Edgar Rodriguez Is Using Veteran Leadership to Strengthen Las Vegas

The right conversation at the right time can change everything.

In this episode of Pursue Vegas, we sit down with Edgar Rodriguez, a Marine Corps veteran turned Las Vegas community builder, to talk about what it means to lead, serve, and build something bigger than yourself.

As the Nevada leader of Bunker Labs, Edgar is at the forefront of empowering veterans to launch and grow businesses. But his work goes far beyond entrepreneurship—it’s about connection, collaboration, and building infrastructure that actually serves the people who live here.

"We put a lot of work into building the veteran community to where it's at today. And it still got a lot of work to do," Edgar says. And he’s right—Las Vegas is growing fast, but it’s still missing key pieces: mental health resources, pediatric care, and inclusive spaces that help communities thrive.

Through his experience in Leadership Las Vegas, Edgar gained deeper insight into the systems that shape the city—and where those systems need a serious upgrade. “To me, I think that's the biggest challenge personally: more collaboration.”

We talk about post-COVID resilience, what makes a good leader (hint: it's not just who talks the loudest), and how to build meaningful relationships that extend beyond the transaction.

"Your reputation, especially in this town, is everything."

This conversation is for anyone who wants to create more impact—whether you're a founder, community advocate, or just someone who gives a damn about where Las Vegas is headed.

Key Takeaways:

• Veteran-led businesses are becoming a backbone of local innovation.
• Collaboration > competition: real progress comes from shared vision.
• Las Vegas needs to invest in healthcare, education, and mental health infrastructure.
• Leadership starts with listening, not just leading.
• The most powerful impact comes from showing up consistently and authentically.

Resources:

• Edgar Rodriguez on LinkedIn
• Master the Network

Las Vegas doesn’t just need more business owners—it needs more builders.

Tune in to this powerful episode of Pursue Vegas to hear how Edgar Rodriguez is helping veterans (and all of us) lead with purpose, service, and community at the core.

Thanks for tuning in to The Pursue Vegas Podcast!

Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform!

📍 Website: www.pursue.vegas

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• YouTube: Pursue Vegas Podcast
• Or slide into @daveburlin's DM.

Transcript

0:00:02 - (Dave Burlin): The idea of Pursue Vegas was to really highlight the local people that really make Vegas Vegas.

0:00:08 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that aspect of how these visionaries are actually bringing people together.

0:00:13 - (Dave Burlin): When we hit record, our responsibility is to connect the people of our city so we can show the world who we really are. All right, welcome back to the Pursue Vegas podcast. I'm your host, Dave Burlin.

0:00:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I'm your co host, Tawni Nguyen.

0:00:26 - (Dave Burlin): And you know, I'm already going to say I'm excited about today's guest, but I'm very excited because we have yet another veteran entrepreneur joining us here on the show today. But Edgar and I go back. We don't even go back very far, but it's very. We've done a lot of stuff.

0:00:48 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yes.

0:00:48 - (Dave Burlin): We've accomplished a lot of really great things together. We worked at Bunker Labs together. We help run the cohort here to help veterans start and grow businesses. We've collaborated on different projects, different events, and if there's ever an event that you're at, I would say there's a pretty good chance that Edgar is there, or if he's not there, he knows 89% of the people that are there, and they're either working with him or they're working with him in some capacity. So, Edgar the man, tell us about you and what are you excited about, my friend?

0:01:24 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Well, thank you for having me, both.

0:01:26 - (Tawni Nguyen): Welcome to the show.

0:01:27 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah. Excited for sure. What I'm most excited about, I would say, is just continuing to make that community impact. Right. We. We've started a lot of growth in the veteran space and growing to what our veteran community is today. Right. A few years ago, wasn't like this what it is. I know we just had an Air Force veteran just move here from Washington not too long ago, and one of the things that he said was like, hey, I'm trying to get connected to the veteran community. I'm trying to reset my life.

0:02:00 - (Edgar Rodriguez): And as soon as we plugged him in and got him involved with some of the organizations that you and I have helped build and create and get to where we're at today, immediately he's like, hey, how did. How did you know this is. This is where I needed to be. And I told him, I was like, you know, I don't know what it's like in other states. I don't know what it's the veteran commuters like in your community. Right. Or where you came from.

0:02:22 - (Edgar Rodriguez): But here in Vegas, we put a lot of work into building it to where it's at today. And it still got a lot of work to do. So for me, I would say that's one of the things that I'm most excited about. Right. Is just seeing all the different veteran organizations continue to thrive along with us. You know, like we've, we've grown a lot this year and it's just gonna keep scaling and growing from there.

0:02:43 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. No, you're not wrong. And to me, I'm always curious what it's like in other communities now because I remember it wasn't always like this. We got past some really heavy stuff in the last two years, maybe, maybe in the last year. But it's never, there's never, you can always have so much collaboration. Where it's always challenging in any community, across any industry is when there's not just competition, when there's people that don't work, that deliberately work against each other.

0:03:14 - (Dave Burlin): And that still comes up a lot kind of in the startup scene and things like that. But it's like I remember when there was a point like that, especially in the veteran community, and it doesn't help anybody. Correct. And then there are a lot of like sit downs and just kind of talks and really understanding that no one's here to take away, we're all here to grow. And then it's like as soon as those barriers were removed, everything just runs smoother now and then everyone can keep going and working on what they're working on.

0:03:42 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah, yeah. I would say in that, you know, collaboration is key and I think that's where you and I had sat with a lot of the veteran organizations of like, you can't do everything by yourself. But there are other organizations that are willing to participate and collaborate so that way we can grow it to what we're. We're at today.

0:03:59 - (Dave Burlin): So that's.

0:04:00 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:04:01 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Powerful.

0:04:02 - (Tawni Nguyen): Being in the community for so long, like what have you seen has been the biggest change? I don't. How long have you been here in Vegas in general?

