Speed Mentoring:

Quick Advice from Experts

Please join us for an engaging and innovative way to gather advice from ActivateNM’s founder mentors! Whether you have questions on scaling, investment, marketing, wellness resources, or early ideation, our mentors are eager to support you and answer questions!

We are revitalizing what mentorship can look like for NM Founders. Picture speed dating, but tailored for founders and entrepreneurs – this event promises rapid-fire, one-on-one interactions aimed at fostering meaningful connections and ongoing communications. Participants will engage in multiple rounds of short, focused mentorship sessions with subject matter experts.

Save the Dates:

What to Expect:
November 15th | Q Station | 10 AM- 12 PM

Speed Mentoring: Experience rapid one-on-one interactions akin to speed dating, but tailored for founders and mentors.

Agenda

- 10:00 – 10:35: Check-in, Coffee & Networking
- 10:35 – 10:45: Welcome
- 10:45 – 11:25: Speed Mentoring: Experience rapid one-on-one interactions akin to speed dating, but tailored for founders and mentors.
  - - Round 1: 6 minutes
    - Round 2: 6 minutes
    - Round 3: 6 minutes
    - Round 4: 6 minutes
- 11:25: Closing Remarks
- 11:30 – 12:00: Networking Lunch (Lunch Provided)
  - Continue conversations that were cut off or meet someone you didn’t get a chance to talk with.

Host Sponsor

Lunch Vendor

Register Here

Meet your Mentors

Study up on various experts and prepare some questions based on advice you need

Peter Howley

Former Founder, Empirical Path

Ask Me About:

B2B Marketing
Business Intelligence
Alliances

Jeff Bargiel

CNM Ingenuity & Founder of Toasti

Ask Me About:

Customer Discovery
Lean Startups Methods
SBIR/STTR Grants

Judy Kay Hendricks

Sandia National Labs/NMSBA/TRGR

Ask Me About:

No cost technical assistance from labs
Access to lab technologies
Winning presentations

Cody Pearson

Rocky Mnt - Rio Grande Tech Corridor Connector

Ask Me About:

Product/Market Fit
Customer Discovery
Irrational Optimism (and Persistence)

Sandy Hirshberg

New Mexico Startup Alliance

Ask Me About:

Entrepreneurial Resources
Business Development
International Logistics

T.J. Cook

Agentic Studios, Inc.

Ask Me About:

Fundraising Strategy/Advice
Go-to-Market Strategy
Building a Team

Vicki Apodaca

Fiat Advisors, Startup Advisor

Ask Me About:

Go-to-Market Strategy
Marketing & Channel Strategy
Startup Branding & Positioning

Michael McDonald

TREC: Sandia Labs Retirees Supporting Entrepreneurs

Ask Me About:

Technology Expertise & Mentoring,
Product Development Road Mapping
Working with the National Laboratories

Eddy Mindlin

Sales Coaching

Ask Me About:

SmartSelling Strategies
Customer Service
Prospecting Clients: Cold Calling

Sue Prelonzni

Executive Director, Global IQ

Ask Me About:

Strategic business development
Connecting for collaboration and growth
Strategic networking

Eric Lee Smith

Eric Lee Smith INNOVATIONS

Ask Me About:

Product development
Pitching: Talking to Money
Got to Market Strategy

Sonja Dewing

Women's Thriller Writers Association

Ask Me About:

Writing/publishing
Marketing (email, social media, advertising)
Digital products

James Swope

POMS & Associates

Ask Me About:

Fintech Scaleups
Commercial Insurance
Pitch Building

Lindsay Humphries

ActivateNM

Ask Me About:

Entrepreneurial Resources
Relationship Building
Elevator Pitch

John Bell

Next Now Digital

Ask Me About:

Customer Acquisition & Retention
Brand Development
Next-gen Digital Marketing

Austin Gadient

Vali Cyber

Ask Me About:

Product market fit
Engineering/product team growth
Seed-stage pitch deck creation

Jonathan Ornelas

Presbyterian Health Plan

Ask Me About:

Employee Health Insurance Coverage
Employee Retention/Satisfaction
Employee Wellness & Benefits

Ben Strozier

Ingenuity Venture Fund

Ask Me About:

Market Research
Due Diligence
Pitching

Fran Fernandez

Small Business Development Center at CNM

Ask Me About:

Startup Assistance
Connecting with Community Resources
Business Plan Development

Brannon A. Dugick

Luminaria Labs, LLC

Ask Me About:

Enterprise Data Delivery & Strategy
Software Development Lifecycle
Analytics & Governance

