Courtesy of the NMSU News Center, by Justin Bannister
A number of clients from New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center are preparing to present their concepts at the upcoming HD3 Discovery Day, March 21. The event supports economic development by providing an opportunity for startups to turn their bright ideas into profitable products and ventures.
Discovery Day is hosted by NMSU’s Arrowhead Center, in partnership with High Desert Discovery District. The local event takes place at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces and will be the first of four Discovery Days around the state in 2013. This year is the first time the event will be held in the southwestern part of New Mexico.
“We’ve heard feedback from innovators in every corner of the state that HD3 programs would be easier to access if we took the show on the road. So that is exactly what we are doing,” said Michelle Miller, founder and CEO of HD3.
The presenters include Arrowhead Center clients Mike Lisk, of Remote Well Solutions in Cloudcroft; Kramer Winingham, of 35 Solar in Las Cruces; Jon Forrest, of 180 in Las Cruces; and Rachael Ryan, for her work in developing Wildlife Diagnostics in Las Cruces.
Each will have an opportunity to evaluate and discuss their innovation, their challenges, strategy and market promise in front of a highly experienced group of business leaders in a private setting. From there, one to three of the presenters will be selected to take part in an intense “boot camp” for entrepreneurs to prepare them to take their businesses to the next level.
“As a New Mexico-based business, Remote Well Solutions is excited to have been selected to be part of Discovery Days and the opportunity it represents for us to meet and work with other New Mexico entities in marketing a great new technology and create jobs in New Mexico,” said Mike Lisk, of Remote Well Solutions.
Remote Well Solutions is a family-owned business that helps cattle ranchers in the arid Southwest meet their needs for water. The company specializes in efficiency and avoiding waste of valuable fuel, water and other resources.
“We are excited about the HD3 competition because of the opportunity to pitch our idea to a large panel of experts who are interested in breakthrough technology, regardless of its maturity level,” said Kramer Winingham, chief executive officer and president for 35 Solar.
35 Solar is a company that looks to take advantage of new developments in solar energy production. Winingham, along with the company’s vice president, Brittain Catron, and chief technology officer, Leon Viveros, are all current students or recent graduates of NMSU.
“We are delighted to be selected to participate in Discovery Day,” said Ryan. “This unique opportunity provides access to a collection of entrepreneurial resources that are not easily accessible otherwise to a technology-based startup company in Southern New Mexico. To succeed in starting a business during an economic recession requires careful planning and a savvy entrepreneur, and we believe the resources provided by HD3 will be valuable in achieving this success.”
Her company, Wildlife Diagnostics, specializes in providing conservation genetic consultation services for the management of threatened and endangered wildlife populations. She had worked in academia for more than eight years and developed Wildlife Diagnostics to meet the growing needs of the conservation community.
“Being selected from the dozens of applicants is a real honor,” Forrest said. “It is already helping our team have even more confidence that what we’re doing is really going to make a difference not only in New Mexico, but for the rest of the country, as well.”
Forrest is CEO and cofounder of 180, which provides merchants with a way to broadcast and pre-sell exclusive offers to targeted local consumers using only text messages. A portion of the company’s profits also go toward anti-bullying efforts and awareness.
For more information on HD3 Discovery Day, contact Michelle Miller at 505-310-5711 or visit www.hddd.org. For more information on NMSU’s Arrowhead Center contact Zetdi Runyan at 575-646-7833.
