Debunking the Biggest Funding Myth with Zebras UniteIllustration by Arthur Jones, courtesy of Zebras UniteJennifer Brandel and Mara Zepeda existed in financial purgatory. They’d built mission-driven, for-profit companies that didn’t fit social investment portfolios or venture capitalist criteria. “We’d created tech-enabled companies with purpose, and then discovered this type of company is basically unfundable,” Brandel said. They got frustrated, but …
Flipping the Script on Financially Oppressed CommunitiesBy Vanessa Roanhorse | CEO, Roanhorse Consulting; Co-Founder, Native Women Lead Halfway through a three-day summit in Denver, Colorado someone asked, “Why are we still talking about venture capital?” Boom. That was it. After attending the first half of the Alternative Capital Summit, put on by the Kauffman Foundation, Zebras Unite, and Startup Colorado, …
Small Business and the Health of Our CityBy Robin Brulé, Chief Strategist, City AliveIt is urgently important that we focus energy on building small, homegrown businesses and a strong system of support services and resources to help them succeed.Small business is one of the pillars of Albuquerque’s economy. From restaurants, to childcare centers, to cleaning services, gift shops, breweries and …
Top 5 Events for Startup Entrepreneurs in ABQBy Javier Romero, Founder of HangerangAs a lifelong resident of New Mexico, I’ve been a web designer/developer professionally for the past 20 years. Last spring, I embarked on the wondrous journey of software entrepreneur with my new company Hangerang.I knew I needed help. So I’ve made a conscious decision to reach out to …
ABQ’s Top Two Sectors That Need to Scale NowBy Kelli Cooper | Albuquerque Community FoundationFinally, the Albuquerque economy is recovering from the recession. Our country is experiencing its most robust economy in recent history. Why not seize the chance to expand opportunities to all communities, especially the Hispanic and Native American entrepreneurs in our city who own a company and …
Will Netflix Really Benefit the Local Economy?This month Netflix announced its planned acquisition of ABQ Studios. Their expected capital investment to purchase and renovate the studios will be at least $30 million. The deal promises to bring $1 billion in production to New Mexico over the next decade, creating up to 1,000 production jobs a year.Considering the New Mexico economy …
The Business World Needs More Artists: Keshet Answers the CallPhoto Credit: Pat Berrett, Artists: Anat Shinar and Amal RogersYou may know Keshet Center for the Arts as a dance company. Their classes touch every social strata, with offerings for every age group and ability level, including dance for incarcerated youth and adaptive movement for the physically disabled. But Keshet is much …
Recent Impact Numbers Show Steady Growth in ABQWhen we say City Alive is a “collective impact initiative” – how do we quantify “impact”? As each of our leadership and community partners work toward more economic prosperity for Albuquerque, one of the best measures we have to gauge progress is economic statistics. Job growth, weekly wage and unemployment numbers are reliable …
Can a Business Have a Social Mission and Still Be Profitable? Kei & Molly Prove It’s PossibleKei Tsuzuki and Molly Luethi are local entrepreneurs who make beautiful textiles—but more than that, they’ve experienced enormous growth in two years without losing sight of their social mission.In 2016, when City Alive first interviewed them, the business had nine employees and a small …
Our Businesses Need to Reflect Our City’s Diversity By Synthia Jaramillo, Director of Economic Development, City of Albuquerque | September 27, 2018 As a state with a majority of people of color, we need to do things differently than everywhere else.Synthia Jaramillo, Director of Economic Development, CABQAlbuquerque’s rich history and cultural diversity are unrivaled—they are what make us special. And …