0:04:09 - (Edgar Rodriguez): I got here back in 2006.

0:04:11 - (Tawni Nguyen): 2006.

0:04:12 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So the way I got here was after I left the Marine Corps, I came here to vacation for two weeks.

0:04:18 - (Tawni Nguyen): Been a long vacation, no joke. It's almost been two. Two decades.

0:04:24 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah.

0:04:24 - (Tawni Nguyen): Math. Did I map that right?

0:04:26 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah, yeah. And I was going, so I, I eased. I got out from the Marine Corps back in Jacksonville, North Carolina and I was headed back to California. Stopped here for a two week vacation. Rest is history.

0:04:35 - (Tawni Nguyen): Never left.

0:04:36 - (Edgar Rodriguez): No. It probably one of the smartest and greatest decisions I made, to be honest.

0:04:40 - (Dave Burlin): Like.

0:04:40 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, why?

0:04:40 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So I would say when I got here, Vegas was just under a million population. We're about to hit the 3,3 million mark this coming year. So, like, there's so much opportunity, so much growth, so much collaboration, and the city embraces it, which is really weird. We are one of the few cities that has access to our actual politicians and they're willing to hear us out. Our city works with us to try to make change for the good.

0:05:06 - (Edgar Rodriguez): If it's business oriented and it's going to impact the business community in a good way, the city is willing to work with you. And I've learned that through the Las Vegas Leadership Program. So that was for me, something that I learned this year and graduating from that program. We have access if we need it.

0:05:22 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. And that. So I wanted to bring that up too because I was going to talk about one, there's the veteran stuff that you do, but you also have your business. Tell me about your business. And then I definitely want to go into some of the other stuff that you do in the community as well.

0:05:38 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah. So in my business with Master the Network, we help. You know, I took what I learned from the bunker lab side and being certified in business and executive coaching is just helping the community make a bigger impact. Right. How do you teach business owners to get more of their time back and make more money? Right. And that's, that's the challenge of learning to work on versus in it all the time.

0:06:01 - (Edgar Rodriguez): When you're working in it, you're, you know, you're typically doing everything but the power of delegation. As you grow as a business owner and you start hiring, you have to entrust your team. Right. So as if you build strong foundations, strong SOPs, it allows you to scale and grow as a business owner. So for me, that's been a really, really big accomplishment this year. I think on average this year, now that the final numbers are coming in, the average client on my end is, has grown at least 60% in profit this year, which is huge.

0:06:33 - (Tawni Nguyen): Nice.

0:06:33 - (Edgar Rodriguez): And that's just taking from the spectrum, right? From the lowest to the highest and in between. So for us on that, and it's just, you know, being a business coach and being a business owner myself, it's how do I apply those principles inward and me working with my coach, right. Because I can't, I can't give somebody or sell somebody something that unless I'm also following the same track.

0:06:55 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that philosophy. People are now through social media, are pitching ideas and they're just regurgitating materials and they're just selling things that they learn from other gurus and they're just manufacturing a course or a blueprint or whatever you want to call it these days, and they're selling it. And I'm like, you don't believe it because you don't actually actively use it. Like, there's a lot of business coaches that are now coming out with programs just like that, but they don't own a business. So I love your intake on the fact that you are a business owner, that you've been here for two decades and you've seen, you know, the growth in the industry and the landscape as a whole for business, because it's always changing. Even for myself, I've been here for four years from California, so I'm still learning that it is very business friendly outside of the money side, but the people side is. That's what. That's where I actually planted my roots. Because after the second year, I'm like, oh, maybe this is not the place for me. But I wasn't plugged into the right network because I wasn't doing networking the right way.

0:07:50 - (Tawni Nguyen): I was just going to like, one mastermind in one industry and like, trying to do business with people within that industry. And like, no one knows who you are. People are just selling stuff over and over again. And I think that's the burn and churn and the burnout that a lot of other smaller business owners, when they first move here, they hit those walls because they don't have the right contacts. They don't have an understanding of where it is that they want to take their business. They don't meet people kind of like ourselves that are actually actively involved in the community.

0:08:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): So I want to take that back into, like, what have you seen is the biggest change since you've been here growing your business as well as growing your. That. That's changed over the last, I don't know, call it a 10 to 18 years.

0:08:28 - (Edgar Rodriguez): I would say for me and you know, great question for me, I would, I would say just like, how me and Dave originally met. Like, we, we just ran in similar but different circles. And I remember the day that they were like, hey, have you met this guy named Dave Berlin? And I'm like, not yet. You should get to know Dave. And then Dave's hearing in his circles, hey, have you met this guy named Edgar Rodriguez?

0:08:48 - (Edgar Rodriguez): You should get to know Edgar. So we finally, we sat down, we got to know each other, we grabbed coffee. And the funny part is, like, most people when you go get coffee, they're trying to sell each Other something me and Dave kept pushing like, hey, what do you need? How can I help? And it was like one of those awkward standstills. But at the same time, I was like, no, like, you may need something, but how can I help you? And how can I pay it forward?

0:09:09 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So I think the key takeaway that I got from him and how him once. Once we understood what the mission was, which impacting veterans and helping them develop and grow, that's when him and I became glued at the hip. And I was like, now let's run. Like, how do we make the impact? So with what you're saying is what I've seen in the community is people show up to events to try to pitch or sell something when that's not what networking should be about.

0:09:36 - (Edgar Rodriguez): It's learning and listening, active listening. Right. And figuring out, hey, what are the. Some of the challenges that you're having? I may be able to help, even though I may not be the right puzzle piece right now, but I bet you if I reach deep into the network, I have the right puzzle piece to what you need. But if you come at me with like, hey, I'm trying to sell you something, our walls typically go up really quick. So I think the different approach that him and I took in networking is what helped us continue to develop that track forward in building community.

