Santa Fe Business Incubator builds its mentor corps with $15,000 state grant

Teya Vitu, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·1 min read

Aug. 3—A $15,000 state grant will allow the Santa Fe Business Incubator to strengthen mentoring for its 20 tenant startup companies and roughly 20 affiliated clients.

The New Mexico Economic Development Department awarded nearly $260,000 to 15 local economic development organizations through its Local Economic Assistance & Development Support program. LEADS grants help create jobs through recruitment, retention, expansion and startup activities; develop the tax base; and provide incentives for business development.

The incubator over the past two years has been building up its Council of Advisors program, establishing a team of 84 mentors in the areas of biotech, arts and entertainment, manufacturing, information technology and technology, incubator CEO Marie Longserre said.

"They bring real-world experience to these startups," Longserre said. "These grants are critical to be able to deliver quality programs."

Longserre this year also brought in more women and mentors from a broader array of age groups.

"We didn't have a lot of diversity in the group before," she said.