com/ArtStreetDeli.

Art Street Deli
520 Fremont Street
2nd floor of Emergency Arts
702.982.3601
Monday to Friday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Pop-Up Shop featuring Bow & Drape and Ministry of Supply
Thursday, May 16th
6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Stitch Factory
300 N. Las Vegas Blvd., Suite #120
RSVP: ticketcake.com

Stitch Factory: Behind the Seams Speaker Series
Friday, May 17th
5:00 p.m. Meet the Speakers
5:30 p.m. Talks
Downtown Project Construction Zone
102 South 7th Street
RSVP: ticketcake.com

Sonny Shar, Pentland (Keynote)
Avery Bloom, Make It Good
Bradley Schmidt, CADET
Jake Bronstein, Flint and Tinder
Joey Galon, Runway4Life
Mor Aframian, Redress Raleigh

Wednesday, May 8th
Keynote Speaker: Naveen Jain
Meet the Speaker Mixer 5:00 p.m.
Talk 6:00 p.m.
Downtown Project Construction Zone
102 South 7th Street
RSVP: tcweeknaveenjain.eventbrite.com

Naveen is founder of Moon Express and inome. Previously, he took his company, InfoSpace, public in 1998 on the NASDAQ and served as CEO until he left to found inome. Prior to launching InfoSpace, Naveen was a senior executive at Microsoft Corporation.

Naveen is currently co-chairman of“Education and Global Development at the X Prize Foundation, where he is focused on finding entrepreneurial solutions to address the global challenges in education, poverty, agriculture, health, and clean water. He is a trustee of the board of Singularity University, a director on the boards of Coastal Aviation Software and Flow Mobile, and a member of Pacific Council on International Policy.

Throughout his career, Naveen has received countless personal honors, including being named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, among the Top 20 Entrepreneurs (Red Herring), Six People Who Will Change the Internet” (Information Week), People’s Choice “Light of India” for Business Leadership, and receiving the Albert Einstein Technology Medal for pioneers in technology. Professionally, his businesses have been named “Best New Company” (the American Business Awards), “One of Washington’s Top Three Best Workplaces” (Puget Sound Business Journal), “Rising Star” (Deloitte &Touche’s Technology Fast 500 Program), and “America’s Top 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies” (Inc. Magazine).

Listed amongst the top 15 corporate philanthropists in the tech community, Naveen is currently focused on finding ways to use science to solve some of the problems that, on the surface, look like infrastructural problems. He is in the process of creating an incentive prize challenge to develop “Digital Doctor” (an AI-based expert system) to improve access to primary care physicians around the world. He is also exploring ways to develop a neurometric system to create better learners and to develop effective, additive neuroscience-based multi-sensory video games to teach students skills like math, science, and history.

He continues to believe that we should be able to create bio-factories to reduce shortage of food, and use synthetic biology to create microbes that can help with clean water and to generate energy from plentiful resources like ocean water.

Thursday, May 9th
Tech Cocktail’s Downtown Vegas Startup Showcase & Mixer
6:00 p.m.
Insert Coin(s)
512 Fremont St.
Tickets: techcocktailvegasmay2013.eventbrite.com

Come check out a handful of local tech startups, vote for your favorite, have a cocktail and enjoy the evening amongst fellow tech enthusiasts.

Friday, May 10th
Tech Cocktail Sessions Speaker Series
2:45 p.m.
Downtown Construction Zone
102 South 7th Street
RSVP: tcsessionsvegasmay2013.eventbrite.com

This is our monthly speaker series where some of our guests give short talks about projects or topics they are passionate about. Always inspirational and informative. Speakers include:
Ali Partovi–angel investor, startup advisor, and serial entrepreneur
Paul Singh–founder of Dashboard.io and a Partner at 500 Startups
Vanessa Hurst–founder of CodeMontage, Developers for Good, and Girl Develop It
Rich Winley–founder of No Chains
Ariel Poler–entrepreneur, mentor, and investor

Why would people spend their free time taking classes? Because learning is fun (or at least it should be). Many people go through life without having learning as a part of their adulthood. Taking classes on top of other daily obligations and activities can feel like another chore, and who can justify doing that? But thinking back to days you were excited to learn something, when were you most excited? That feeling is what Downtown Classroom series hopes to recreate.

