Both Lisa Abeyta and Jessica Eaves Mathews are not only good at seeing potential for economic growth in Albuquerque, they are good at harnessing it, and, like the serial entrepreneurs they are, building from it. Lisa and Jessica are the masterminds behind Hautepreneurs, New Mexico’s first and only women-focused business accelerator. Hautepreneurs offers education programs, networking opportunities, and events that are intended to educate, empower, and equip women business owners throughout the state.

Jessica and Lisa are start-up poster-partners. The two met in 2013 at New Mexico’s first start-up weekend. Within a few weeks the two had not only established their business partnership, but also officially co-founded Hautepreneurs. Fast forward three years and the organization is hosting its second national conference on women entrepreneurship, inaugurating a second cohort of woman founders in their scholarship-based business accelerator program for under served women in New Mexico, and expanding their operations into a new business venture to train women entrepreneurs as they grow into high-power CEOs.

While there are many ways in which Hautepreneurs is unique, one of the most compelling differentiators is how they measure success. Lisa Abeyta said it best: “We can’t tell the easy check box story.” And that’s because women entrepreneurs are different. For example, national research by the Kauffman Foundation found that companies led by women typically launch on one third the capital of their male counterparts. In addition, Jessica added, “Women entrepreneurs in New Mexico are often finding ways to fill income gaps for their families.” So measuring investments or tracking capital is not is not always the best measure of economic impact or success. Hautepreneurs founders believe we need to expand the definition of relevant metrics. “We need to move beyond tracking investments and the number of companies coming out of accelerators,” said Jessica. “We need to track job creation and skills training metrics so we can measure and report long-term gains and economic sustainability.” With additional funding, Hautepreneurs plans to fill yet another need in our community by creating an open-source database of information about women-led companies. This high-power duo begs the question, “Is there anything can’t they do?”

COMMONALITIES with the Albuquerque Integration Initiative: Pursuit of useful, coherent metrics, focus on local job creation and community prosperity

OPPORTUNITY: Potential open-source database with information about women-led companies Opportunity to foster strong companies and leaders in New Mexico