Tech Founders Are Trading Los Angeles for Las Vegas — Here's Why

Las Vegas has ranked among America's top five relocation destinations for people leaving blue states since the pandemic began — and Redfin's relocation models show the Las Vegas Valley is still the number-one destination for people leaving Los Angeles. Roughly a third of people moving to Nevada from other states have historically come from California, primarily Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Jose.

The fifth annual Vegas Tech Summit, held at the VideoPoker.com hangar at Harry Reid International Airport, put the movers on display. Dozens of entrepreneurs in attendance have already relocated to Las Vegas or are weighing a move. The summit pitches the city as more than a business destination — a lifestyle change for millionaires and billionaires seeking an alternative to their home states.

What's driving the exodus?

California's long-standing Democratic leadership has alienated parts of the business and tech communities, as have Democratic-led states such as Washington and New York. Florida and Texas, by contrast, have ranked among the country's fastest-growing states over the past five years, buoyed by business-friendly policies and relatively low taxes on individuals and companies.

Brian Lee is a case study. The co-founder of The Honest Company with actor Jessica Alba, and the founder of LegalZoom, moved his family last year from Los Angeles to Summerlin, an upscale Las Vegas housing development.

"I'd lived there pretty much my entire life, and L.A. is just not what it used to be," Lee said. "And so my wife and I and our family were looking for some change and we discovered Summerlin, which kind of reminds me of Orange County where I'm from."

Lee recently launched a new tech company with Derek Jeter called the Arena Club, a digital card-collecting platform. He says he knows why he left California and is intent on keeping the Golden State's problems from following him — starting with politics.

What does the move actually look like day to day?

For founders weighing the same jump, the relocated entrepreneurs offered a candid read on surprises and misconceptions.

Lee's biggest surprise wasn't tax structure or housing costs. "The biggest thing that surprised me is how good the food is here," he said. "Even off the Strip, we're finding some amazing little restaurants, and my wife and I are big foodies so we're still discovering new spots and things we love."

For Teddy Liaw, the challenge was social, not financial. The Tech Summit founder and CEO of NexRep moved from San Francisco to Las Vegas in February 2021 and said loneliness was the biggest issue he faced when he arrived.

"When I came to town, I had to make friends, and I literally had three friends to begin with," Liaw said. "And now we've got a community and a support system, emotionally and socially, as well as advice, mentorship and guidance. It's so powerful, and so the community is a lot different than it was five years ago."

Can the community fix Vegas's weak spots?

Liaw said Tech Summit continues to work with local businesses and institutions such as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, to address two of the valley's biggest weaknesses: its low national rankings in healthcare and education. His bet is that an influx of tech founders will improve those measures through increased capital and investment.

"A lot of people still have that misconception that Vegas is that 2-mile Strip and it's just not," Liaw said. "And even the wealthiest people get lonely. And so sure, we have tax abatement, all these benefits, but at the core of it, at the end of the day when you're fighting every day in the trenches to build your business, you still need an outlet, a support group, friends that can help you navigate through things, and now we have that."

Piotr Tomasik, co-founder and president of TensorWave, an AI cloud computing company, and one of the founders of Tech Summit, said Las Vegas has definitely changed over the past five years — but he values the city's political mix.

"If you take a step back and think about Vegas, it's a city that probably shouldn't exist," Tomasik said. "It's very entrepreneurial and that's sort of played out in our politics since the beginning, our state constitution doesn't allow taxation, which keeps everything pretty much in line. And we are a purple state so we swing back and forth, gubernatorial especially, and I think that balance, it's really key."

For founders calculating their own move, the pitch from the summit floor is clear: Nevada's tax advantages get people to visit, but the founder community now being built — mentors, peers, capital — is what the relocated say keeps them there.