CEO of digital marketing agency witnesses growth in local tech sector

Vegas Voices is a weekly question-and-answer series featuring notable Las Vegans.

As the founder and CEO of the digital marketing agency Diamond Group Marketing, Lori Nguyen has been in a prime spot to see Las Vegas' technology community grow.

Nguyen, who has lived in Las Vegas for 19 years, created her company in 2010 after years in the tech industry.

Diamond Group Marketing has national reach and outsources marketing and development that ranges from website design and software development to marketing and advertising.

But Nguyen hasn't just stopped with her company. Over the past few years, she has been trying to help the tech industry grow. Nguyen has organized the tech community through the group HiTech Vegas, which hosts monthly mixers and helps connect different companies and tech entrepreneurs.

For the past two years, HiTech Vegas has partnered with WomenAdvancing to organize the Las Vegas Women in Technology Awards to recognize women in the local tech industry. Entries for the third annual event will be accepted beginning in January, Nguyen says.

She recently talked about her experience in Las Vegas and how the tech industry has grown here.

Review-Journal: What do you like about Las Vegas?

Nguyen: We have a strong focus on communities and community programs. If you take a moment to look around you, you will find hundreds of community programs and nonprofit organizations right here. I'm inspired by the raw number of nonprofits we have in this city; organizations like Opportunity Village and Easter Seals stand out.

Besides that, I love the amount of community programs that are available through the city of Henderson. You have all these groups and classes right at your fingertips.

R-J: In your opinion, what makes our culture different from other cities?

Nguyen: Las Vegas embraces all walks of life, all races and is a progressive city, an international city. When you move here you realize there is a community within the city and that is the local people of Las Vegas. Community — it's all around you.

I think we have a culture that is different than other cities. It's not the culture of New York and San Francisco, but it is growing here. Things like The Smith Center have helped. What I like about this city is it's a true melting pot where you find people from all walks of life.

R-J: How has the tech industry progressed in Las Vegas in the last few years?

Nguyen: We have new tech startups and new tech companies moving to Nevada. (It has also progressed through) many tech programs, organizations, STEM programs, college or educational seminars and classes, events, fairs, political programs, the city and state and corporate technology programs with multiple purposes all over the Las Vegas Valley.

R-J: Is there more opportunity than there has been in the past?

Nguyen: The number of technology jobs is growing in the state, yes. When I first moved here in 1999, just figuring out where and who the technology companies were was tough. Now, corporations are seeking more technology workers. We need people to fill those technology jobs. Employers, education and the workforce need a better way of connecting.

R-J: How is the tech industry evolving to become more diverse?

Nguyen: Sixty-five percent of our tech workforce is female compared to the national average hovering around 50 percent. There is a high percentage of female CEOs in our startups. We need more races entering tech jobs such as Hispanic or African-American people. This is not only a Nevada problem, this is a national STEM job problem, in addition to needing more minorities such as women, to enter tech jobs.

R-J: What steps does it need to take to be more diverse?

Nguyen: We need "on-ramp educational programs" to bring new STEM workers to our companies and organizations, in middle school, high school and college. We need programs supporting and promoting minority people into tech. The number of tech jobs is growing higher than the skilled resources, we need more skilled technology workers here. Companies are bringing people in from other states.

R-J: In general, is it easy getting involved in the tech industry?

Nguyen: When you move to the city, figuring out the local Las Vegas tech scene is not easy. It is a jigsaw puzzle and a small research puzzle just to figure out how to plug in. I have formed a nonprofit to address this issue head-on and aggregate or centralize the Las Vegas tech community, it's called the Las Vegas Community Tech Fund.

In our city there are several companies, universities, city/county programs, organizations, and political projects all promoting tech. What if you could find all of them in one centralized magazine called "The Tech Scene" and website or app? What if when you moved to Las Vegas or Henderson you knew how to connect with and plug into a local Las Vegas technology community. This is what our mission is. To establish one centralized technology community and launch new programs such as our third annual Las Vegas Women in Technology awards.

— Contact reporter Michael Lyle at mlyle@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5201. Follow @mjlyle on Twitter.