0:10:06 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Right, versus trying to take from the community.

0:10:10 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, 100%. It's funny because just earlier this week I had somebody that I worked with four years ago, haven't talked to him, maybe talked to him one time since, reached out to me and was like, hey, I need a social media manager. And I was like, I know that he's in the networks where he could find it, but he's not having great success with it. He reached out to me. I. I don't have a social media business. So I was just like, oh, I know there's someone in my circuit or my network that probably could help.

0:10:44 - (Dave Burlin): I said, I gotta talk to you though, first. Because what some people think social media is versus what other people think it is, like, are you talking about ads? Are you talking about posting? Talking about strategy? What are you talking about? Management got on a call with them and I put a very specific thing out just on my network. And in a day I had like 11 people calling me. Obviously, that's a kind of predatory market. Everyone's like, oh, we could do it.

0:11:07 - (Dave Burlin): But I at least had it very clear of what we needed. And now I told them, I was like, give me three days and I'll be able to give you 10 people that you can kind of pick and choose from, but I can kind of vet them myself a little bit to know who's just trying to sell them. And it's like, I can tell some of those people because they're sending me emails and they're just like, here's a scope of seven different packages of what we do. And like, not one of them even just answered the one little screenshot of what I said.

0:11:34 - (Dave Burlin): This is exactly what he needs. And this is the must that we require is proven results running ads at this market. And like, all of them were just.

0:11:44 - (Tawni Nguyen): Like, is that the electrical plumber contractor post? Okay. Yeah. I've never seen that. I don't have the social media aspects.

0:11:52 - (Dave Burlin): Either, but it goes into. That's just one example. But, like, how many times has people come to us like, hey, we're trying to find this, or we're trying to find that, and if we just put one little post out in our network, there's somebody there that we can connect them to. I always think of that first. Anytime I sit down to coffee with anybody or anything, it's like, it's not that I am not going to try to sell this person.

0:12:14 - (Dave Burlin): I literally go into the deep belief that I do not have anything to sell this person. At least right now, even if I do, I cannot. It's a rule that I've made for myself. I cannot sell this person anything. I can connect them to Tawny, I can connect them to Edgar, I can connect them to anyone, but I cannot sell them. And I've just learned that those are the ones that it's normally within the week after leaving coffee with that person, they've already referred one person to me to say, I don't remember anything Dave said. He's funny. But all I remember is the veteran thing.

0:12:52 - (Dave Burlin): All I remember is the veteran thing. And then it's one person that calls and connects me, and it's this big interlocking piece that just helps everybody move forward.

0:13:02 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Correct? Correct. Yeah. I want to echo something you said, too, because it reminded me of strategic networking. Right? Like when you start meeting people at the same time that you're getting to know them. One thing that I did or I. I don't know where it came from, but it was understanding what they're about, right? Like vetting them. Because at the end of the day, what I've learned is your reputation, especially in this town, is everything.

0:13:26 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So if you make the wrong introduction to the wrong person and they burn that bridge, that's a reflection of you.

0:13:32 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yep.

0:13:32 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So I in him and I understood that from each other of like, hey, if I make this introduction to them or to you or for you, make sure you follow through with you deliver with what you say you can or cannot do. Which goes back to that post. Right. It's very specific, very niche, and they have to have a proven track record. So you're vetting people to make sure, hey, if I make this intro, it's an extension of me.

0:13:55 - (Edgar Rodriguez): As you're tapping into your network and.

0:13:58 - (Dave Burlin): I know what kind of car they drive, and I will let all of the air out of their tires.

0:14:01 - (Tawni Nguyen): No, I love this because this is the conversation I'm glad I can hear now. But three years ago, when I started doing business in this town, I didn't have access to these types of conversation. So from a customer experience standpoint, not even a business owner standpoint, just someone that was looking for products and services, marketing, sales, anything. Right. Hearing the sound, something you said really resonated with me is that it's an extension of you. So a lot of these businesses that I've supported, you know how they're like, oh, we'd love for you to be a referral partner, or can we?

0:14:34 - (Tawni Nguyen): You know, in the podcast world, they're like, oh, we see you did an episode. Do you mind if we send them their packages? I'm like, no, because they're like, oh, can you write us a testimony? I'm like, no, because I don't like your service. But it burns that bridge because of. They should have vetted me better as a client because they couldn't meet the needs I needed. They only wanted to sell me the thing. So when I was being a customer in certain industry, in certain services, I think I just bought from the first person that I met. Right, Right. So that was my bad. That was my cost of learning on doing less due diligence or for. For me to hear that you saying, like, vet them really well.

0:15:09 - (Tawni Nguyen): I spent three years, like, making sure that I'm like, okay, like, tani, trust yourself. But now that you have the experience and the track record. So now all my referrals are legit because now when I say I know a guy, like, I actually know a guy. Before, when I asked people if you have a guy, they just sent me, like, some random guy. I'm out thousands of dollars. I'm like, what did they do? And then I can't send that referral out. And it's just bad on karmically, and it's just a goodwill in business.

0:15:35 - (Tawni Nguyen): Not that there's any bad blood, but that name would never come out of my mouth. And I think for them, that's an energetic exchange in terms of it stops with me. So it stops with my network.

0:15:46 - (Dave Burlin): I've gotten really good and very intentional about telling people to write something in the third person as if I'm saying it right. We've done this.

0:15:56 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yes.

0:15:56 - (Dave Burlin): And it's like, write it like this. So I think I understand what you want, but I need you to write it in a way that I'm right. Like, if I were to write it so it would come out saying literally to this, like, to the T. Like, I have a friend in this industry looking for X, Y, Z. And then they must have bullet, bullet, bullet, and like whatever exactly that is that he needs. And he writes it that way. So all I have to do is copy paste.

0:16:29 - (Dave Burlin): Because if I have to think about it or turn it into any context at all, I'm going to mess it up. But. But if it's written like that. Here's the fun thing about our networks now. I don't even know who's in my network.