Robert Bellospirito

Robert Bellospirito Business Development

Ask Me About:

Customer & Market Discovery
Hiring Talent
Company Culture

Nancy Lewis

UNM Innovation Academy

Ask Me About:

Problem Statement Formation
Customer Discovery
Innovating through Design Thinking

Harold Lavender

CNM Ingenuity

Ask Me About:

Finance
Validation
Acceptance

Pranab Shenoy

Luminaria Labs

Ask Me About:

Product Focused Design & Development
Full-Stack Application Architect
SEO Based Growth Strategies

John Chavez

New Mexico Start Up Factory I-RED ASCEND2.0

Ask Me About:

Company Structure
Access to Capital- Angel, Venture, Non-Dilutive
Bio Tech

Xavier Lemon

Redline Labs

Ask Me About:

Technology, Apps & Data
Business to business
Fundraising & Sales

Wendy Ederer

Cornerstone Consulting Assoc., LLC & City of ABQ Small Business Office

Ask Me About:

Government contracting
State & Federal incentive and tax credit programs
Business development

Save the Dates: Speed Mentoring

November 15th
10AM - 12:00 PM

Speed Mentoring: Experience rapid one-on-one interactions akin to speed dating, but tailored for founders and mentors.

January 13th
2:30 - 4:30PM

Speed Mentoring: Experience rapid one-on-one interactions akin to speed dating, but tailored for founders and mentors.

March 14th*
10AM - 12:00 PM

Small Group Mentoring Breakout Sessions

Funding Options for Small Businesses

May 19th*
2:30 - 5:00PM

Small Group Mentoring Breakout Sessions

Funding Options for Small Businesses

January 13th | TBD | 2:30 - 5:00 PM

Speed Mentoring: Experience rapid one-on-one interactions akin to speed dating, but tailored for founders and mentors.

Agenda

2:30 – 3:05: Check-in, Coffee & Networking
3:05 – 3:15: Welcome
3:15 – 4:00: Speed Mentoring: Experience rapid one-on-one interactions akin to speed dating, but tailored for founders and mentors.
- Four, six-minute rounds
4:00: Closing Remarks
4:05 – 4:30: Networking Happy Hour (Light Apps Provided)

Speed Mentoring:

Quick Advice from Experts

Save the Dates:

Sponsored By:

What to Expect: November 15th | Q Station | 10 AM- 12 PM

Agenda

Host Sponsor

Lunch Vendor

Register Here

Meet your Mentors

Peter Howley

Former Founder, Empirical Path

Ask Me About:

Jeff Bargiel

CNM Ingenuity & Founder of Toasti

Ask Me About:

Judy Kay Hendricks

Sandia National Labs/NMSBA/TRGR

Ask Me About:

Cody Pearson

Rocky Mnt - Rio Grande Tech Corridor Connector

Ask Me About:

Sandy Hirshberg

New Mexico Startup Alliance

Ask Me About:

T.J. Cook

Agentic Studios, Inc.

Ask Me About:

Vicki Apodaca

Fiat Advisors, Startup Advisor

Ask Me About:

Michael McDonald

TREC: Sandia Labs Retirees Supporting Entrepreneurs

Ask Me About:

Eddy Mindlin

Sales Coaching

Ask Me About:

Sue Prelonzni

Executive Director, Global IQ

Ask Me About:

Eric Lee Smith

Eric Lee Smith INNOVATIONS

Ask Me About:

Sonja Dewing

Women's Thriller Writers Association

Ask Me About:

James Swope

POMS & Associates

Ask Me About:

Lindsay Humphries

ActivateNM

Ask Me About:

John Bell

Next Now Digital

Ask Me About:

Austin Gadient

Vali Cyber

Ask Me About:

Jonathan Ornelas

Presbyterian Health Plan

Ask Me About:

Ben Strozier

Ingenuity Venture Fund

Ask Me About:

Fran Fernandez

Small Business Development Center at CNM

Ask Me About:

Brannon A. Dugick

Luminaria Labs, LLC

Ask Me About:

Robert Bellospirito

Robert Bellospirito Business Development

Ask Me About:

Nancy Lewis

UNM Innovation Academy

Ask Me About:

Harold Lavender

CNM Ingenuity

Ask Me About:

Pranab Shenoy

What to Expect:
November 15th | Q Station | 10 AM- 12 PM

November 15th
10AM - 12:00 PM

January 13th
2:30 - 4:30PM

March 14th*
10AM - 12:00 PM

May 19th*
2:30 - 5:00PM