One Year In: From “Just an Idea” to Something Real

By: Brian Richards Rodriguez

It’s wild to even say this, but coming up in May marks one year since this whole Strip Skates idea started.

One year ago, this wasn’t a business. It wasn’t a product. It was just a thought… something different, something I felt, but didn’t fully know what to do with yet.

Then I went to a small business fair.

And that moment mattered more than I realized at the time.

I met people who were open, encouraging, and genuinely interested. People who didn’t brush it off, they leaned in. They asked questions. They gave feedback. They made me feel like this idea might actually be something worth exploring.

That was the spark.

From there, I heard about StartUpNV and the possibility of a $25K grant.

And honestly… I didn’t believe it.

Not at the beginning. Not even halfway through the program, if I’m being real.

I just didn’t see myself as “that person.” The one who gets a grant. The one who gets picked. The one who turns an idea into something funded and real.

But I kept showing up anyway. It was fun!

Kept doing the work. Kept asking questions. Kept building, even when I wasn’t sure where it would lead.

And then it happened.

June 2025, I received the first installment of what would become $25,000 in funding.

That moment changed everything.

Not just because of the money, but because of what it meant.

It meant someone believed in this. It meant this wasn’t just in my head anymore. It meant it was time to really go.

From there, it became about execution.

Hitting KPIs. Making progress. Figuring things out as I went. Learning fast. Adjusting faster.

And I wasn’t doing it alone.

Huge credit to Maggie and everyone at StartUpNV for building an environment that actually supports founders, not just in the wins, but in the messy middle too.

And to Grant (my advisor), who has been there through both sides of it. Always ready to celebrate a win, but just as ready to listen and help work through the moments when things don’t go as planned.

That kind of support matters more than people think.

Because this process isn’t a straight line.

It’s a lot of figuring it out in real time.

And now here we are.

Almost one year later.

There’s a real product. There’s a real plan. There’s real traction. There’s real momentum.

And maybe most importantly…

There’s belief.

Not just from others, but from me too.

Because somewhere along the way, that mindset shifted from “I don’t think I’m the type of person who gets opportunities like this” to “why not me?”

And that changes how you move.

So yeah… one year in.

From a small business fair… To a grant I didn’t think I’d get… To building something that’s now out in the world…

This is just the beginning.

Can’t wait to see what year two looks like.

Look both ways.