0:16:42 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Are you?

0:16:43 - (Tawni Nguyen): You're so popular.

0:16:43 - (Dave Burlin): No, no, no. I do, but no, I mean, I.

0:16:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): Got like three friends.

0:16:47 - (Dave Burlin): I don't mean that from an ego standpoint. I just like. And it's all about who's connected to connected. Because then when that goes out and it is very specific like that, I'll have people start getting tagged on that post. And then whoever sent the original thing to me to post it through them, I would then tag them in the comments so they could go do their due diligence about those people. But I can also be like, hey, one person recommended this person.

0:17:14 - (Dave Burlin): Don't go to them.

0:17:15 - (Tawni Nguyen): I have a blacklist for sure. It's like a soft black list. And there's a hard fuck no list. So if I could save someone dollars or relationship or just energy or time, I think time's the most important thing because that's something we can never get back. So if I can save them from having a coffee, I'm like, do whatever you want, but it's not gonna get you the results that you're looking for.

0:17:35 - (Dave Burlin): And I think there's one big piece. Cause this is a great conversation. I really think that this is one of the things. Another one of those misconceptions about people that are either coming to Vegas or visiting Las Vegas, that they don't really understand the power of relationships in this town. I made the Joke. On other episodes before, it's like you said, we're about to hit 3 million. It's like we know all 50, right.

0:17:58 - (Dave Burlin): And we.

0:17:59 - (Tawni Nguyen): They're all coming on our show.

0:18:00 - (Dave Burlin): And the best part, for the people that are either coming to visit or coming from other places or people that are doing business through this city, I think they don't expect that. They don't expect it. But what I've learned is, like yourself and most of the networks and people that we run with, it's all people that have a passion for the community, too. So we met through the veteran community. But when you also went through the Vegas Chamber program, the Leadership Las Vegas, Tell me about that experience.

0:18:32 - (Dave Burlin): What was that like for you? For what you can say? Because they're kind of like. It's kind of like the.

0:18:38 - (Tawni Nguyen): The hush posh.

0:18:39 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. But there's stuff that you can talk about. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

0:18:43 - (Edgar Rodriguez): I would say, honestly, the biggest takeaway that I got from Leadership Vegas is one. I thought I was connected. Right. I thought that between you and I, no joke, there was nobody in Vegas we didn't know because Dave ran and built certain circles, I ran and built certain circles, and we collaborated a lot. But then going through Leadership Las Vegas, they literally peel back the hood of Vegas and you start seeing, hey, how do we really make a difference?

0:19:11 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Right. Like, how do we really make an impact? And then you really see who's who in Vegas and what families. Like you said, there's 3 million, but there's really like a really small group of people that make this city move.

0:19:23 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:19:23 - (Edgar Rodriguez): And to be amongst that organization, I am now part of that.

0:19:28 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, you're part of that heritage. Kind of like the Marine Corps. I mean, it's funny because a lot of other cities have leadership programs through the Chamber. I went through Leadership Tulsa, like, and I got really excited about applying for Leadership Las Vegas because I understand just that. And it's like, it's not about the need to have all those things. It's just when you really understand how deep this community runs, it's an advantage for everybody.

0:19:56 - (Dave Burlin): It's just the education of it. And then all of those people, a lot of those people all have businesses, and it just creates new opportunities for synergy, new opportunities for collaboration. For anybody that isn't familiar with the program, how does it work? How long is it? What is that?

0:20:17 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah. So I'll tell you. I know you applied, and I was one of the ones that rooted and tried to get you in. You're the class that you're supposed to be a part of is the class that'll select you.

0:20:27 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:20:27 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So don't get discouraged, apply again. There's people that apply for six, seven, eight years, don't get in, and then finally they get in. But it's, it's because you're meant to be part of a certain class. Yeah, I was very fortunate. I applied in 23, got in for 24, went through a 10 month program. Every month you learn something different about the community. Whether it's you're learning about education, you're learning about healthcare, government, media and politics, you're learning about the hospitality industry.

0:20:56 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So there's 10. Every, like, every month has a theme, but you get to do what are homeworks in between your mandatory session day. Right. And Indo session days, they bring in the people who are moving the city. So you have direct access to those people to ask them questions. Right. They host a panel, they have Q and A. So you have the ability to ask some questions that you as a, as a city citizen. Right. Or a community member, you, hey, this is something that's concerning to me. Have you guys ever thought about this? And now that you're part of the class, it's like, hey, some of us do have blinders, but we have a different perspective.

0:21:31 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So our perspective might help them shift to say, hey, you know what? You could be the next generation of change because of what you just said.

0:21:37 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:21:38 - (Edgar Rodriguez): And that, I feel, is what was the most powerful thing about the entire program, is that you're amongst some of the people that really want to make a difference. And now I have the ability to like, just pick up my phone and say, well, we need this person. So like, for me, I was in two close friends of mine through the program. Now one of them is the police chief. Right. We were on the hike this past weekend.

0:22:04 - (Edgar Rodriguez): We needed police escort. I just sent a text message and he sent, he sent a cop just like that in a matter of like minutes.

0:22:12 - (Tawni Nguyen): And then you're like, I'm living the movie life right now.

0:22:14 - (Edgar Rodriguez): And they were like, hey, who did you just text? And I was like, oh, like I went through this program. I got to know the police chief. He's one of my good friends now. Same thing like in that program, my best friend in the program that they pair you with. Right. So they pair you with a best friend. And that happened to be the vice president of aviation for mgm, another army veteran. But him and I are like two peas in a pod now. We're inseparable. Well, because of that, he was never Connected to this side of the community because he has so much going on as a C suite employee of mgm.

0:22:42 - (Edgar Rodriguez): But now that he sees what we're doing on the community side and on the veteran side, he's like, hey, how do I get involved? Because I was never exposed to this. So full circle. It's amazing.

