The nonprofit lender and small-business training organization WESST is collaborating with the Sandoval Economic Alliance and the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Network (SBDC) to offer a six-part training series designed to empower business owners and entrepreneurs in key areas of their business development.
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Looking for Venture Capital? This Sprint is For You
Scale Up New Mexico, in collaboration with the New Mexico Angels, is offering a FREE business support program to existing and aspiring business owners in New Mexico called Venture Funding Sprint. This 6-week business support program will equip participants with the understanding of terminology and financial instruments, engaging in negotiations with potential investors, and creating the necessary tools and materials to attract investment.
Continue readingStartup Fiesta Aims to be New Mexico SXSW
ActivateNM is joining forces with the New Mexico Tech Council for a night of innovation, collaboration, and entrepreneurial networking on the evening of September 10, 2024 at the Clyde Hotel in Albuquerque. Inspired by the success of events like SXSW, Startup Fiesta aims to foster innovation, inspire, and provide networking for the New Mexico entrepreneurial community.
Continue readingStart Up Forum Sept. 4-5 in Albuquerque
Startups, entrepreneurs, innovators, support organizations, local and state government, and anyone engaged in the innovation ecosystem in New Mexico should attend the New Mexico Startup Forum September 4-5, 2024 at Isleta Resort and Casino in Albuquerque. The event features more than 55 speakers on topics ranging from bringing products to market to accessing capital.
Continue readingGet Advice from Small Business Lender LiftFund
The nonprofit small-business lender LiftFund is offering workshops to help entrepreneurs make crucial decisions ranging from whether to start a new business to how to price their products. Most workshops are conducted online, and many orient toward a specific geographical location such as Dona Ana County.
Continue readingReady to Start a Brewery? Apply to BrewerySprint
New Mexico State University Arrowhead Center is offering a FREE business support program to existing and aspiring brewers, distillers, and winemakers in New Mexico called BreweySprint. This 6-week business support program features a curriculum designed to support participants in developing and strengthening their businesses through guided exploration of the Business Model Canvas.
Continue readingYou Don’t Have to be a Skier to Learn from the Ski Lift Pitch
Entrepreneurs and investors come together on February 5 and 6 in Taos during the Ski Lift Pitch, a pitchfest event designed to introduce New Mexico high-growth startups to equity investors. Pitch companies were selected in early January from submitted applications, but startup founders are encouraged to attend as observers to learn what goes into a successful pitch.
Continue readingBlack Business Summit Kicks Off Black History Month
The City of Albuquerque, in collaboration with a multitude of partners, is kicking off Black History Month with a summit that aims to equip Black entrepreneurs and business owners with the resources to help their businesses grow. February is Black History Month, and the summit will take place February 7 and 8 at the Albuquerque Convention Center.
Continue readingWhat is an Entrepreneur?
According to Lorena Schott, entrepreneurs pop up in all types of industries and can have widely different backgrounds. “Really anyone can be an entrepreneur, given the idea and the right tools to develop it into a functional business,” she said.
Schott should know. The director of marketing communications at WESST has met thousands of entrepreneurs since joining the business development organization in 2009. WESST is a nonprofit organization that offers business consulting, workshops, financial resources, business incubation, and support to help entrepreneurs start and grow a business.
“An entrepreneur is someone who sees a need and takes on the financial risk to start a business to fill that need,” she said in a WESST blog post. “It may sound vague, but that’s the point; there is no cookie-cutter entrepreneur…”
Schott contrasts the ‘classic’ entrepreneur — someone who creates a business like a new restaurant or a tech start-up — with today’s entrepreneurs. “There has been a shift in the global job market that has opened the door for entrepreneurship to become more mainstream,” she said.
Continue readingProgram Embeds Tech Entrepreneurs at NM Labs
Molecular biologist Kristina Trujillo is determined to help physicians identify and treat Alzheimer’s disease before the onset of debilitating cognitive decline.
Trujillo, who holds a doctorate in molecular biology from New Mexico State University, is CEO of Albuquerque-based T-Neuro Pharma. With help from the New Mexico Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program (LEEP), her company is developing a simple blood test to determine the presence of Alzheimer’s disease and a treatment to prevent its development and stop its progress.
She is one of three technology entrepreneurs in New Mexico LEEP’s first two-year fellowship cohort, which started early this year. The program embeds “deep tech” entrepreneurs—people developing solutions to existential problems like climate change and disease—at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where they work alongside scientists and mentors to advance, test and validate their innovations on a path to making them marketable products.
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