The idea for Downtown Classroom Series came about after engaging with Skillshare, an online colearning platform based in New York in which Downtown Project has since invested. It describes itself as “…a community marketplace for classes. Learn anything from anyone.” Building off of that idea, Downtown Classroom Series’ tagline could be summed up as “Classes for the community by the community.” The idea is to connect people with similar interests in the same space to learn together and from each other. With the amount of knowledge already present in Las Vegas and the amount of interest that the city is getting driving more and more visitors our way, there is a wealth of communal knowledge that is ready to be tapped.

So far, classes have been taught by residents of Downtown, residents of the greater Las Vegas Valley, nonprofits, and visitors from out of town. Attendees and teachers are both locals and visitors. Classes are offered weekly on Monday evenings at 6:00 pm in the Downtown Project Construction Zone which is located at 102 South 7th Street. Occasionally, classes are held on other weekdays, too. The format has varied, from presentations, to round table discussions, to workshops. Attendance has ranged from an intimate setting of three to a learning party of sixty. Topics, along the ones mentioned above, included: Do It Yourself Bow-making, Characterization: Making it Real, Forget Weight Loss; Think Health!, and numerous others.

The Classroom Series has started fairly small, but it has the potential to have a really powerful long term impact. Imagine a scenario where you have enough people (and enough interest/space) to have classes being held every evening. Topics could range from just for fun (knitting, improve comedy, cooking), to soft skills (networking, interviewing, relationship building), to technical skills (introduction to Microsoft office, programming, wordpress). The value that could add to the community is immense. That day is still far away, but closer than you may think.

To find out more about Downtown Classroom Series or stay informed about classes being offered, please visit downtownclassroomseries.com or on Facebook. To teach classes, please contact classroomseries@downtownproject.com. All classes held at Downtown Project Construction Zone located at 102 South 7th Street.

May 13th
6:00 p.m.
Downtown Speaker Series Event (TBA)

May 20th
6:00 p.m.
Everything is Improv with Jude Stanion

Coming in June:

Anxiety Free Networking with Gina Bongiovi
Learn to Lindy Hop (two classes)

Jared Montz, a Las Vegas based founder of Online Soccer Academy (and former soccer pro), recently completed a 45 day, 15 city tour called Soccer Walking America.  Montz’ goal with the tour was to encourage soccer players to become a part of the fundraising efforts. “Part of being a great pro is giving back to your community. Soccer Walking America is our way of leading by example to youth players around the world that even though they are not pros, they can join us and use their talents to save lives,” he says.

While the event has passed, donations are still being accepted. Visit onlinesocceracademy.com.

Raised in the business (her mother is a designer and her father, a manufacturer), it’s only natural that the LA-born and bred entrepreneur would follow her parents’ well-heeled footsteps into the world of fashion. Less predictable, however, was Daniella’s decision to make her mark in Downtown Las Vegas, rather than one of the country’s better-established industry hubs, such as New York or Los Angeles.

A graduate of both California’s Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, she certainly had the experience and network to set up shop in either city. . . but the lure of Downtown proved irresistible. “It didn’t make sense for me to start a brand in NYC or LA,” Daniella explains. “The market there is flooded with styles and there are so many different identities. Las Vegas, especially the fresh and young feel of Downtown, provided an ideal opportunity for me to jump in and give locals something that they could connect with… I just knew that this was the place I wanted to move and start my brand.”

Asked to define the American Vagabond brand, Daniella is quick to share its inspiration, inspired by her own travels. “I was visiting Europe with bags in hand, changing at airports, and trying to pack light but still look fashionable… I felt like such a vagabond, the way us Americans are always ‘on the go.’ It just made sense that my lifestyle and my fashion style were becoming synonymous.”

This aesthetic—simple but elegant pieces that easily transform from casual to club-ready with the addition (or subtraction) of strategic elements—is the stock and trade of American Vagabond. Just don’t expect to find much in the way of stereotypical “Strip wear.” “The way people dress when they visit the Vegas Strip differs from the way we dress as locals. When [women] come to town, they pack high heels and glittery sequin dresses. Or they pack sneakers and fanny packs,” she explains. “For us locals, we are a little bit of both. We can wear combat boots with a dress and get away with it. Or how about a cute fanny pack with heels, shorts, and a sweater? That’s the look of the lady vagabond: a little bit sexy, a little bit rugged.”