0:22:53 - (Tawni Nguyen): So as a business owner and community leader, what are some things that you're hoping to see in the next? I don't know, three to five years. Not just in business, but in. In Vegas as a whole.

0:23:03 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Ooh, great, Great question. I think there's a lot, like, a lot of opportunity. Right. One, as a business owner, two, as a father. Right. We don't have. And that's something that's changing. So our class pushed the build a standalone children's hospital. Right. And that's something that. That's huge. Right. Our city doesn't have one. Yes, we have Sunrise. Right. But that's both kids and. Right. So, like, do we have an actual standalone that can take care of the kids that we need?

0:23:32 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Another one is we don't have a. And you think about, like, big companies that want to move here, but they don't because we don't have some of the amenities that other cities do have. And we've grown so fast that there are gaps that we need. Right. Like a full fledged mental health facility. We don't have one in this state, which is crazy. Right. And not a lot of people are aware, but that's something that we do have to deal with and we do have to figure out, like, how do we bridge that gap Next.

0:23:59 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Right. We are going to build a children's hospital. Now, how do we build something that doesn't only help our kids, but the people that are dealing with the stresses that they put themselves through.

0:24:10 - (Tawni Nguyen): Wow, those are great. I didn't even think about that. So thank you for sharing that.

0:24:14 - (Dave Burlin): It's like some real world sim stuff. It's like things that people don't think about. And I think the city looks at everything a little bit differently. At least since COVID It faced some of the bigger challenges in this community than others because everything was predicated on live events and stuff like that. Yeah. No, I think there's a lot of opportunity for other people that. Look, you feel like. Because you've seen a lot of different aspects of this city.

0:24:45 - (Dave Burlin): What's another thing that people wouldn't expect in coming here or they wouldn't expect either in their personal life or their professional life coming to Vegas?

0:24:55 - (Edgar Rodriguez): I would say for me, the Biggest thing is we are a big city, but with a small town feel. Right? The city, especially the business community, it's really, really small. Most of us know each other. And if I don't know, then I guarantee you I have someone who does know you. Right. Like, you and I just met today.

0:25:14 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah.

0:25:15 - (Edgar Rodriguez): But our connection is Dave. We're one. Like, in most cities, you're many degrees from separation, but in Las Vegas, you're one degree from separation.

0:25:23 - (Tawni Nguyen): Now we're going to share a cow together with Brandon, I guess.

0:25:25 - (Dave Burlin): Right? Yeah, that's true.

0:25:27 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's like, hey, I just met you, but you want to split a cow.

0:25:30 - (Dave Burlin): And it's funny. We have to make this joke at least every third episode. The way that Tawny and I met is actually a little creepy.

0:25:40 - (Tawni Nguyen): Not in the cute modern creepy either.

0:25:43 - (Dave Burlin): No. I had saw her podcast that she did with Mike Kim, and I was like, wait a minute. Mike Kim did an interview with somebody in this town? And then I watched it. I loved everything she talked about because she was talking about sober lifestyle, all that stuff. And then I literally just filled out the forum on her website. I don't even know how that shows up, like, if it's an email or what. But I tell that story just because we always slide the joke in sometimes. Sorry, Mike Kim, we ran out of time.

0:26:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): But that's literally how we met. And I told that story to Jason yesterday. He was like, how'd you meet Dave? I was like, get this, dude. I was like, it's not even. He slid into my DMs. He filled out my inquiry form, which I didn't know I had on my WordPress. I had to figure out how to use it because they're like, you have an inquiry form from Dave Berlin. I'm like, who the fuck is Dave Berlin? And I saw the movie with Mike Gim. So I screenshotted it, the vetting.

0:26:37 - (Tawni Nguyen): I was like, who is this? I didn't look at his Instagram or anything, but I immediately. Because for me, it's trust. And I'm like, if he says Mike Kim, I'm gonna text Mike Kim. So I texted Mike Kim, is this a real boy? Am I gonna get catfish? So, yeah, ours are. Yeah. I was like, it's not even, like, cute. And like, you know, like, those rom com cheesy shit slid into my inquiry form and now we're friends.

0:27:00 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, right.

0:27:01 - (Tawni Nguyen): But if it wasn't for that and the power of having a network of who you associate yourself with, because people who are authentic, I think it's the highest frequency. And for us, like truth on the show is the digital currency. Because there's a lot of people, I think, not just miss spreading misinformation, but they're just saying things that they actually don't believe in. So it doesn't carry as much weight and integrity as how they operate for themselves, for their family, for business.

0:27:29 - (Tawni Nguyen): So for me, that just doesn't really cut, you know, for us. Like, I'm like, what? I don't know, like, I don't want to waste your time. Let's not waste my time. But something you said earlier in the show about not only you being a leader, but the internal work that you have to do and it kind of shows, like you said, everything's an extension of you and things you do that is a reflection of you. So how does that look like for you as a man, as a business owner in this town doing reflective inner work?

0:27:56 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah, look, for me, and that's a really tough question to answer, right? Because I can say a lot and you're going to take it for face value. But I think for me, it's like you ask anyone in this town if, whether it's Dave or myself, people come to us because they know that we have trusted resources. We have trusted people that we can immediately connect them or plug them into. The guy who just moved here from Washington immediately, within a week, like he had been here a month. And he's like, I'm struggling, you know, I'm going bored.

0:28:30 - (Edgar Rodriguez): I'm. It's killing me, driving me nuts. And I said, hey, show up to this event. He showed up. I said, okay, he's for real. So that was test number one. He showed up. That's half the battle, right? Most people say they want something, but what are they willing to do? So he put in the work. I said, hey, you should show up to office hours. Showed up to office hours. He immediately got connected into the other veteran community and. And Dave and I started that almost a year and two months ago.

