Across the American Inno network of publications that covers 45 cities across the U.S., the Fire Awards highlight innovative organizations that have had a year worth celebrating. Honorees can include later-stage tech pillars, growth-stage startups, accelerators, venture firms, meetup groups, nonprofits, etc.
From firms that have garnered investment, unveiled a new product, secured a big client, made a significant acquisition, expanded or pivoted — the Fire Awards are intended to recognize organizations that are having a positive impact on New Mexico's economy.
With those criteria in mind, Albuquerque Business First and New Mexico Inno put out a call for nominations for potential award recipients. The Albuquerque Business First team and New Mexico Inno reporter Collin Krabbe reviewed the applications. Investment, new products and expansions over the past year were all considered.
A special ceremony celebrating the 2022 Fire Awards recipients was held on May 4 at Explora and sponsored by Comcast Business, Mesa del Sol and Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union.
Meet today's honoree: Parting Stone.
After expanding into a new building on the Southside of Santa Fe, Parting Stone has significantly upped its production capacity.
Founded in 2019, Parting Stone creates handheld “stones” using human ash and binder.
With the recent move into its 8,000-square-foot space, Parting Stone will be able to scale up to 2,000 orders per month. Its current monthly orders stand at about 250, meaning the expansion was part of a long-term investment. Its products are sold both directly to consumers and via funeral homes.
About 75% of its business comes from funeral homes with the remaining quarter coming from direct-to-consumer customers, according to founder Justin Crowe.
“We see the direct-to-consumer side of our business increasing as public education for this form of remains increases,” Crowe said. “The public needs to know this exists in order to select it. … But in a funeral home, they’re being offered that at the time of need. So, [because] we’ve invented a new category of human remains, education is a huge component to our success. And right now, the funeral homes are our educators.”
Direct-to-consumer sales is the fastest-growing segment. Crowe said it’s possible those sales will eventually surpass funeral home sales.
Parting Stone has about 30 employees, all but one of which is located in Santa Fe. Crowe said they have been able to hire people to match their growth rate.
“We’ve had an extraordinarily positive experience being a startup in New Mexico,” he said. “There is an immense amount of resources in terms of advice and expertise and people who want to help, as well as financial resources that incentivized us to stay here.”
