RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Nevada’s startup scene is heating up as seven Silver State companies prepare to pitch their businesses in hopes of securing a major investment at this year’s AngelNV finale. The event, hosted by StartUpNV, is set to take place in Las Vegas Saturday, March 29, offering entrepreneurs the opportunity to win at least $200,000—with total investments reaching up to $1 million.
But beyond the funding, AngelNV is about diversifying Nevada’s economy, says Jeff Saling, Executive Director of StartUpNV.
“When we do have a slowdown and people stop traveling, Nevada won’t feel like we’ve been punched in the solar plexus because we have another part of the economy that keeps on trucking,” Saling explains.
AngelNV is a program under StartUpNV, a nonprofit dedicated to economic development in Nevada. The competition follows a Shark Tank-style format, where accredited investors contribute $5,000 each to form a fund, which is then awarded to Nevada-based startups.
Saling says investors look for key indicators of success when choosing which company to back.
“We want to know how big the market is, how big the pain in that market is, and how they know that pain exists. Then, of course, we want to know their business model and how they plan to sell their product.”
While tech and AI startups are common in these competitions, Saling is particularly interested in one company this year: Cranel, a health and wellness brand tackling a major but often overlooked medical issue—urinary tract infections (UTIs).
Cranel was founded by Christine Jurzenski and Erica Schultz, who both have firsthand experience with chronic UTIs. They saw a gap in the market, noting that over 90% of UTI-related products were developed or run by men—despite the fact that women are disproportionately affected by UTIs.
“It’s coming from us—we started this because we needed it,” Jurzenski says.
Unlike traditional UTI products, which often contain sugary drinks and red dye #40, Cranel’s formula prioritizes clean ingredients and holistic benefits. In addition to treating UTIs, their product supports muscle relaxation and gut health, helping to break the cycle of repeated antibiotic use.
The company has grown from zero to $3 million in revenue in just three years, but they’re now facing a challenge: keeping up with demand. This is something they hope the prize money can fix.
“We’re selling out faster than we can make it, so a lot of the money will go toward inventory,” Schultz explains.
Their ultimate goal? To turn Cranel into a $100 million brand and a household name. And customers are already seeing additional benefits.
“All these other use cases really emerged from our customers. They were writing in saying this is the only thing that helped my gut health or helped my bacterial vaginosis. We also found out the Michigan State soccer team was taking Cranel for muscle recovery after games,” Jurzenski adds.
Now in its fifth year, AngelNV continues to grow, attracting more investors and offering larger funding opportunities than ever before. The competition provides Nevada startups with crucial resources, exposure, and a chance to scale their businesses.
Copyright 2025 KOLO. All rights reserved.
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
click to expand photos
Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
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