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Creative Startups Works To Increase Economic Development In New Mexico

http://youtu.be/_YPdqCdGNaw

The Albuquerque based program Creative Startups is looking to increase economic development in New Mexico by helping to launch businesses in the creative industries.

Alice Loy, Co-Founder of Creative Startups, says she started the business accelerator program after seeing a need to help creative entrepreneurs.

“Creative Startups offers the nation’s leading accelerator program for creative people in the creative industries,” Loy said. “So, entrepreneurs who are building businesses in fashion, design, architecture, photography, utilizing technology and combining that with their creative abilities to create companies.”

She says a start-up accelerator puts a business on a fast track to succeed or fail.

“We offer a six-week online course that’s interactive,” Loy said. “It’s very intensive. The curriculum was built with Stanford faculty. And then after that six-week course, we get together everyone, the mentors, the startups in Albuquerque for a week-long what we call deep dive, so it’s a week long period in which the startups get to work alongside the mentors exploring all aspects of their new company, and really getting it launched.”

Ten of the startups from last years program survived creating 70 new jobs in New Mexico. She says one of the success stories is jewelry company Etkie.

“Etkie is a company that produces handmade luxury wearable fashion, couture,” Loy said. “She works with women on the Navajo Nation and provides very well-paying jobs on the Nation and they create gorgeous seed-beaded bracelets that have a element of Southwestern design, but are also very contemporary.”

Creative Startups is one of only 4 accelerators specifically for the creative industry, Loy says New Mexico is a great place for creative industry to grow.

“Creativity is in our DNA,” Loy said. “It’s who we are. We are a place of culture and art, we have been. We’ve been attractive to creative people, Georgia O’Keeffe, writers, filmmakers, for generations. It’s who we are. And so if we can take that creativity, and that natural ability to create art and expressive design, we can become competitive in the global creative economy. It’s a really promising area for us as a state.”

Creative Startups is accepting applications for this year’s program until July 10th, for more information you can visit creativestartups.org.

Samantha Sonner was a multimedia reporter for KRWG- TV/FM.