Matthew Starrett and Eduardo Morales, students at the University of ÁùºÏ±¦µä, Reno, are co-founders of Press Partners, a public relations company that runs out of the Innevation Center.
“We both got our start in ecommerce and from there started a public relations agency,” Starrett said. “Ecommerce gave us the experience we needed to do what we are doing now and we are now expanding to broader end-to-end digital marketing.”
Press Partners works with various companies – “some really cool clients,” Starrett said –including a dating app called Dine that allows the user to match with people and go on sit-down dates and review the restaurants they went to.
“We have some really cool clients that are fun to work with,” Starrett said.
The two spend frequent time at the Innevation Center working on projects for clients and collaborating on their next business ideas.
“ÁùºÏ±¦µä a year ago we came to the Innevation Center,” Starrett said. “We had outgrown working out of our houses or Starbucks. This was a natural next step – a co-working space with tables and workspaces where you can meet people and network. It seemed like a really great fit, especially for the price. We didn't want to be shoved away in a corner room and to pay twice as much money.”
When Starrett isn’t working or attending classes, he likes to go to Tahoe and enjoy the mountains. The two entrepreneurs rarely find free time to get away, however, and equate this to their ambition.
“Ed and I are more ambitious than other people,” Starrett said. “A lot of it is self-education. We both read a lot and take online classes on anything and everything we can. We are hungry to learn more skills, especially when it comes to digital marketing.”
To learn more about the University’s Innevation Center, visit their website.
