Lobo Rainforest News
During the months of April, May and June, the U.S Economic Development Administration (EDA) New Mexico Rainforest University Center held nine mentoring office hour sessions with the various University Center mentors and hosted three webinars on various entrepreneurial topics.
Did you miss these webinars? If so, the recordings, handouts and quizzes are available at: http://loborainforest.com/nmrainforest/videos/. The webinars included:
Patent Protection in 2021: A Primer presented by Henry Coleman
Learn the basics of patent protections in 2021 – all the important points and pitfalls that you need to know from U.S. patent attorney, Henry D. Coleman.
Applying Creativity Techniques to Your Small Business presented by Stacy Sacco
This webinar shows participants various creative techniques that can be used to create and grow a business from the ideation phase to second-stage growth.
User Research 101: Focus on Product Users presented by Charley Wilhite
Getting your product right is as important as getting the business right. In this session we will dive into User Research (UX): understanding what you need to know, drawing out assumptions and gaps, prioritizing your learning, methodologies for collecting data, and making sense of it all.
Do you want to get connected with the EDA NM Rainforest University Center? Here are some of the upcoming events:
- Virtual Rainforest Mentor Hours – July – Come to 1:1 virtual mentoring with Stacy Sacco where he will provide guidance, coaching, perspective, and connections to enhance entrepreneurship and connections to resources at UNM and in the community. There are many resources available to those who have ideas that they may want to turn into a business! Come by and learn more about what is available and which connections are the best fit for you.
- NM Rainforest Webinar – How to Grow and Promote Your Business Using YouTube – Join us for this special YouTube Video Promotional Training where you will learn how to use YouTube videos as a tool to help grow and promote your small business.
If you are interested in learning more about the EDA NM Rainforest University Center Program and Resources contact Cecilia Pacheco at cpacheco@innovations.unm.edu.
Additional Press Releases Relating to University Center:
An Entrepreneur’s Journey – EDA NM Rainforest University Center
New Mexico Recovery Course Helps Small Business Strategize, Survive & Thrive Through Pandemic
Albuquerque Business First has announced their honorees for this year’s Women of Influence awards, including Susan Cornelius, Principal of Accelerate2Solutions. Honorees are chosen each year based on the positive impact they have made in the New Mexico business community.
Ms. Cornelius has worked with UNM Rainforest Innovations for over 6 years and has provided tremendous value to our local innovation ecosystem. She serves as a site mentor for the New Mexico Rainforest University Center and provides regular mentoring office hours and webinars to the UNM community. The University Center program provides entrepreneurial training and technical assistance to individuals and small businesses who are looking to start or grow their idea.
She is also involved in the Lobo Rainforest I-Corps program and serves as a Lead I-Corps Mentor for teams learning how to transition their STEM-related technologies to the marketplace. The University of New Mexico became an I-Corps (Innovations Corps) site in fall 2017 and has now completed its eighth cohort. Ms. Cornelius has served as a mentor during all eight cohorts.
Ms. Cornelius is also the Principal of Accelerate2Solutions, an innovative, small, high tech company focused on creating successful, lean startup-ups. Ms. Cornelius has coached more than 71 companies, and created seven start-up companies, ranging from $500M to $150,000, helping them emerge as successful high tech, and life and health sciences companies. She brings 30 years of experience in start-ups, mergers, acquisitions, and successful, entrepreneurship in healthcare, research, enterprise software service solutions, medical devices, national defense, and high-tech sensing devices for homeland security.
The Women of Influence virtual awards event will be held on July 15 and honorees will be included in a special section of Business First that will be published July 16.
See also, “Meet Albuquerque Business First’s 2021 Women of Influence,” on the Albuquerque Business First website at https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2021/05/18/meet-business-first-2021-women-of-influence.html
Home to multiple national labs and several top tier research institutions, New Mexico has come to be known as the State of Innovation. In addition to the presence of strong STEM institutions, the inhabitants of New Mexico have a long history of engaging in entrepreneurship activities. Whether it’s selling piñon and firewood on the side of a northern New Mexico road, showcasing Native American art and jewelry under the portal in downtown Santa Fe or Old Town Albuquerque, running a food truck at a Navajo flee market in Gallup, or developing the next renewable energy technology at the Los Alamos National Labs, New Mexicans have the spirit of entrepreneurship running through their veins.
However, in a state with a population of under 3 million and more small rural communities than urban metropolitan hubs, it can be hard for New Mexico entrepreneurs, especially those living in the more rural parts for the state, to capitalize on their business pursuits.
