One of the best things to come from Albuquerque’s innovation scene in recent months is the sense that our entrepreneurs, technologists, artists and other creatives are coming together like never before. It’s evident in the work of Bandojo, a music creation app that really came together when electronic composer/artist Paniotis met with serial entrepreneur Travis Kellerman. It had its inflection point when Levitated celebrated its launch during Tech Fiesta and hundreds came – the smartest and most diverse crowd I think I’ve ever seen in Albuquerque.
A real catalyst in this has been the Creative Startups accelerator that holds its Demo Day and other events this week. Seeking a wider range of ‘creative’ startups both geographically (about half are from outside New Mexico) and in sector or play (they didn’t define creative), they’ve launched a great experiment that capitalizes on both the creative and business talent we have in New Mexico – as well as some great connections from Tom Aageson and Alice Loy – to apply the startup teaching methodologies from Steve Blank, Eric Ries and others to more creative endeavors.
We’ll learn much more Thursday night when their teams present their new ventures. From Creative Startups & the Global Center for Cultural Entrepreneurship:
“Meet all of the Creative-Startups entrepreneurs in fast-paced presentations. Food trucks, beer sampling and open exhibits following the demos – so come ready for fun!”
Explora! Museum, 1701 Mountain Road NW, Albuquerque, NM
Event opens at 6:00 PM
Startup presentations at 6:30 PM
Sign up at: http://www.culturalentrepreneur.org/rsvp3
(More about both Wednesday & Thursday events here: http://www.culturalentrepreneur.org/rsvp)
Another important thing though about the Creative Startups cohort and the ABQid accelerator as well is that the startups’ journeys don’t end with the demo day and the relationships don’t end there either. Creative Startups’ Roxanne Blair is looking forward to not only the ongoing mentorship for their teams, but also other events and initiatives to keep building connections in our local ecosystem.
In “The Rise of the Creative Class” Richard Florida identified Albuquerque for its richness in different kinds of creatives. It’s great to be here now as our promise begins to pay off.
