Entrepreneurs Lead the Way
CNM Ingenuity supports the amazing entrepreneurs that are in our community and we are committed to helping them build great businesses that create jobs in New Mexico. We offer a variety of programs that provide entrepreneurs with the knowledge, power, resources and network they need to be successful.
The Lean Startup is the basis of our curriculum because it’s a methodology that gives entrepreneurs an effective way to test out products with users for critical feedback; helps refine their business model to achieve product-market fit and ultimately builds products that a core set of users love.
Programs
ActivateNM
Activate New Mexico accelerates early-stage, software-enabled startups with the goal of expanding the New Mexico tech landscape in an intentional, depth-driven ecosystem. We invite the best entrepreneurial teams with high-growth ideas into ActivateNM, a hybrid accelerator/incubator that uses Lean Startup, mentorship, and connectivity to dramatically improve customer validation, MVP creation, and path to market strategy. If you want to be part of the community and build a disruptive startup that solves an important problem in a unique way (in a potentially large market), this program is for you. It’s a 10-week cycle (running 2x/year) of lean startup development, engagement with mentors, engagement with peer founders, and access to tons of resources.
IGNITE Community Accelerator
The IGNITE Community Accelerator is a 10-week program that provides entrepreneurs with the business skills needed to move their companies forward, faster. The goal of the program is to provide training and support to entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of developing their business (non-tech based startups). This program engages the entrepreneur in determining the philosophical, legal, and practical structure for their business for future success in establishing goals, managing personal finance, and identifying basic financial business management for profitability. Participants will learn to understand the importance of marketing concepts, decision making, and branding strategies to communicate a business’s value proposition and positioning in the industry.
ABQid
ABQid is an essential part of Albuquerque’s entrepreneurial ecosystem; sourcing the next generation of entrepreneurs, while ensuring our current generation has the resources they need to succeed in their business.
ABQid’s framework establishes a sustainable system over the long-term: our goal is to exist as an evergreen organization that supports local entrepreneurs without the need for ongoing public funding.
Pitch Competitions
We bring promising startups together with active investors to help entrepreneurs take bold steps and grow successful New Mexico companies.
Balloon Pitch brings New Mexico’s top high-growth startups together with investor judges from multiple states representing over $100m in investable capital. It’s a pitch event like no other, just before the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
Ski Lift Pitch puts a twist on the traditional pitch contest. ABQid partners with Taos Ski Valley to bring New Mexico’s entrepreneurial community together for a special kind of pitch event, where start-ups are given six minutes to pitch their idea to investors while they ride the ski lift to the top of the mountain.
Hyperspace Challenge, powered by the Air Force Research Lab New Mexico and ABQid, brings together tech startups with government innovators to accelerate collaboration between commercial and government communities. This work with our national labs to help pair promising technologies with startup methods to support entrepreneurship in New Mexico is another way CNM Ingenuity is expanding business within the state.
Everyone is Welcome to Participate
Come see CNM Ingenuity staff at recurring events such as 1 Million Cups and the Activate NM Startup Retool Series, or contact us to learn other ways we can help you on your entrepreneurial journey. Our goal is to help entrepreneurs solve their most immediate challenges and eliminate obstacles so they can get on with building their businesses in Albuquerque.
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