Entrepreneurship
Business Planning 101The range of entrepreneurial and start-up opportunities in New Mexico include industries as broad as solar and green technology, electronics and manufacturing and machining, to other ventures as specific as wineries, restaurants, and interior plaster finishes. Many of the industrial, high-tech and green sector start-up companies are supported by the states national labs and various research entities. Additionally, there are numerous organizations that work to support and expand the entrepreneurial capacity of New Mexico.
Per an Inc. Magazine online article, “from 1994 to the end of 2009, the most recent figures available, the state had committed $370 million in New Mexico businesses; those companies went on to raise an additional $1.7 billion.” The article goes out to say that, “over the past five years, New Mexico's program [the NM Private Equity Investment Program] has funded about 40 early-stage companies,” in part because “New Mexico has a solid high-technology base, thanks to the Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories.”
Check out the recent report, New Mexico’s Green Economy: Capitalizing on Assets and Opportunities, developed by the New Mexico Green Jobs Cabinet, for an in-depth look at the green jobs sector and the reccomendations made that aim to further support entrepreneurial activities in this arena. They also provide a link to the New Mexico Ecosystem Report, produced by New Mexico Community Capital, as a resource that outlines the status of entrepreneurship, venture capital and innovation around the state.
Many small and large-scale companies have found New Mexico an ideal place to establish or grow their business. In mid-September 2010, ACCIÓN, a nonprofit microlender in Albuquerque, moved locations and hit the $30M mark in lending, per a New Mexico Business Weekly article. This is one example of how the New Mexico entrepreneurial market is thriving. A handful of other successful companies include:
American Clay in Albuquerque produces natural earth-plaster wall finishes.
