View original El Paso Times article

Melodya Salaices believes that getting a Small Business Week Award validates the help she’s given her fellow women business owners.

“It means that I’m making a dent in the lives of women who dream of entrepreneurship because I’m one of them,” said Salaices, owner and chief executive officer of View From the Top Inc.

“It was a very scary step to start my own business and go from full-time employment with a very good salary to launching my own business,” she added.

Salaices has been named the Small Business Administration’s El Paso District winner as the Women in Business Champion of the Year. The district consists of El Paso County and nine other West Texas counties.

She will be honored along with nine other business owners or advocates at a luncheon May 3 at the Wyndham El Paso Airport Hotel, 2027 Airway.

The luncheon will be part of National Small Business Week, during May 20-26. The local event is organized by the SBA, SCORE, the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce and the El Paso Small Business Consortium.

Salaices started her company in 2007. It provides business services, business management and communication services to other businesses, mostly other small one.

Four years ago her company launched the IFem Network, which is free business mentoring, networking and online resources for women in partnership with SCORE and the Greater Chamber. That effort is what might have garnered this award for her, Salaices said.

Events like this luncheon are important to recognize the achievements of small businesses, she added.

“We are the fastest growing sector, especially Latina small-business owners,” Salaices said. “We are a growing sector and will continue to make incredible strides. Our contributions to the economy are huge, and we’ll continue to grow.

“It’s important to provide small businesses with the tools and resources they need to succeed,” she continued.

Phillip C. Silva, the SBA’s El Paso district director, said it’s important to recognize small-business owners because they “work so hard and encounter so many different challenges.”

“When they survive and have a positive impact on the economy, they deserve to be recognized for their accomplishments,” he said.

Oscar Venegas, president and owner of Venegas Engineering Management & Construction – or VEMAC, as it is more commonly known – was named the Small Business Person of the Year for the El Paso District.

His company is a commercial contractor and a concrete subcontractor for larger companies, especially ones doing work at Fort Bliss.

He started the company in 2003 with three employees and now has 100.

“Small-business people, especially in my field, provide the labor,” Venegas said. “You can import a lot of things, like a good project manager or a good superintendent. You can’t import 70 good trades-labor people into a marketplace.”

For helping his business grow, Venegas credits support from the SBA and the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

“They provide you with business acumen, like if you need a business plan or how you’re going to finance your project,” he said.

Small business is also an important driver in the El Paso economy, Venegas said.

“If you look at El Paso, it’s a bunch of small businesses,” he said. “We don’t have a lot of big businesses in this town. We’re kind of isolated from other large communities.”

Recognizing small-business success stories helps to point the way for “youngsters,” he added.

“It’s important for younger generations that they understand there are opportunities for them and it’s important for El Paso that we drive those people to be in business and be successful,” Venegas said.

The Orrantia family, owners of two Julio’s Cafe Corona restaurants in El Paso, were named the winners of Jeffrey Butland Family-Owned Business of the Year Award.

Francisco J. Orrantia is vice president of the company, which his grandfather founded more than 70 years ago in Juárez.

“It started in a little house in Juárez with four tables, and it has grown to what it is now,” he said. “My grandmother was the cook, and my grandfather the waiter.”

The family now operates two restaurants in El Paso – at 8050 Gateway East, which is 26 years old, and at 3630 Joe Battle, which just celebrated its first anniversary. They employ 120 people.

Francisco’s mother, Maria A. Orrantia, is the company’s president and the general manager for the Gateway East restaurant. Francisco Orrantia runs the new restaurant, and his sister, Ana L. Orrantia, is the accountant.

“We manage the business very closely,” Francisco Orrantia said. “Our food is very consistent and the service is excellent. That’s something that people recognize when they come here to eat. Not only are our recipes 100 percent Mexican, but our quality is constant.”

The Small Business Development Center of El Paso Community College was instrumental in helping the family expand to a second location, Francisco Orrantia said.

“They helped me with loan documentation to start a second location, helped with a sales forecast, a business plan, all those documents that banks take seriously to grant you a loan,” he said.

