Reno-based Breadware focuses on internet of things

Entering the “internet of things” space isn’t easy.

“It’s a frontier technology,” said Daniel Price, co-founder of the Reno-based company Breadware. “Companies are trying to get in the space, but there are no road signs.”

Price said his company connects businesses to experts who can plan, build and launch internet of things products. So far, Price said, Breadware has helped launch more than 100 products since 2016.

This story has been edited for length and clarity.

Why did you decide to start an internet of things-focused business?

IoT products are infiltrating our lives. We wear them on our bodies, we put them in our houses, but it’s still hard for companies to get it right. This marketplace connects companies to the best design and develop firms around the globe.

What sort of industries use internet of things devices?

I like to say the IoT landscape is like an iceberg. The IoT products we’re all familiar with like the Alexas, Fitbits, stuff that’s used in public, that makes up about 20 percent of the market space. Most is spent on boring IoT, and that’s connectivity in waste collection, IoT in agriculture, smart devices in construction and landscaping. Eighty percent is in businesses where it’s not their core competency to develop these products.

The company came together in Santa Barbara; why did you decide to headquarter the company in Reno?

As we grew, we hit eight people and we were raising our first round of money. We started thinking about whether Santa Barbara was right for our company, and Reno got on the map because of EDAWN, the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. Reno had an investor community out there; a lot of them wound up joining our initial seed round. We’re happy to be here. There’s a forward momentum in the community; you still feel that forward momentum.

It felt like a small enough community where we could still play a role. We sponsor local events; we were mentors to the accelerator that was just here in UNR. In Santa Barbara, we wouldn’t have been able to do that.

Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.