Albuquerque travels in critical mass to this year’s SXSW
“Reflecting on what cities are doing across the country, when you see how Albuquerque treats entrepreneurs, it is different. In some cities its all private or all public, but we know that in Albuquerque everyone needs to be involved.”Eric Renz-Whitmore, Albuquerque’s all-around tech dude
Albuquerque is unique, and oftentimes we come up with solutions that other folks don’t think of. Take PlugSolar for example: they innovated SunPort, a smart grid solar delivery device that allows consumers to simply plug in and use solar, instantly. SunPort is a local tech startup that has garnered attention from the likes of Fast Company and Forbes. And that is only one of the many innovations emerging out of Albuquerque.
All this activity is creating buzz, not only on a local level, but across the country. The momentum around innovation in Albuquerque, in fact, took our city onto the international stage at this year’s South by Southwest. Last week fifteen local startups, including our friends at PlugSolar, traveled in critical mass to Austin with economic development leaders, venture capital firms, the New Mexico film office, and City of Albuquerque officials. Together they brought Albuquerque’s entrepreneurial scene to the attention of thousands.
Startup companies weren’t the only ones to captivate SxSW attendees. In fact, the City of Albuquerque took to the stage, too, bringing Mayor Berry, Tynesia Boyea-Robinson from Living Cities, and Mayor Johnson of the City of Sacramento together on a panel entitled Bootstrapping Your City’s Innovation System. The panel, moderated by Tech. Co’s Co-Founder and COO Jen Consalvo, discussed how cities across the country have become labs for all kinds of innovation. Albuquerque, Sacramento, and Living Cities are each utilizing existing assets and embracing diversity to drive change. Tynesia Boyea-Robinson said, “The challenges [faced in many cities] are too big for any one organization to solve alone so a prerequisite for change is for people to both do different things and do things differently.” Much of that “doing differently” has to do with what Ty calls the 4 “Is”: impact, interdependence, intrinsic motivation and iteration. These tools, when mobilized by a coalition of the willing, are bringing communities and cities together to collectively transform lives, futures, and economies.
CONNECT THE DOTS
COMMONALITIES with the Albuquerque Living Cities Integration Initiative: Albuquerque’s SxSW cohort represented successful cross-sector partnerships that continue to be cultivated through Albuquerque’s Integration Initiative.
OPPORTUNITY: SxSW provides an opportunity to establish partnerships, access support, and build awareness around Albuquerque’s innovative approach to economic development.