View original El Paso Times article

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear Sue Malone at The Hub of Human Innovation on April 5.

One of the busiest women in America, Malone is on the road throughout the year working with SBA partners around the nation to reach out to small businesses.

As an inspirational speaker, Malone has been spotlighted in countless speaking engagements, as well as on CNN, “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Trick My Truck.”

Starting your own business and growing that business can be daunting tasks. Malone of Strategies For Small Business will provide insights and tips on SBA loans as one way to access the funding required to start and grow a business.

Malone’s sole mission for the past several years has been to help people obtain access to capital to start or expand their businesses. In doing so, one of her specialties has become small-business start-up loans.

Malone is a small-business advocate for all 50 states and has been so successful that she is the No. 1 SBA lender in loan volume to women in business and the largest SBA lender in the county.

Malone has funded more than 30,000 small-business loans.

Her presentation is sponsored by RampCorp and The Hub of Human Innovation as part of the monthly RBTec series.

RBTec was formed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs.

RBTec meets monthly and provides opportunities for networking with other entrepreneurs. Its purpose is to connect innovative, high-growth companies to know-how, talent, technology and capital.

RampCorp, a program from Texas State University-San Marcos, works locally with a group of woman entrepreneurs to help them start scalable business that will benefit the El Paso region. It provides training, coaching and mentoring for people who want to be entrepreneurs or who want to scale up an existing business.

The Hub of Human Innovation is El Paso’s only technology incubator.

The Hub works with entrepreneurs who have technology-based scalable ideas to grow that idea and bring it to market.

Hub staff, partners and volunteers also work with technology companies seeking a “soft landing” in the El Paso region.

The Hub’s goal through this event, and a series of upcoming workshops, is to support entrepreneurs through the provision of critical information and contacts.

The Hub’s support for entrepreneurs includes the Clean Energy Partners Program, Manufacturing Program and The Hub Team Mentor Program modeled after the world-class MIT Venture Mentoring Service.

Nancy Lowery is assistant director of The Hub of Human Innovation.

To attend

• The Hub of Human Innovation will be at 5 p.m. April 5 at 500 W. Overland, Suite 230.
• Information, RSVP:”Elizabeth Holguin at 321-3125 or email her atElizabeth@hubofhumaninnovation.org.

By Sandy Hicks

View original UTEP News Service article

You have a brilliant idea for a new business or product when you find yourself riding in the same elevator with the CEO, business mogul or venture capitalist who could be the key to your success. What can you do on a 60-second elevator ride? A lot, according to organizers of the 4^th annual Camino Real Venture Competition (CRVC), a business plan contest being held March 9 and 10 at The University of Texas at El Paso’s College of Business Administration and the Hilton Garden Inn.

Student teams from UTEP, New Mexico State University, the University of New Mexico, the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado State University and Tec Milenio-Chihuahua will gather to demonstrate their business savvy through three phases of competition over two days. Teams produce a written business plan, a PowerPoint presentation, and what can often be the real game-changer in any venture, the “60-Second Elevator Pitch.” There is more at stake for these competitors than just bragging rights and a blue ribbon. Real cash prizes are up for grabs; cash prizes that can fund the start-up costs of the business idea being presented. The final winner is also guaranteed a slot at the next level of competition, the Venture Labs Investment Competition held in May at The University of Texas in Austin.

The CRVC is the brainchild of many collaborators and lovers of the entrepreneurial spirit in business and technology such as the Center for Research Entrepreneurship and Innovative Enterprises (CREIE) at UTEP, The Hub of Human Innovation (HUB), the Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory (BNSL) and The United States-Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC). Two major players in the competition are UTEP’s College of Business and College of Engineering.

David Novick, Ph.D., associate dean for graduate studies and research in the College of Engineering, is a relative newcomer to the CRVC organizing committee, but is just as enthusiastic as the veteran committee members. Novick sees incredible possibilities for students in the endeavor.

“For students who are interested and ready, the competition provides a unique opportunity to grow skills and get feedback; they have their ideas listened to by people familiar with the start-up process,” he said.

