Five Years of City Alive Data – The Big TakeawaysBy Aly Sanchez | Director of Projects, The Grant Plant | Jan. 24, 2019As we work across all sectors to lift up homegrown entrepreneurs and small business owners, we have to stay accountable. At City Alive we have big goals: increase economic growth, inclusion and resilience. But how do we measure …
What does it mean to be an ‘ecosystem’ anyway? The internet is a web. The interstate is an artery. The economy is an ecosystem. For the human brain, explaining complex ideas with analogy and metaphor helps us relate and understand quickly. In the case of the economic metaphor, however, the imagery not only works to explain the complexity of inputs …
UNM’s Partnership with the Air Force Research Lab Is Changing the Future of Aerospace Photo from the UNM Newsroom.At this very moment, there’s a tower on Sandia Crest sending experimental, high frequency microwaves across the city. Using frequencies outside the range of conventional electronics, this tower is used to collect data on potential electromagnetic signals for future space communications.It’s a …
Closing the Gaps in the New Year By Robin Brulé | Chief Executive StrategistWhen we embarked on this experiment in collective impact nearly five years ago we did not know where the path would lead. We knew Albuquerque was facing some of our toughest economic challenges. We knew there were no simple solutions. We knew that progress toward realizing our …
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 …