Of course, there’s more to American Vagabond than meets the eye—or at least, more than can fit in its current space. Open since late 2012, the pint-sized store is just one element of Capitano’s broader plan, which also includes a robust online shop, fashion blog, stylist and personal shopping services, live events, and soon, a larger store and her own clothing line. Despite such audacious plans, Daniella isn’t waiting to give back to the community that has embraced her. On Thursday, May 2, she’ll be hosting a “Shop and Swap” at the Amanda Harris Gallery. The event, which is open to the public, will be a mix of good ol’ fashioned swap meet (local women are invited to bring their gently-used clothes to donate and swap with others) and pop-up shop, as they can also purchase items from the new American Vagabond collection. Daniella herself will be on hand to provide style counsel to any attendees in need of assistance, and all left over swap items will be donated to Safe Nest. “I’ve always wanted to be able to give back to women,” she explains, “and this seems like a fitting way to spread the word about my brand while also giving back to the community.”

American Vagabond
520 Fremont Street, 2nd floor
americanvagabond.com
(818)738.3995

Open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. or by appointment.

American Vagabond Shop & Swap for Charity
Thursday, May 2nd
5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Amanda Harris Gallery
900 Las Vegas Blvd. S., Suite #150
RSVP: americanvagabond.com/events

Think a week-long science and technology festival doesn’t quite jibe with the city synonymous with “sin”? Think again. “Science and technology play such an important role in our everyday lives and has such a strong presence in Southern Nevada,” says Festival Founder & Co-Director, John H. Good. “This Festival provides our community with a unique opportunity to see that science is everywhere–even in unexpected places.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Las Vegas Science and Technology Festival
Sunday, April 28 through Saturday, May 4
Times and locations vary
For more information, please visit www.LasVegasScienceFestival.com

Featured highlights:

Science is Everywhere Day
Sunday, April 28
Times and locations vary
25 unique venues open their doors for special behind-the-scenes tours and programs, including a peek at the inner workings of  the Bellagio Fountains,  the Silverton Aquarium, UMC’s Trauma Center, The Las Vegas Natural History Museum, Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay, Vegas PBS’ studios, and several other venues not normally open to the general public.

Science in the Community
Monday, April 29 thru Friday, May 3
Times and locations vary
A multi-day event, Science in the Community is a series of presentations and programs on intriguing topics ranging from “CSI Forensic Investigations: Fact or Fiction” with leading forensics entomologist, Dr. Lee Goff, and the Las Vegas Natural History Museum’s ” T-Rex Tuesday,” to the city’s first science-and-tech-focused First Friday activities and a special Downtown Las Vegas “Science Crawl.”

The Science and Technology Expo
Saturday, May 4
Cashman Center, 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM
The largest public celebration of science and technology in Southern Nevada, The Science and Technology Expo includes 80+ demonstration booths–everything from prehistoric fossils to live animals (and back again)–plus two separate stages for nonstop, science-themed entertainment for kids of all ages.

Culture Shock, Sabriel, HaleAmanO, Josh Bledson, Anya Peterson, Nevada Ballet Theatre, and Le Reve will all perform.

100 percent of the proceeds will benefit Communities in Schools of Nevada, the local affiliate of the nation’s leading dropout prevention organization and Nevada’s most effective intervention program. The CIS mission is to surround students with a community of support so they can succeed in school and achieve in life. CIS of Nevada supports nearly 25,000 students over 40 school sites in Southern Nevada and Northeastern Nevada, connecting them with critical services such as medical and dental care, mental health counseling services, food, clothing, tutoring, career exploration, academic development, and other programs.

Tickets are on sale now at cisnevada.org. Presale tickets are $40 for adults and $25 for children.

Couture for Causes
Sunday, April 28th
12  p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Arts Factory
107 East Charleston Blvd.
Las Vegas 89104
cisnevada.org