Fellow organizing committee member, Gary Williams, Ph.D., director of CREIE, shows visible enthusiasm when talking about the CRVC.

“The goal of this contest is to provide student entrepreneurs an opportunity to compete with like-minded people who are interested in business. It is worth the effort because it teaches students how to prepare roughly six months of quality work in about two months,” he said. Williams is proud that CREIE offers support to any students with entrepreneurial aspirations through mentoring and workshops that teach them how to take their plan from idea to commercialization. Williams recalls a two-time competitor and past winning team of CRVC that successfully launched the idea they presented into the marketplace. The company, EvoAir [Evolved Aircraft Systems], specializes in innovative products for light aircraft.

Michael Acosta, director of FUMEC/El Paso has been on the CRVC judging panel since the competition began. Acosta said one of his favorite things about judging the contest is seeing the variety of innovations from the teams and the business plans they present. While all three of the competition phases are equally important, the PowerPoint presentation is critical because a team must know how to market and sell their product or service, Acosta said.

“If they can’t sell it in the PowerPoint, it’s not going to fly,” he said. “This is a business plan competition; having a great innovation is not enough, they must have a plan that is both persuasive and dazzling, but factual.”

One of UTEP’s four competing teams is comprised of engineering graduate students Jorge Mireles and David Espolin, business graduate student Diego Capaletti, and doctoral student Cesar Terrazas.

“It has been a very exciting,” Mireles said of their highly technical project. “One of our team members, Diego Capaletti, is an MBA student and his understanding of the business side of things has made this a great collaboration.” The team members agree that if they win, they want to use the prize money to launch their business. Although the students will be playing to the judges, they hope to draw a crowd. The contest is open to the public, including the reception held at the Hilton Garden Inn in the evening of the first day of competition.

Alberto Correa, Ph.D., president of Quantum Research of the West Inc., Mexico’s representative of Team Technologies Inc., is another original CRVC judge. His advice to student competitors is “Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!” he said. “Although your idea is your dream, a business plan should not be a story of your dreams. It is a cold, analytical sales document full of facts and figures – it should sell your idea with facts and research.” As a judge and mentor, Correa likes to see PowerPoint presentations that are a clean, professional, uncluttered summary of the business plan and include a market analysis, a marketing strategy and a sales plan. He also believes that in real life, the elevator pitch is paramount.

“Without a good elevator pitch, you won’t get the opportunity to have your business plan read or your PowerPoint seen,” he said.

The Bi-National Sustainability Laboratory and the Camino Real Angels were among the original catalysts for the creation of the CRVC. BNSL is a nonprofit organization designed to help create high growth, tech-based and innovative businesses in the border region from San Diego to Brownsville. Paul Maxwell, Ph.D., executive director of BNSL, is also an enthusiastic member of the judge’s panel.

“In terms of showing students interested in being their own boss, who want to be a part of something new and big, this contest will show them very real aspects to starting a business,” he said. As a judge, Maxwell is looking for that student who can convince him they know how to get from A to Z, from idea to commercialization.

“While it’s great to be wowed by a presentation, a competitor needs to know why they are asking an investor to put up funds, and be able to express that,” he said.

Nancy Lowery, assistant director of HUB and a driving force behind the success of the CRVC, is proud of the competition and works very hard in tandem with faculty, students and community leaders to produce a quality contest. Lowery is excited that students from near and far can experience the amazing opportunity to have their ideas heard and receive invaluable feedback from professionals in diverse fields of business and academia. And of course, a cash prize doesn’t hurt.

View original El Paso Times article

Regional universities and National Labs conduct billions of dollars of research annually in the corridor from Los Alamos to Juarez. Some of this research results in technologies that are available for license, providing a unique opportunity for start-ups and established companies alike to take advantage of this cutting edge research.

“Everything You Need to Know about Technology Licensing” is the theme of this month’s Rio Bravo Technology Entrepreneurs Council (RBTech) where a panel of entrepreneurs experienced in licensing technology from universities and national labs will cover the key elements of the license agreement: upfront fees, annual maintenance fees, royalties, milestones and equity. The panel will also discuss their own experience and provide advice for other entrepreneurs going through the process.  Featured on the panel will be:  Dr. Russell R. Chianelli from UTEP,  Xavier Saenz and Jon Edwards of MRI Enterprises, and Laura Bosworth of TeVido™ BioDevices.

