Few people can say that they started a company, created a new product or solidified a leadership role in an emerging sector.
An even smaller group can say they did any of those things by the time they hit their mid-20s. When you find those young innovative trailblazers, they should be celebrated. And that is exactly what we are doing via our inaugural Inno Under 25 honorees.
You might have noticed the recent launch of New Mexico Inno, a platform dedicated to covering local innovation. Inno Under 25 is simply one of the many ways we plan to highlight the talent and entrepreneurial work happening right here in the Land of Enchantment.
So, how did we pick our first group of Inno Under 25 honorees? Inno reporter Collin Krabbe did what any good reporter does — his research. He contacted the local universities and leaders in the startup sector and asked about emerging talent. He then whittled down the recommendations and conducted an interview with each honoree.
This week, you will be able to read about each honoree online and in the Sept. 17 edition of the print publication. After you read about these innovators, you are likely to be left with one major takeaway: The future certainly looks bright for New Mexico.
-Meagan Nichols
After two years at the University of New Mexico, Christian Chavez decided it was time to plot a new path.
The 25-year-old budding entrepreneur said he has always been interested in technology, but he didn’t start out in that sector. In fact, after dropping out of the University of New Mexico in 2016, he spent years doing various tasks from window tinting to a stint in the real estate industry.
And then, in October 2020, he began a crash course in the Internet of Things (IoT) — which refers to objects outfitted with technologies connecting them to the internet — through Central New Mexico Community College’s (CNM) Deep Dive. During the 10-week course, Chavez said he learned skills needed to develop products for the IoT space, such as coding.
He and other students also collaborated with the computer company IBM to develop IoT devices to help monitor water levels in soil. Chavez did all of the programming and built hardware for a microcontroller as part of the project, which ended this summer, he said.
At about the same time, Chavez began to focus on building his own Internet of Things business called Internet Science Innovators (ISI). Chavez is specifically interested in applications for “smart agriculture,” he said.
“Everybody in the world eats,” Chavez said. “Despite this, especially in America, there’s been a massive workforce shortage [in farming]. … Overall, this shortage of labor is leading to food waste and mismanagement of water and power.”
ISI’s first product is a tool for monitoring the temperature of compost, used to fertilize the soil. Compost pile temperatures impact the rate at which materials decompose.
Chavez said he is working with lawyers to incorporate the business. The new firm also has one other cofounder, Nycole Davila. Davila also participated in a Deep Dive Internet of Things course, according to CNM.
“At this point, it is sort of bootstrapped,” Chavez said of ISI. “I’m taking on the funding of the product development myself, and that’s really sort of how I want to do it.”
