9 Min Read
We Arrived in Las Vegas Knowing Nobody
That is not an exaggeration. When Reece and I packed up our lives in Los Angeles and relocated to Las Vegas to launch Aussie Got It, we had a vision, a business plan, and a whole lot of belief in what we were building. What we did not have was a network. No warm introductions. No referral base. No industry contacts in this city. Just two people committed to creating a cleaning and handy services company rooted in eco-conscious values, plant-based products, and genuine community care.
Starting over in a new city as a business owner is humbling. Your reputation does not travel with you. You have to build it again, one conversation at a time. And in Las Vegas, where so many businesses come and go with the speed of a resort renovation, building something lasting requires more than hustle. It requires relationships. Real ones. What I have come to call “real-ationships.”
The difference between a contact and a real-ationship is simple: one hands you a card, the other picks up the phone.
The Invitation That Started Everything
About a year into building Aussie Got It, I met Riandra Doda. She was one of those people who sees potential in you before you fully see it in yourself. She told me I needed to get into a networking group and pointed me toward MNO – Monday Night Online referrals. MNO is a national networking organization built around genuine business relationships and consistent referrals between professionals who actually show up for each other. Riandra did not just mention it. She encouraged me to go all in.
“THE RIGHT ROOM CAN CHANGE EVERYTHING – BUT FIRST, SOMEONE HAS TO INVITE YOU IN.”
I showed up. And everything began to shift.
MNO meets weekly via Zoom, and the Las Vegas chapter has become one of the most dynamic rooms I have ever been in, virtually or otherwise. Business owners, real estate agents, healthcare professionals, creatives, and service providers — all choosing to invest in each other’s growth instead of competing. It is the kind of community I had been looking for since we landed in this city.
If you are a Las Vegas small business owner looking for a referral-based network that actually moves the needle, come check out MNO at MNOreferrals.com or join our Vegas MNO Facebook Group.
The Creative Director Moment I Did Not See Coming
Not long after joining MNO, Melissa Skipworth, a residential and commercial real estate agent and one of the most well-connected professionals in the Las Vegas chapter, recommended me for the Creative Director role for the Vegas MNO chapter. That one act of trust from someone who had just met me opened a door I did not even know I was standing in front of.
I accepted. And I have not looked back.
As Creative Director, I am now helping to host a monthly in-person meetup on behalf of Vegas MNO every last Friday of the month at Matiki Island BBQ, located at 5697 S Jones Blvd Ste 160, Las Vegas, NV 89118.
The concept is simple: show up, eat good food, and meet the people who could change the trajectory of your business. No forced pitches. No awkward speed rounds. Just professionals who are serious about growth, sitting down together.
We call it Meet and Eat. And the table is always open.
Meeting at Matiki Island BBQ to map out our monthly "Meet and Eat" networking event. Left to right: J Alexander, Reece, Kat Laureano, Riandra Doda, and Riandra's colleague Matt.
The Kismet Partnership That Proved Timing Is Everything
While I was settling into MNO, Katheryne “Kat” Laureano joined one of our sessions as a visitor. She was listening in as I shared some excitement about a major milestone: Aussie Got It had just been fast-tracked to join City Wide Facilities Solutions out of Los Angeles, where commercial cleaning contracts were on the table and the opportunity to scale was very real.
Kat heard something in that moment that I had not even fully articulated myself. The next day, she called me. She was the General Manager of Pinnacle Staffing Group Las Vegas, and she explained that what had caught her attention was not just the contract opportunity but the fact that we already had systems in place to grow. She wanted to partner with us.
“SOME PARTNERSHIPS ARE PLANNED. OTHERS ARE PROOF THAT THE RIGHT PEOPLE FIND YOU EXACTLY WHEN THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO.”
Her timing could not have been more perfectly placed. Pinnacle Staffing has since become one of our most valued operational partners, helping us build the team infrastructure that a scaling cleaning and handy services company actually needs. What started as a visitor showing up to an MNO call became one of the most impactful real-ationships in our business. That is what happens when you show up consistently and lead with your story.
When The Right Person Steps Into The Right Role
Shortly after I stepped into the Creative Director role for our Vegas MNO chapter, something else fell into place that felt equally intentional. Kat accepted the role of Stage Manager for the chapter — and if you are new to MNO, that role is the engine behind everything a healthy chapter needs to grow.
MNO is a peer-to-peer referral networking group with patent-pending AI, and the Stage Manager is the person responsible for integrating new members, driving engagement, overseeing chapter performance, and making sure the standards that make MNO work are consistently upheld. It is a demanding role that requires diligence, accountability, a genuine commitment to the people in the room, and someone who leads by example rather than by title.
“REAL-ATIONSHIPS ARE NOT JUST ABOUT WHAT SOMEONE CAN DO FOR YOU… BUT ABOUT WHO YOU GROW ALONGSIDE.”
Kat is exactly that person. Watching her step into that role — with the same intentionality she brought to building Pinnacle Staffing — was a reminder that the best networks are not just well-connected. They are well-led.
For our Vegas MNO chapter, having the right Creative Director and Stage Manager working in sync has made all the difference. And for Reece and me, it is one more example of what happens when you stop looking for contacts and start cultivating real-ationships.
Our first official business dinner at Chef Kenny's Dim Sum in November 2025. Left to right: J Alexander, Reece, Kat Laureano, and Chef Kenny. Where Las Vegas business friendships get sealed over great plant-based food.
The Dinner That Felt Like the Beginning
In November 2025, Reece and I sat down for what I will always consider our first real Las Vegas business dinner. We were at Chef Kenny’s — a plant-based dim sum experience that felt perfectly aligned with our values as an eco-focused company. Across the table was Kat. The conversation that night was not about contracts or service agreements. It was about vision. About what each of us was building and why it mattered to us personally.
That dinner reminded me of something I want every Las Vegas small business owner to hear: the most powerful business relationships do not start with a pitch. They start with a meal, a story, and the willingness to be real with the people across from you.
Chef Kenny’s is one of my favorite spots in this city, and not just because the food is exceptional. It is because it is the kind of local business that shares our commitment to conscious living. If you have not been, go.
chefkennyslv.com.
Building Real-ationships as a Certified Minority-Owned Business
Aussie Got It is proudly NGLCC certified through the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and that certification is not just a badge. It is a reminder of why we do this work the way we do it. We have always believed that business is most powerful when it reflects the full diversity of the communities it serves. The Las Vegas network we have built is proof of that – professionals from different backgrounds, industries, and walks of life, choosing to invest in each other because they believe that when one of us grows, all of us grow.
That is the spirit behind the monthly meetup at Matiki. That is the spirit behind MNO. And that is the spirit behind every service we provide, using Koala Eco plant-based products that are as good for the people in the space as they are for the environment around it.
Las Vegas is not just our market. It is our community. And every real-ationship we build here is another thread in something we are proud to be a part of.
“COMMUNITY IS NOT A STRATEGY. IT IS THE FOUNDATION EVERYTHING ELSE IS BUILT ON.”
Come Find Your People
Whether you are new to Las Vegas, rebuilding after a setback, or just tired of going it alone, here is your invitation. Come to the Meet and Eat at Matiki, last Friday of every month. Check out MNO and find your chapter. Sit across from someone who wants to see you win.
And when your home or office is ready for a clean that actually reflects your values, you know where we are.