RBTech was formed by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, with the purpose of connecting innovative, high-growth companies to knowhow, talent, technology and capital. Each month, on the third Thursday of the month, RBTech provides opportunities for networking with other entrepreneurs and supporting professionals, an interactive session with a successful entrepreneur or leading industry expert, and an open forum for discussing success stories and solving problems.

This month’s RBTech is held in conjunction with RampCorp, a program from Texas State University-San Marcos. RampCorp is working locally with a group of woman entrepreneurs to help them start scalable business that will benefit the El Paso region. Utilizing the guidance and assistance of investors, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and peers, RampCorp works to develop promising entrepreneurs by exposing them to all the aspects of creating and running a scalable business.

RampCorp also exposes participants to technologies that are available for license. Thus the partnership between RampCorp and RBTech was created to bring entrepreneurs who have been through the licensing process together with people who are thinking of starting a technology based business, or who are looking for new technologies to integrate into their current business.

This all ties neatly into the mission of The Hub of Human Innovation which was established last year in downtown El Paso to provide incubation services to technology based businesses. The Hub nurtures the development of technology-based businesses, helping them survive and grow especially during the start-up period when they are most vulnerable. The Hub also assists technology-based businesses that are expanding, relocating, or simply need direction to move their business forward.

Hub Programs include the Clean Energy Incubator Program – in collaboration with The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the Austin Technology Incubator, the Clean Energy Partners Program, the Manufacturing Partners Program, the Service Provider Program, and the Team Mentor Program – with training and support from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Venture Mentoring Services Program.

The Hub will host this joint RBTech – RampCorp Technology Transfer Night Thursday February 16th from 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM at its offices on 500 W. Overland, ste 230.

To RSVP or for further information contact Elizabeth Holguin at 915-321-3125 Elizabeth@hubofhumaninnovation.org.

View original El Paso Inc. article

Austin-based EDCO Ventures said Friday it has made a $500,000 investment in the local startup, CherryFusion, meant to launch the fledgling company nationwide.

The private El Paso-based startup bills itself as a “gaming, gadget and gizmo” repair company. It specializes in repairing video game consoles like the Xbox, MP3 players such as the iPod, smartphones, iPads and Apple notebooks, but with a twist.

The company, headquartered in the Lower Valley, has developed an online ordering process that allows customers to quickly get their electronics repaired by mail.

Dave Wares has been appointed president of the local company, according to EDCO Ventures, a venture development organization that focuses on investments along the Texas-Mexico border. Its mission is to identify high-growth companies and help the region and its economy.

Wares, who has managed several successful startups in the U.S. and Scotland, will oversee the company’s expansion. Right now, he lives in Austin and says he hasn’t yet decided if he will move to El Paso.

“The market we are tapping into is a $1 billion market in the U.S., and we feel that we have some unique advantages and can capture a reasonable share of that market,” Wares tells El Paso Inc.

CherryFusion is prepping for rapid expansion and an online marketing campaign. Wares says he hopes CherryFusion will employ more than 40 people in five years. Right now, the company employs fewer than 10 people at 9570 Pan American Drive.

In the next few weeks, the company will launch a new website that will allow customers to quickly mail their small electronics to CherryFusion for repair.

Repairs will be made in one day for a flat rate and return shipping will be free. If the device can’t be repaired, it is returned for free, or at the customer’s option, purchased by CherryFusion for parts.

“Certainly tens of millions in revenue is achievable,” Wares says.

Bankrupt Blockbuster

CherryFusion was founded in 2007 by El Pasoan Hector Leon, the CEO of Innovei International. CherryFusion saw some early success but staked its future on a relationship with Blockbuster, which filed for bankruptcy protection in 2010.

In 2008, the local startup partnered with Blockbuster to use its stores as drop-off points for items that need repair.

