Applications are open for a new accelerator program aimed at helping New Mexico entrepreneurs get their ventures off the ground.
The program, named "Accelerating Your Profit and Purpose: A Disciplined Approach," is run through the University of New Mexico's Center for Responsible Entrepreneurship, which launched in August 2022.
Applications for the program close at the end of March and the program is set to start on April 15, Jon Mertz, Ph.D., one of the program's leaders, told Albuquerque Business First. It'll run for one year and feature workshops twice a month for the first six months before switching to workshops once a month for the last six months.
Those workshops would provide entrepreneurs with educational and mentoring support, as well as practical experiences in building a successful venture, he said.
There'll be two information sessions about the program — on March 16 and March 21 — and the application form can be found online.
Mertz, who founded Santa Fe Innovates, and Robert DelCampo, Ph.D., the executive director of the University of New Mexico's Innovation Academy, lead the program.
"We firmly believe New Mexico is well-positioned to support social and responsible entrepreneurship," Mertz said. "There's momentum behind companies that balance profit and purpose."
A mix of faculty at UNM's Anderson School of Management and Santa Fe businesspeople are instructors in the program, as well. Those include Raj Mahto, Roger Gullickson, Ron Diamond and Wellington Spetic.
The program will accept up to eight entrepreneurs, Mertz said. Application criteria include having at least two people involved in the venture and a clear sense of what Mertz described as a "problem-solution fit." That includes applicants who have talked to potential customers and received feedback to refine the problem their venture is trying to solve, he said.
And managing a socially responsible business will be a focus of the program, as well, Mertz added. It's something he described as "balancing profit and purpose."
"We're focused on the fundamental financial and business models, but we're also adding a third model which is impact," Mertz said. "All three are part of the program."