0:28:56 - (Dave Burlin): Has it really been a year?

0:28:57 - (Tawni Nguyen): Happy anniversary, you guys. That's so cute.

0:29:00 - (Dave Burlin): What'd you get me for my anniversary? No, Office Hours was a really simple idea, right. And it's kind of like techally, right? Techally really just took a bunch of meetups that were already happening and put them in one place. The idea of office Hours was we started with it doesn't have to be veteran owned businesses, but we ran a program that had veteran owned businesses. What's funny is it's all split off now into there's three organizations that all help veterans start and grow businesses. We're all represented there very collaboratively, but it's open to all business owners. And we just wanted to have a recurring meeting every Tuesday at the Leathernet Club.

0:29:40 - (Dave Burlin): The Leatherneck club is a veteran owned and operated bar and grill. Delicious food. By the way, shout out to Ghost because he'll be on the show soon. But we're supporting a local veteran owned business and everyone can connect and collaborate. And sometimes four people show up, sometimes 14 people show up. And then it's kind of something that everyone can set their clock to. And we have had some of those situations where people are like, you know, I wasn't really feeling it today, but I just knew that if I came then something really positive could happen.

0:30:16 - (Dave Burlin): So that's been really cool to see that evolve over time. And we don't even post that. Like, that's just people that tell people about it. I've been saying for like six months that we should just make it a meetup and let the marketing do that for itself. But maybe we'll do that.

0:30:31 - (Tawni Nguyen): That was one of the place you remember. We're like, let's go get lunch. He gave me three places and Leatherneck was one of them. And I looked it up. I'm like, this looks a little intimidating.

0:30:39 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah, best burger in Canada.

0:30:42 - (Tawni Nguyen): I was like, maybe next time let's get time. Like something safe. Y But now I guess I have to go. Like, are they going to kick me out or what?

0:30:49 - (Edgar Rodriguez): No, you'll be fine. They welcome all. They welcome all brands.

0:30:51 - (Dave Burlin): You're not Vietnamese, are you? Just kidding.

0:30:56 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So you got to think like the Marine corps was born in Tun Tavern, right? Tun Tavern was back in Pennsylvania, which no longer exists. But they're in the process of rebuilding it, or so they say they are for the 250th birthday of the Marine Corps. Now, our most modern ton tavern that we have would be the Leatherneck Club. When you walk in, the first thing you start seeing is like historical things that took place in other wars and other conflicts that people just donate. And that's what it's turned into is just a safe haven for veterans to like, come together. And hey, I'm going through some stuff. Or, hey, I just. I just need.

0:31:28 - (Edgar Rodriguez): You understand me, right? As a veteran.

0:31:30 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, you'll get.

0:31:31 - (Edgar Rodriguez): You. You'll hear me. But like, you weren't there, right?

0:31:35 - (Dave Burlin): And they do welcome all branches of service. It's just the air Force has to pay. Pay a little bit more. It's not A big deal.

0:31:43 - (Tawni Nguyen): Ouch.

0:31:48 - (Dave Burlin): Totally joking. But no, I think so. It's been powerful to see community like that when it comes to, I guess, outside of the veteran community, because I don't want to say that we've fixed that, but it really was. There was a lot of challenges in it two years ago. But looking at the city as a whole, as we're continuing to grow at a rapid rate, what do you see as the biggest challenge that this community and ecosystem is facing right now?

0:32:20 - (Edgar Rodriguez): I would say more collaboration. Right. I just toured just one project. Right. The. Just one project. They do more than what people think they do. Right. And if you ever get a chance, go check out their facility. But they see a lot of, not just them, just collaboration as a whole. Right. In the veteran community, we gotta move our egos to the side and we gotta find a way. Because it's not about me, it's not about you, it's about them.

0:32:47 - (Edgar Rodriguez): And same thing with community. It's not about me, it's not about you, it's about how do we help the community, how do we grow the community. And I think that's the biggest challenge that we do have because we all carry ego. We all want it to be my idea. But if you have a better idea to take my idea from the 90% that I have and take it to 110 just to perfect it, why not collaborate to do so? So to me, I think that's the biggest challenge. Personally.

0:33:13 - (Edgar Rodriguez): You think about the school district, as big as we are with the fifth largest metropolitan area in the United States, and we have one school district. So not to say that we have the worst school district, it's getting better. But if they did break it up, what would happen? Right. And that's a challenge that people don't want to deal with. Same thing with the mental health stuff, right? That's a whole nother animal. So there's, there's a lot that we can keep growing on.

0:33:37 - (Edgar Rodriguez): The good news is that the city's willing, if it's a good change for the community, they're willing to listen.

0:33:43 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yeah, those are the two things I love. Because, you know, the whole education system thing, I talk a lot about, like once I become a parent, that's gonna be the thing I'm gonna focus on. Cause I think that's the biggest priority and obligation I have, you know, as a legacy builder. Not the money, not the projects, not the assets, not anything. But it's the way that we instill values into the actual youth and not allowing Somebody else to indoctrinate them with stuff that doesn't align with us as a family.

0:34:12 - (Tawni Nguyen): And I think that's huge. And especially in the mental health industry, too. So those are two things that I see us actively seek to work towards, because that's super important. And even for the leadership side of things, people don't like to talk about. When you say, like, when people move here and they don't feel like they fit. Right. It's hard to kind of move here and go through, like, the season of stagnation, as I call it.

0:34:36 - (Tawni Nguyen): But before you enter expansion, before you enter all of that, like, people, sometimes they come here. Like, when I come here, like, I had to hit rock bottom to know what life I don't want anymore. And this is the perfect place because it's where I remove vices. It's where I removed a lot of the things that just doesn't align with me anymore. The things that I was conditioned to love live in such a way that I'm like.

0:34:57 - (Tawni Nguyen): Like, I don't want to live like this.

0:34:58 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Right.