CherryFusion – meant to conjure up images of the other tech companies named after berries and fruit like Blackberry and Apple – spent much of its initial investment designing an automated kiosk that provided consumers a way to send in their broken MP3 players and game consoles for repair from local Blockbuster locations.

The company hoped the deal would launch CherryFusion nationwide.

After an eight-month pilot program, CherryFusion was able to obtain Blockbuster’s backing to put its kiosks in Blockbuster locations outside El Paso. It seemed like perfect timing as Blockbuster was looking for new ways to entice customers to visit its stores as companies like Redbox, Netflix and Apple’s iTunes ate away at its market share.

Then Blockbuster filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2010.

Venture capitalist

Laura Bosworth, “venture executive” for EDCO Ventures, who has been affiliated with the company since it was founded four years ago, says they had to either find capital to try a different business model and expand through their website, or consider shutting down.

The company got capital.

“This is the perfect time for CherryFusion to broaden its horizons and launch nationally,” Bosworth says. “It is a very fragmented market, which provides us with a real opportunity to capture market share.”

CherryFusion has not given up on the kiosk idea and may look for another partner in the future, Wares says, but right now they are focused on launching the new website.

Wares was born in Scotland and has 18 years of experience founding, managing and successfully selling startups. In 1993, he founded Display Products Technology in Scotland, an LCD repair company that employed 450 people.

In 2002, Europe’s biggest publicly traded private-equity firm, 3i, bought a controlling share of the company for $14 million.

Most recently, Wares served as CEO of Innovative Barbecue Solutions, which developed a charcoal product that eliminates the need for lighter fluid. The company sold the technology to a major charcoal brand.

View original El Paso Times article

UTEP graduates, from left, Eduardo Andrade, Arturo Romero and Isaac Pabon started a new green energy consulting business, Pasolus. (Photo courtesy of UTEP News Service)

Disenchanted with a corporate structure commanded by the almighty dollar, three UTEP graduates are using the region’s oldest educational degree to usher in a new approach to the bottom line.

For Eduardo Andrade, Arturo Romero and Isaac Pabon — graduates of UTEP’s undergraduate metallurgical and materials engineering degree program — business is not just about making money

“It’s a triple bottom line,” Romero said. “Economics, social, environmental.”

And when everything is based on the accumulation of profits, Pabon said, that’s when resources get exhausted.

The trio’s newest business venture, Pasolus, aims to change that mentality and replace it with more sustainable practices. Those practices include more than just installation of the most energy-efficient technologies and advanced renewable energy technology.

The business uses educational movements explaining to clients exactly where their energy consumptions are going and then provides options for preventing waste.

The goal of the consulting business is “solving the energy consumption needs of our clients,” Pabon said. “Saving energy. Saving money. Saving the environment.”

While the El Paso area has businesses focused on energy-efficient practices and technology installations, Andrade said, none provide a service similar in scope to Pasolus.

“The environment is very important to us as metallurgists. We’re responsible for producing materials in safe and clean ways. Everybody else does not necessarily share in that,” Pabon said.

The entrepreneurs can recall looking around at their peers in the UTEP metallurgical and materials undergraduate degree program.

“Take a good look,” their instructors noted, “because by the end of this program most of you will be gone.”

After graduation, Romero, took a job with the Department of Energy and later a consulting firm.

Pabon and Andrade took jobs with, respectively, Texas Steel Conversion and Alcoa/NASA. But they soon found themselves back in El Paso. Pabon and Andrade are now pursuing their master’s degrees in metallurgy at UTEP.

Reconnecting after graduation and sharing their stories of working for companies displaying tunnel vision on the bottom line, the three friends reassessed their own priorities.

“It’s just an incredible story how quickly they came together and are going ahead,” said Gary Williams, Ph.D., director of UTEP’s Center for Research Entrepreneurship and Innovative Enterprises.

Pasolus was established in late December 2011. And the new business already has its first client — Texas Custom Body and Paint.

Andrade, Pabon and Romero hope to leave sustainable marks on more than just their clients.

They intend to use only American-made products, to employ only local El Paso installers for projects and to encourage clients to pursue waste prevention that in the end could create more jobs in the El Paso region.