As a result, upon the receipt of a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Association (EDA) in 2018, the NM Rainforest EDA University Center is working to bridge that economic gap. The University Center focuses on developing eCommerce based entrepreneurial training and uses The University of New Mexico (UNM) branch campuses to help spread eCommerce knowledge and training to the more rural parts of the state.
Participating UNM branch campuses include Los Alamos, Valencia, Taos, and Gallup and the EDA University Center has tailored its programming to uniquely work with and meet each campus’ individual needs with the ultimate goal of helping each community establish its own entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Since the establishment of the NM Rainforest EDA University Center program in 2018, several branch campus communities have been very active and engaged with the University Center:
Victoria Gonzales, who has served as the main point of contact for UNM-Taos, states “UNM-Taos is very grateful to the University Center for support given over the last few years – we have enjoyed the technical expertise offered by entire main campus team. UNM-Taos students and entrepreneurs have taken part in the great programs offered by the Center including the Create, Sell, Bank class and the Pitch Deck Competition and have gained invaluable knowledge from these opportunities.”
Since the launch of the NM Rainforest University Center program, UNM-Taos has worked to acquire their own set of funding to establish the Taos Hub of Internet-based Vocation and Education (HIVE). The Taos HIVE has established its mission on “combining small business coaching and mentorship, a coworking space, and community college classrooms to support any stage of learning in an accepting, accessible, and community-led atmosphere.” This effort will help the community of Taos continue to develop its own innovation ecosystem independent of the NM Rainforest University Center.
UNM-Valencia has also been a dedicated and engaged member of the NM Rainforest University Center through the efforts of one of its prime business professors, Stephen Takach.
When asked to reflect on the University Center’s partnership with the UNM-Valencia branch campus Stephen states:
“The University Center comes alongside me as I work toward one of my longstanding goals of bringing entrepreneurial experiences into the UNM Valencia community and ultimately is a comfortable destination that I constantly refer my students to with their entrepreneurial goals which expands and enhances their educational experience.”
UNM Rainforest Innovations and Innovation Academy will continue a collaborative effort so that the NM Rainforest University Center can continue to support the development and solidification of eCommerce training and the creation of thriving entrepreneurial ecosystems throughout both urban and rural New Mexico.
If you’d like to learn more about the NM Rainforest EDA University Center or engage further with the program and its efforts please contact Cecilia Pacheco at cpacheco@innovations.unm.edu.
Albuquerque, NM – April 19, 2021 –During an inspiring virtual event, five student entrepreneur teams went head-to-head and pitched their big ideas to a virtual audience of investors, business leaders, entrepreneurs and enthusiastic supporters.
The Comcast Pitch Deck Competition was co-hosted by UNM Rainforest Innovations and the UNM Innovation Academy, the University of New Mexico’s technology-transfer and economic-development organization and entrepreneurial studies program. Sponsored by Comcast, the competition offered a platform for student entrepreneurs who want to start or are already operating an early-stage company to present and launch their innovations. Comcast provided a $20,000 prize pool for the five finalists who pitched their innovative ideas and early-stage companies to investor judges.
The winners were:
- First Place $10,000 Prize – Alexander Hafez, Circular Genomics – A circular RNA technology to help in the clinical fight against depression.
- Second Place $5,000 Prize – Isabel Last & Miguel Roman, Faena – A research-based, intuitive video game to engage language learning for non-native speakers.
- Third Place $2,500 Prize – Savannah Hoover, Modest House – An app to help millennials “Learn, Turn and Earn” in today’s real estate market.
- Finalist $1,000 Prize – Daniel Martinez, Omnos Sleep – An innovative device for the treatment of sleep apnea.
- Finalist $1,000 Prize – Tina Memarian, Lamiflo – An innovative solution for ischemic strokes.
“The Comcast Pitch Deck Competition was a great opportunity to get meaningful experience presenting to and answering questions from individuals who are business leaders in New Mexico,” said Alexander Hafez, PhD student and grand prize winner. “I look forward using their feedback to help Circular Genomics grow into a successful business.”
Pitch deck competitions go further than the typical elevator pitch by including visual representations and summaries for a new company, business plan or startup vision. The goals of a pitch deck are to spark interest from potential investors, meet investors and give entrepreneurs more experience presenting to audiences. Judges looked for quality of message delivery through non-verbal cues, (voice, eye contact, gestures, movement) and persuasive and creative content which “connects all the dots” toward commercialization.