0:34:59 - (Tawni Nguyen): And ironically, it's fucking Vegas.

0:35:01 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:35:01 - (Tawni Nguyen): Because you think you come here to do all the things I used to do, but I did not pick those. Like, I come here to shed, like, the layers, the rebirth. And it's just all of those identities and egos that was just trapped. Right. And you just need some quiet and some space is just allow yourself to grow. And sometimes it kind of takes that season for you to, like, hit rock bottom and be like, okay, and then what?

0:35:22 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah.

0:35:22 - (Tawni Nguyen): So I think the conversation we're having today. Do I wish I would have had something like that three, four years ago? Yeah. But that's my cost of learning. It's. It's always like, how do I move forward? How do I continue to help people? Because we get it. We're not all about rainbows and sunshine and, like, come here. Do business. Like, no, like. Like there's truth in business. Like, you're going to probably lose money, you're going to lose friendships, you're going to lose a lot of things along the way that you once thought you wanted.

0:35:48 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Growing pains.

0:35:49 - (Tawni Nguyen): Yep. So this is, like, it's so beautiful to hear that coming from different aspects and perspective of, like, who's sitting at the table and how we all got to connect to each other, you know, and the things that we're hoping to change and continue to grow in this town. So mental health is huge, you know?

0:36:03 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. I see it every day. I mean.

0:36:06 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah. I think that every time I call Him, I never ask him, hey, how's business? I always ask, or anyone I call, the first question asks, how are you doing? Yeah, hey, how are you? Because I don't. We can talk business, we can fix business, we can go through challenges, but how are you? And I think that's the one element that us as humans, we have to check in on each other because you never know what someone's going through, right? And in the veteran community especially, that's one of the reasons office hours was created, is for that check in.

0:36:38 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Like, hey, how are you doing? What are you dealing with? And you know, I'm just a phone call away. Like, I'll make time. And we have time now because we set it every single week to meet at a very neutral place to say, hey, if there's something you're dealing with, let's talk about it. We'll break bread, have a beer. For those that do drink or don't drink, right, you don't have to drink, but at the end of the day, it's to try to understand, like, hey, what are you dealing with? And let's talk about it.

0:37:05 - (Dave Burlin): Well, and sometimes, yeah, there's. Sometimes it's the emotional factor, but sometimes very technical, practical one. Like, I can't think of how many times somebody's had a business challenge or a question or something, and it's like in five minutes they have all the resources they need, or, you know, we're busting out a napkin and we're drawing it out and like, you know, mapping out a whole thing that is a solution to that problem.

0:37:29 - (Dave Burlin): So I think it's just a matter of, you know, at the root of all of it, there's that community, right? We have that. There's a strong one here in the veteran community. What I love is how you've carried that same thing over into the business world, which the business culture here, yes, it's very tight knit, but there's a lot of challenges in that as well. There's the startup community, there's a small business community, there's the big business community, and there's a different set of challenges in all of those.

0:37:59 - (Dave Burlin): So for that, if you had one piece of advice to somebody out there listening here in Las Vegas, when it comes to business and how to show up more in the community for that, what piece of advice would you give?

0:38:17 - (Edgar Rodriguez): I think showing up in the community is actually participating, right? Like what resonates and matters to you, that's where you should be. Because there's organizations and circles that align with your Goals and your purpose and what you feel is important to you. So don't spend your time spend being that place is a. Is only going to waste your time because the one thing you can get back is time, right? And I'll, I'll leave it with that. Like the showing up and then not necessarily trying to find who your next client is. But hey, how can I help you move forward?

0:38:53 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Because you told me you're like, hey, have you ever. When him and I met, the first thing, he's like, have you ever read the Go Giver? I'm like, no, why? He's like, go read the book. And I'm like, why should I read the book? He's like, go read the book, read the book. And I'm like, well, I thought this was how everybody should be. And he's like, you actually got it, like, and you've never read the book. Which, yeah, you know, good on you.

0:39:12 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Because like I said, him and I, when we met, we weren't trying to sell each other. We were both trying to figure out how can we help one another.

0:39:19 - (Tawni Nguyen): Like this stubborn ass guy, what do you need?

0:39:23 - (Dave Burlin): The dude, where's my car? Like, no, what do you need?

0:39:28 - (Tawni Nguyen): Oh my God, how spoiled am I to be surrounded by men who are altruistic and givers.

0:39:35 - (Dave Burlin): Tell your. Tell all your single friends.

0:39:37 - (Tawni Nguyen): I don't have friends. I have three and one of them is you, so fuck.

0:39:43 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Have you met Dave?

0:39:44 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:39:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): So we're going to a networking thing today. He's like, I'm going to cling by you. I was like, no, let me. Let's fly the coop.

0:39:52 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah.

0:39:52 - (Tawni Nguyen): I was like, no, you can't follow me because I'm going to be in the corner hiding.

0:39:55 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah, right.

0:39:56 - (Tawni Nguyen): When I'm overstimulated, stand in the back and eat, because that's recharging, you know, And I think, I love that, that aspect of one asking people how they're doing. But I think people are still wired or conditioned to just be like, I'm fine. And some people take that for face value because that is a socially acceptable version of an answer. And most people, sometimes, I hate to say this, they actually don't care. It's just, it's just something that's so autopilot in our, in our operating system that you don't even notice if you're answering it. Because sometimes I try to ask something out of pocket and they're like, I'm fine. And I'm like, see, you weren't listening. Yeah, you know what I mean? So it's just funny. I can joke around with friends and stuff like that, but, you know, when we have our phone calls and stuff, it's.

0:40:39 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's always something different and. But you know that someone's got your back regardless of, like, you know, like, he knows I'm mentally stable 20 of the times. And the rest of the times when I text him, I'm either laughing in mentally unstable or crying in Spanish because I'm like, oh, my God, this thing gets happening. And I'm like, I'm good, I'm cool. You know, get my shit together.