As metallurgists and engineers, Pabon said, the colleagues want to be a part of a movement that creates more engineering jobs for UTEP graduates so they can stay in the region.

“We can honestly say we love the El Paso area,” Andrade said. “We want to influence El Paso in a positive way. We want El Paso city to be the model city for the future so the nation can look at us as the foundation for sustainability.”

For more information on Pasolus, call 256-8612.

by Michael Hissam / Special to the Times

View original El Paso Times Article

A binational effort led by the El Paso del Norte chapter of the Network of Mexican Talents Abroad aims to boost regional production of components to Juárez maquiladoras.

Alberto Correa, president of the chapter, as well as Quantum Research of the West Inc., said the El Paso chapter seeks to enable local suppliers to increase production of direct material components to the maquilardoras. This would be done through higher technology matched to component-product needs to warrant a larger share of that supply market.

Direct materials include components that become part of the final product shipped from Juárez to a global base of customers.

These materials represent the value added — what the customers want to pay for in products sold to them. In plain Spanglish: bigger bucks, más dinero, compañero.

“About 2.5 percent of direct materials used in Ciudad Juárez come from suppliers in Ciudad Juárez; El Paso represents about 2 percent. This is a very big problem for the maquiladoras. That means that 95 percent of the materials or components come from other parts of the world. That’s the money!” he declared.

Maquiladoras Juarenses use billions of components yearly. That’s billions with a “B,” mil millones en español. Correa and his group want to make sure more of them could be made here in Paso del Norte.

Correa and representatives of regional Mexican economic organizations last month signed at the Mexican Consulate in El Paso a collaboration agreement that will support the development and transfer of technology to maquiladora supplier development programs focused on Juárez: “We have contact with high-tech companies, with leading universities and leading laboratories, either directly or through third parties. In addition, we have negotiated with the Secretary of the Economy in Mexico for them to support this development. The technology is transferrable and the maquiladora suppliers do not have all the funding needed for this type of effort.”

The amount of funding from the Secretary of Economy has yet to be determined as each company must identify its needs then seek federal help with the funding: “The mechanisms are already set. The government will not supply the entire funding, but they will supply a very important percentage.”

In addition to Juárez, Correa pointed to other opportunities in the state of Chihuahua. He explained that once companies gain the technology to produce, they must accelerate their production activities to meet the needs of the maquiladoras or other customer entities. “In the state of Chihuahua there are several interesting clusters that have to be supported,” he said. “We are talking about the manufacturing cluster in Juárez, which is the main focus. We are also talking about the aeronautic cluster in Chihuahua City, as well as the agricultural cluster in Cuauhtemoc. All those need suppliers who have the right technology.

“We supply the technology so that the locals can manufacture the components.”

Alloys and composites used in the growing aeronautic industry in Chihuahua represent opportunities for the higher-tech, supply-side manufacturing needed for support.

Working from the Hub of Human Innovation incubator in downtown El Paso, Correa, representing Team Technologies of Albuquerque, offers engineering services, technology development, precision manufacturing, instrumentation and controls to companies in the El region. “We plan to become a source of reliable technology for local need,” he said. “We work for the potential integration of a binational facilities, and expect to contribute on a short- to medium-term basis to job-creation efforts pursued by regional policies.”

Concerning the agreement or convenio signed last month, Correa added, “The projects derived from it will constitute a substantial advance in the integration of industry in the region to the global economy through knowledge.”

Michael Hissam is president of Trans-National Executive Communications. He may be reached at michael.tnec@ymail.com

El Paso Times Editorial Board

View original El Paso Times Article

Often, businesses need a little help to make a successful start. And help is available through a business incubator at the University of Texas at El Paso — the Hub of Human Innovation.

The El Paso City Council recently approved giving the hub $1.255 million over four years.

It’s a good way to spend the money, which comes from a new increase in the El Paso Electric Co. franchise fee. That fee is paid by EPEC customers in the city.

