The first cohort of a recently launched entrepreneurial accelerator program just got off the ground, with a focus on growing socially conscious businesses in Northern New Mexico.
The program, called "Accelerating your Profit and Purpose: A Disciplined Approach," tapped 14 entrepreneurs for its inaugural cohort. Most are from Northern New Mexico communities, and 71% of the businesses those entrepreneurs represent are women owned, according to a release.
Jon Mertz, Ph.D., one of the program's leaders, hopes the accelerator can meet a need for social entrepreneurship-driven programming in Santa Fe and the surrounding area. A majority of the program's participants hail from the City Different, he said.
"I personally believe that in New Mexico, in general, social entrepreneurship can really be a difference maker for our state," Mertz said. "Younger generations want that mix of profit and purpose. Part of our goal is really to create the jobs and the businesses that will do just that and keep our younger generations here in Northern New Mexico."
The accelerator is run by the Center for Responsible Entrepreneurship within the University of New Mexico's Anderson School of Management. The Center launched in late August 2022 as a partnership between the City of Santa Fe and a business accelerator called Santa Fe Innovates, which has folded into the new Center.
Mertz said the accelerator program is the first "substantive step" in the process of folding Santa Fe Innovates into the Anderson School's programming. The new accelerator has more "depth" than the five-week ideation program previously offered by Santa Fe Innovates, he added.
Five instructors will lead a series of sessions twice a month instructing the entrepreneurs in a range of business-related subjects, including market segments and conflicts between profit and purpose, based on the book "Disciplined Entrepreneurship" by Bill Aulet. Those five instructors include faculty from the University of New Mexico (UNM), including Roger Gullickson, Ron Dimon, Rob Delcampo and Wellington Spetic alongside Mertz and Raj Mahto, who will join the sessions periodically, Mertz said.
The program plans to transition to monthly meetings from January through June 2024.
Participants in the program will also hear stories from successful entrepreneurs in the region. Alan Webber, the mayor of Santa Fe and cofounder of Fast Company magazine, spoke to the cohort last Saturday, and Mertz told Albuquerque Business First that future speakers could include Fran Maier, the founder and CEO of Santa Fe-based startup BabyQuip, and Justin Crowe, the founder and CEO of Santa Fe's Parting Stone.
Periodic "accountability checks" will also be a part of the accelerator, Mertz said, and it'll culminate with a pitch event in June 2024, where the entrepreneurs will get the chance to showcase their businesses to a slew of angel investors and venture capitalists.
The accelerator is held in person at the Santa Fe Community College's Higher Education Center. It's a spot that's centrally located in Santa Fe and has a sense of "liveliness" to it, Mertz added.
Financial support for the program comes from UNM's Anderson School of Management along with some private funds, he said. The accelerator is also working with the City of Santa Fe to secure more funding, Mertz added.
"We firmly believe New Mexico is well-positioned to support social and responsible entrepreneurship," Mertz told Business First when the accelerator first opened applications in early March. "There's momentum behind companies that balance profit and purpose."