0:40:59 - (Dave Burlin): Well, that's why my first question is always, what are you excited about? Right. And then a lot of times you could tell from that answer if something's really going on, and then it's like, oh, what's really going on? But I think that's the most important thing, right? It's just being real. I think that's one of the things that I'll say that I did not expect when I moved here. It's been six years now.

0:41:23 - (Dave Burlin): I did not expect people to be so real. And I've met some of the realest people in my whole life right here in the city. And it's a hodgepodge. It's people from all over. There's people from Texas, there's people from Florida. I don't really meet. I don't feel like I meet a lot of people from other countries. I know they're here, they're everywhere. I don't know, I just don't fall into those networks as much.

0:41:48 - (Dave Burlin): But for all the people that I have met, it's just been. Yeah, it's been.

0:41:52 - (Tawni Nguyen): Do you want, like a Swedish girl or something? Something exotic? I don't know why I thought of Swedish, because I thought it was like, Swedish meatballs from ikea. Yeah, Because I was thinking when we were like, we working out of IKEA and it got to Swedish meatballs, I'm like, do you want to meet a Swedish girl?

0:42:07 - (Dave Burlin): No, not at all.

0:42:08 - (Tawni Nguyen): Damn. Welcome to ADHD Brain.

0:42:12 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah. So with that, how can people find you? How can people connect with what you're doing and learn more about you?

0:42:19 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah, I'll say the easiest way to find me LinkedIn is probably my loudest voice, which is Edgar Rodriguez on LinkedIn.

0:42:26 - (Dave Burlin): You're going to have to narrow it down. We'll put a link in the. In the show notes, because there's probably, I don't know, 14 billion. Edgar Rodriguez.

0:42:33 - (Edgar Rodriguez): No, I'll be the first one that pops up.

0:42:34 - (Dave Burlin): Yeah.

0:42:35 - (Edgar Rodriguez): And then the websites. Masterthenetwork.com would probably be the other way to find me. Instagram. It's master the network. Same thing with Facebook.

0:42:44 - (Dave Burlin): Love it. Any final closing thoughts?

0:42:48 - (Edgar Rodriguez): So, closing thoughts. When you ask somebody how they're doing and they say, hey, I'm okay. Follow up questions. Hey, when you say okay, what do you mean by that? Because what I'm okay and what you're okay are two different things. My okay might be different from yours. So getting them to open up and elaborate is like peeling an onion. So when you start to ask people questions, just learn how to ask a deeper level question.

0:43:11 - (Edgar Rodriguez): And it gets them to open up.

0:43:13 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that. And I'm gonna.

0:43:15 - (Dave Burlin): And then all of a sudden, we're crying in the car.

0:43:16 - (Tawni Nguyen): I was gonna say that I was like, eyelashes on the floor like that. Okay, I'm hanging on by a thread here, man. That. And this is how you guys met. But it's like, how can we be of service to you?

0:43:32 - (Edgar Rodriguez): This is it, right?

0:43:33 - (Tawni Nguyen): This is it.

0:43:33 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah. Being on the podcast, I truly appreciate it. Cause it does help, right? Like the podcast. This may resonate with someone, right? I've done podcasts and what I used to tell people is like, look, your story may push someone into entrepreneurship, your story may help solve someone's challenge that they're having. Or your story will resonate with someone that they see the right you being who you are, and they're immediately gonna want to gravitate and connect with you.

0:44:00 - (Dave Burlin): Just what was it the other day? I was reading a book earlier this year called Super Communicators. And the whole premise of the book is that the right conversation at the right time can change everything.

0:44:14 - (Edgar Rodriguez): Yeah.

0:44:14 - (Dave Burlin): And I thought that was so powerful because I've seen it happen. But same thing. I heard a podcast just two weeks ago, and there was three really big things in that podcast that have. I don't want to say they've changed my life, but they've created a new energy that can only be synonymous with two other experiences in my whole life. And since that time, just amazing opportunities and gates have opened up. And even the woman that was on the podcast was hosting a book launch party.

0:44:44 - (Dave Burlin): I bought 5 pre order copies of her book. And I guess no one else did that, so I won stuff on the call. It was just so weird. Just little things like that. And that just has been a catapult for me to open up, you know, more relationships to her. And like, I sent a very heartfelt note back to her and said, hey, your podcast really affected me. In a personal way that is very deep and personal. But it had to do with our parents dying, like, her parent dying, my mom dying, and things like that. And it was one of those things where I said, I just want you to know that this has given me a whole different perspective on something that I needed to hear. And it's one of those things where it was just a Saturday afternoon.

0:45:30 - (Dave Burlin): I was, okay, and I was like, oh, I'm gonna fire up this podcast. And then, since then, it's just been a whole different world. So hopefully this podcast does that for you. And if it does, find Edgar and tell him Dave sent you, and he'll give you free garlic knots.

0:45:46 - (Tawni Nguyen): What?

0:45:46 - (Dave Burlin): I'm just kidding.

0:45:47 - (Tawni Nguyen): I was like, wait, what? No, I love that. Thanks for tuning in today. And you know how to find me and Dave on Instagram. Pursue Vegas. Find Edgar. We're splitting a cow. If anyone out there is looking for some cow buddies. Sorry, vegans, this might not be the conversation for you. We're gonna have a whole matching cow gang shirt after this.

0:46:10 - (Edgar Rodriguez): That's right.

0:46:11 - (Tawni Nguyen): It's gonna be awesome.

0:46:15 - (Dave Burlin): The idea of Pursue Vegas was to really highlight the local people that really make Vegas Vegas.

0:46:21 - (Tawni Nguyen): I love that aspect of how these visionaries are actually bringing people together.

0:46:25 - (Dave Burlin): When we hit record, our responsibility is to connect the people of our city so we can show the world who we really are.