Born and raised in Mexico, Carlos Murguia arrived in Las Cruces in 2016 to get a master’s degree in industrial engineering from New Mexico State University.
What he found in the Land of Enchantment was a burgeoning entrepreneur ecosystem. He hasn’t looked back.
“I am a very entrepreneurial person,” Murguia said. “So, when I saw a lot of startups emerging, and all of the support at New Mexico State University at the Arrowhead Center, I was like … you don't need to start from scratch. There was an opportunity in New Mexico already.”
In the fall of 2017, he received the Outstanding Graduate Award by the NMSU Alumni Association.
Today, Murguia is an economic development officer at NMSU’s Arrowhead Center and he is also the director of the Foster Innovation Exchange at the Arrowhead Center. The Exchange was established to support entrepreneurship in the Borderplex region.
Murguia has done everything from help with NMSU's various Sprint Accelerator Programs to assist with the Arrowhead Center’s version of "Shark Tank" to carrying out due diligence on companies that want to secure seed funding — and the lengthy list goes on.
A board member for the New Mexico Angels, Murguia’s whole life is focused on creating opportunities for small businesses and startups.
Albuquerque Business First recently caught up with Murguia to talk about both his personal and professional life.
The interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
Albuquerque Business First: What are some of your favorite pastimes?
Carlos Murguia: Soccer. I love soccer. So, anything related to soccer. I watch the games on TV. I practice soccer whenever I have time. I have family in El Paso. I have two nieces … so we go to the movies, we go for ice cream, we play with the dogs. They keep me busy.
What are some of your favorite spots to take people when you have visitors in town? For my mom and brothers, it is mandatory to go to White Sands. They've been there a couple of times. They want to go back every time they come. My brothers are into "Breaking Bad," so Albuquerque.
Walk me through your main responsibilities in your current position? I am an economic development officer for New Mexico State University. I work at the Arrowhead Center. The Arrowhead Center is the economic development arm of the university. We do all things related to innovation and economic development. … I would say 80% of my job is on startups.
What's your biggest project or initiative that's on the horizon? Startup support in general. … The reason that I am doing what I'm doing is because I have seen some of the challenges, went through some of the programs and I have a very unique perspective. I think I have seen all the stages of an early-stage company. I work with students who had an idea that occurred to them yesterday, and then I work with Build with Robots by expanding to airports [across] the nation. It's very interesting. And I’m also an engineer. Industrial engineers, our focus is statistics, so I am a very numbers-driven guy.
What's your favorite part about your job? I will say that it's different every single day. I don't think that I have had an equal day. I can be talking to you today. I had a meeting with an entity [that] wants to sign an MOU with Arrowhead yesterday. I talked to a potential investor this morning. Of course, I have general guidelines but every day I learn something new. And I get distracted very easy, so the fact that everything is new keeps me super engaged.
