Santa Fe data company Falling Colors says it is doing things that other companies don't — in more ways than one.
The company's built a data and analytics platform to assess the impact of money being used for social impact efforts. With its expertise in data and analytics, the company hopes to help organizations foster "social determinants of health." These are defined as the "conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, and play that affect a wide range of health and quality-of life risks and outcomes," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
By tracking spending and measuring program outcomes, the company claims customers can increase the effectiveness of the money spent. An in-house nonprofit called the Falling Colors Foundation also directs a portion of the company's profits to organizations and programs promoting the social determinants of health.
Previously, the company said it saw accelerated growth during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Falling Colors works with clientele to understand the intents of any particular program. It also provides financial processing, allowing "a far greater range of financial services—funds administration, near real-time burn rates, transparency, and financial accountability—than other data and analytics companies," says a statement provided to Business First by chief operating officer Sam Wolf.
The company prides itself on its efforts to increase diversity in hiring, utilizing redacted resumes without identifying information and a prolonged interview process. Diversity "remains a challenging area, primarily because the general lack of diversity in the tech industry is systemic and historical, we believe these efforts are crucial," according to Wolf.
Falling Colors was founded through the combination of firms owned by CEO Pamela Koster and chief financial officer Mindy Hale. In 2017, the startup started working with the New Mexico Behavioral Healthcare Collaborative for funds processing and data collection for measuring the impact of the money to boost accountability and transparency, according to Wolf.
The startup employs 31 people with intentions to hire about six more in the coming months. It is based in Santa Fe where it is remodeling the historic White Building to create a communal gathering space.
The City Different provides benefits and drawbacks to doing business for Falling Colors.
While Santa Fe is a "vibrant community that supports excellent quality of life," it has "a long history of a government or service-based economy [and] it’s not always easy to find local tech staff," Wolf told Business First. He added that Falling Colors is profitable, entirely self-funded and has "never" raised money.
