During the months of January, February and March, the New Mexico Rainforest, a U.S. Economic Development Administration University Center, held seven mentoring office hour sessions with the various University Center (UC) mentors and hosted five webinars on a variety of entrepreneurial topics. Several of the webinars and office hours were hybrid including a special webinar hosted by Mike Freeman from Innosphere Ventures, a science and technology incubator and venture capital fund. A special office hour session was hosted by mentor John Chavez where startups could discuss their valuation and term sheets. Additional hybrid events and office hours are planned for the months of April and May.

Recordings of the training webinars and corresponding handouts are available online at: http://loborainforest.com/nmrainforest/videos/ . Each webinar has a related quiz that allows you to earn your way to an Entrepreneurial Capabilities Certificate.

The five webinars include:

“Prior Art Searching for Your Technology & Startup” presented by Gregg Banninger, Innovation Manager, Life Sciences, UNM Rainforest Innovations  – Learn about what a prior art search is, how to conduct a prior art search, and why it’s important when developing your technology or business.

“7-Pillars To A Heathy, Thriving Business” presented by A.J. Mirabedini, Founder, CEO at EntrepreneursRx – Learn to see your business as an interconnected organism and achieve success by nurturing each of the seven critical pillars.

“A Look at Insurance for the Entrepreneur” presented by Michael Chesley, Agent at Cress Insurance Consultants – This session explains various coverage needs and options to protect the livelihoods of business owners and their employees. We explore the why, when, and how proper planning can make a difference in your future.

“Basic Bookkeeping & Financial Literacy for Entrepreneurs” presented by Mytegia Lee, UNM-Gallup Mentor and Financial Advisor at SW Native Assets – Learn about basic bookkeeping and financial literacy skills for you and your small business.

“Why Startups Fail” presented by Mike Freeman, General Partner at Innosphere Ventures – Why Startups Fail provides practical advice on avoiding the most common reasons new ventures are not successful. As it turns out, data available on startup failure points to several strategies to significantly improve the odds of success. Mike Freeman, the CEO and General Partner of Innosphere Ventures, a Colorado-based science and technology incubator, and venture capital fund, will give this session. Join us for a dive into the topic of failure modes for startups. Innosphere has worked with 1000’s of startups in its 24-year history and is a partner of Rainforest Innovations.

[youtube_video] https://youtu.be/QNPokrGReqI [/youtube_video]

Earn a certificate in Entrepreneurial Capabilities: http://loborainforest.com/nmrainforest/entrepreneurial-capabilities-certificate/

The following UC events are upcoming in Q4:

• So You Want to Start a Startup? , April 6^th presented by UNM Valencia Mentor, Susan Cornelius – A successful pitch has to sell. To do that, it needs to engage and surprise the audience you’re pitching to. You have what you think is a great idea for a new product and/or service. You are excited about your idea. You explain it to friends and family and they nod their heads and ask questions. How do you get others excited about what you are doing and really get their attention? What are you telling them you are doing? Do you think that people can see your idea succeeding? A great pitch has to grab your audience. It needs to engage and to surprise the audience you’re pitching to. With a great pitch you demonstrate your passion, and you can grab people’s attention. But with a great story about how you are innovating both your product and making a difference in the lives of others, you can find others who will help you succeed and help you get to the point where you not only have a product but you can attract the money you need to launch your idea. Join us for a quick, impactful session that will leave you wanting to learn more! Bring your ideas with you and get ready to succeed.

• Product Development & Management , April 5^th presented by Michael Hay, Vice President of Products at Teradata – Learn how to produce defensible evidence-based roadmaps and create a strategy that will produce paybacks well beyond an intended use.
• Sales Tips for Small Business , April 7^th presented by UNM-Taos Mentor Stacy Sacco at UNM-Taos HIVE – Learn sales tips and strategies for your small business from marketing and networking guru, Stacy Sacco.

• Mentoring for Entrepreneurs with Stacy Sacco at UNM-Taos HIVE, April 8^th – Come to 1:1 mentoring with Stacy Sacco at UNM-Taos HIVE in Taos, New Mexico, where he will provide guidance, coaching, perspective, and connections to enhance entrepreneurship and connections to resources at UNM and in the community.

• Rainforest Mentor Office Hours with Stacy Sacco , April 22^nd – Come to 1:1 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.

• April Mentoring for Entrepreneurs with Mytegia Lee , April 28^th – Come to virtual 1:1 mentoring with Mytegia Lee where she 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! Join Mytegia on Zoom and learn more about what is available and which connections are the best fit for you.

• How a Strong Brand Builds Value , May 4^th presented by Seth Gardenswartz, Partner at Blackgarden Law – A brand can become the most valuable asset a business owns. Tragically, many businesses fail to research and protect the brands they build, often rendering them worthless or even damaging. This program will cover the basics of brand value and strategy to help creatives and businesses build strong and lasting IP assets. We will outline a practical approach to selecting brand elements and provide a framework for the enforcement of brand rights and how to respond to cease and desist letters. The program will be a useful guide, full of local and national examples that participants can use every day to create value for themselves and their clients.

• 2022 Pitch Deck Competition – Family, Friends and supporters are invited to attend the final round of the 2022 Pitch Deck Competitionat the Lobo Rainforest Building on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 5:00 p.m. to hear the five finalists pitch to investor judges. Finalists will present a 10 minute pitch deck with 5 additional minutes of question and answer in front of a panel of judges. The 2022 Pitch Deck Competition is an early-stage pitch competition bringing together university entrepreneurs from all over New Mexico for chance to win $20,000 (sponsored by UNM Rainforest Innovations) in cash prizes for promising business models. The cash prizes are: winning team, $10,000, second place team, $5,000, and third place, $2,500 and 2 finalists, $1,250 each.

• Rainforest Mentor Office Hours with Stacy Sacco, May 13^th – Come to 1:1 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.
• May Mentoring for Entrepreneurs with Mytegia Lee – UNM Gallup , May 26^th – Come to virtual 1:1 mentoring with Mytegia Lee where she 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! Join Mytegia on Zoom and learn more about what is available and which connections are the best fit for you.

• June Mentoring for Entrepreneurs with Mytegia Lee – UNM Gallup , June 23^rd – Come to virtual 1:1 mentoring with Mytegia Lee where she 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! Join Mytegia on Zoom and learn more about what is available and which connections are the best fit for you.

For more information about the NM Rainforest EDA University Center Program and other entrepreneurial resources, contact Cecilia Pacheco at cpacheco@innovations.unm.edu.