The New Mexico Technology Council (NMTC) is actively engaged in events that support the technology and entrepreneurial community in New Mexico. Their latest event, experienceIT, was an expansion of what was Tech Fiesta. However, it has grown and become a collaboration with a multitude of support from local organizations as well as Comcast, who contacted the NMTC looking for an opportunity to work with the New Mexico community.
Keeping Tech in Mind
The multi-track conference had a wide range of attendees from all types of industries. Jessica McElroy, financial Advisor, was enthusiastic about attending.
“I wanted to find out what was going on in the tech world,” she said. “Plus, I was attending the human resource track and so much of that is completely relevant to my own HR situations.”
It all meshes perfectly with one of the tenets for the NMTC. As Nyika Allen, President and CEO of the NMTC, says:
“We want to make sure people are thinking about technology when they do anything in New Mexico.”
The event included four tracks – hireIT, serveIT, makeIT, dreamIT and included informative panel sessions, as well as inspirational presentations from creative techies like Jared Tarbell.
Not Just for Tech
As the driving force behind the NMTC outreach and events, Allen and the NMTC aren’t just focused on technology. With their Scrappy Startup competition, they want to focus on all entrepreneurs and their ability to start a company in a “scrappy” way.
“We really wanted to grow our exposure and participation nationally, so when South by Southwest (SXSW) gave us the opportunity to give tickets to entrepreneurs, it was the perfect match,” said Allen. “And although SXSW Interactive is mostly tech, it’s also for entrepreneurs no matter your product.”
For example, last year’s winners included a non-technical company, Buckle Down Systems. Buckle Down Systems has a patent pending bladder that significantly reduces the time to fix a buckled sidewalk. Not exactly high-tech, but definitely a smart company building in a bootstrap kind of way. Other winners included Pressure Analysis Company, Punctuality App, Wyrdos, and MyChange.
Are You Scrappy?
If you have a Scrappy Startup, deadline to apply is November 1, 2017, at 5 PM. Or if you want to attend the Scrappy Startup Presentations on November 17, 2017, you can get your tickets here. Want to keep up with the NMTC? Sign up for their mailing list for updates on upcoming events or become a member.