“I am so grateful to have participated in the 2021 pitch competition, and I am proud to have represented the UNM School of Law in the final five. Providing these spaces for innovation is so critical,” said Savannah Hoover, Pitch Deck Participant and JD/MBA program student. “A huge thank you to the sponsors, show runners, and participants for such an engaging experience.”
Comcast sponsored the 2019 Comcast Pitch Deck Competition which awarded nearly $20,000 to five student entrepreneur teams.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company that connects people to moments that matter. We are principally focused on broadband, aggregation, and streaming with over 56 million customer relationships across the United States and Europe. We deliver broadband, wireless, and video through our Xfinity, Comcast Business, and Sky brands; create, distribute, and stream leading entertainment, sports, and news through Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, Universal Studio Group, Sky Studios, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, multiple cable networks, Peacock, NBCUniversal News Group, NBC Sports, Sky News, and Sky Sports; and provide memorable experiences at Universal Parks and Resorts in the United States and Asia. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
About Innovation Academy
The Innovation Academy is a mindset shared by the UNM Community that asks “how do we teach and learn best so that students are prepared for life beyond college?” Based on the Rainforest theory of a bottom-up approach to innovation, iA encourages different people and groups to come together to create. It is a cross-pollinating approach to finding solutions to problems and developing new ideas. It is based on the belief that solutions can be found when people with different backgrounds and skills come together to work on real problems and needs coming from companies and the community. This type of experiential, or hands-on, learning prepares students to be successful in careers and work places in the real world and deepen their core subject knowledge. Visit innovationacademy.unm.edu/ for more information.
About UNM Rainforest Innovations
As the technology-transfer and economic-development organization for the University of New Mexico (UNM), UNM Rainforest Innovations (formerly STC.UNM) protects and commercializes technologies developed at UNM by filing patents and copyrights and transferring them to the marketplace. We connect the business community (companies, entrepreneurs and investors) to these UNM technologies for licensing opportunities and the creation of start-up companies. Our vision is to play a vital role in New Mexico’s economic development and to be a leader in technology commercialization. Under the leadership of CEO & Chief Economic Development Officer Lisa Kuuttila, UNM Rainforest Innovations is substantially growing its program using the Rainforest model to develop an innovation economy in New Mexico. Visit our website at www.innovations.unm.edu.
Media Contacts
UNM Rainforest Innovations
Savanah Romero – sromero@innovations.unm.edu
505-272-7900
Comcast
Kyle Biederwolf – kyle_biederwolf@comcast.com
505-264-5966
In September, 2019 when the EDA NM Rainforest University Center hosted its first Network of Student Inventors (NSI) meeting, Tina, a freshman at the time, was one of the first people to show.
“When I first heard of Lobo Rainforest, I thought to myself ‘I have to go to their inventor meetings!’”
Tina, now a sophomore, has attended multiple NSI meetings and earned her Entrepreneurial Capabilities Certificate from the NM Rainforest University Center in the summer of 2020. Her initial participation with the University Center led to her participation in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Lobo Rainforest I-Corp Site Program where she was an entrepreneurial student lead for a university start-up, ShearIT. This role eventually resulted in Tina officially joining ShearIT’s company team where she works to help the startup with customer discovery regarding an innovative treatment for ischemic stroke.
In addition to her activity with the University Center and NSF I-Corps Program, she has participated & placed, on two separate occasions, in the Rainforest Student Pitch Competition for her 90-second pitches on two unique business ideas. More recently, Tina competed in the New Mexico 2021 Comcast Student Pitch Deck Competition and placed as a Top Five Finalist for the pitch she gave for ShearIT’s new ischemic stroke treatment, Lamiflo.
When asked to reflect on her experience with the NM Rainforest University Center, Tina states, “Attending seminars or various programs has helped me realize all the entrepreneurial possibilities there are. From pitch competitions to one-on-one office hours, I have been able to use my resources to learn about how I can start my own business. I have connected with great people and have met wonderful mentors. The best part about wanting to open a business is getting to meet people and I feel fully supported. Lobo Rainforest is honestly one of my favorite places and not only do you learn great things, but the atmosphere is awesome!”
If you are a student, small business owner or community member in New Mexico interested in starting or improving your journey in entrepreneurship, you can check out our University Center Entrepreneurial Capabilities Certificate, Training Videos and Mentoring Office hours at http://loborainforest.com/nmrainforest/ or email Cecilia Pacheco at cpacheco@innovations.unm.edu for more information.