A lot of the money will go to help the Medical Center of the Americas, something that prompted city Rep. Eddie Holguin to wonder whether the funds would be “double dipping.” The MCA is supposed to support biomedical innovation, something the Hub also does.

But with El Paso’s emphasis on becoming a medical care and medical research center of international note, it seems logical to sink that money into biomedical research.

The MCA’s strategic location on the border makes it a natural focus of both national and international attention for treatment, research and associated businesses.

The Hub also concentrates on clean energy, biotechnology, defense, automotive and advanced manufacturing — all areas that hold great promise in 21st century business.

It provides office and lab space, business expertise — and how important is that! — and various other resources that can help businesses get going.

The point is to help and encourage business. Businesses employ people, pay taxes and generally play a huge role in local, state, national and international economies.

So the Hub — the incubator — can play a vital role

View original El Paso Times article

The City Council on Tuesday agreed to put up $1.255 million over four years to fund a business incubator at the University of Texas at El Paso.

The funds will go to the Hub of Human Innovation, which aims to help businesses make a successful start, especially in biotechnology, clean energy, defense, automotive and advanced manufacturing.

The funds will come from a new, 0.75 percent increase in the franchise fee paid by El Paso Electric customers in the city.

Much of the rest of the money from those fees will go to develop the Medical Center of the Americas.

City Rep. Eddie Holguin asked whether the funds would amount to a “double dip” for biomedical innovation, since that is something the Medical Center is also supposed to pursue.

“We want MCA to develop expertise, but they’re not ready to get up-and-running incubating the biosciences,” said city Rep. Susie Byrd.

Once the Medical Center is able foster biomedical businesses, the Hub will shift its focus from them, Byrd said.

In business parlance, the Hub of Human Innovation is known as an “incubator.”

It provides office and lab space, business expertise and other resources to people seeking to start their own businesses.

Gary Williams, director of UTEP’s Center for Research Entrepeneurship and Innovative Enterprises, said the Hub will look for “gazelles,” which are business plans in fields that promise to attract complimentary pursuits.

Business people call groups of complimentary pursuits business “clusters.”

“We don’t plan to turn anybody away, but we want to focus on the industries that fit the clusters,” Williams said.

Marty Schladen may be reached at mschladen@elpasotimes.com; 546-6127.

El Paso’s brand new business incubator has selected its first class of baby companies and aims to do nothing less than nurture the budding entrepreneurs and their startups into technology powerhouses.

With hopes of becoming the next big thing, five companies have made it through the application process so far, leaving eight office or cubicle spaces open at the incubator, named the Hub of Human Innovation.

One startup, EcoLink, is preparing to market a house its founder claims can be built in three days by two people with rubber mallets, using technology devised by a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Another holds 19 patents, its founder says. Their would-be products include everything from child seat alert sensors that prevent parents from forgetting children in the car, to a system for reusing gray water at home.

That startup, LeFran World Products, is “about to take off like a rocket,” says Cathy Swain, the Hub’s new executive director.

In an effort to look the part, the incubator appears to have imported its style from Silicon Valley.

Inside, the walls are painted stark white with special whiteboard paint, and a few colorful doodles have been drawn on the walls with dry-erase markers to advertise the point. Presumably, the walls will be used for brain storming at some point.

Reminiscent of a loft, the Hub is essentially one 3,000-square-foot room spanned by gray, polished concrete floors and brick walls. A row of glass-fronted offices lines one wall, each just large enough for a desk and chair, and a row of cubicles lines another.

Wall Street, Main Street
While the vision for the Hub is expansive, like the companies it has taken under its wing, its start is modest.

City Council recently funded the incubator to the tune of $1.3 million over four years, its largest source of funding yet. The incubator had been crawling along with support from a $200,000 state grant since its grand opening in late July.

That’s been enough to secure space in the Union Plaza District Downtown, in the Sotoa Gallery building at 500 W. Overland, and hire executive director Swain, but that’s about it.

Swain has done a bit of everything, she says, from working on Wall Street in New York as a vice president for Oppenheimer and Co., to working on Main Street, literally, in St. Johnsbury, Vt., as CFO for Northern Community Investment Corp.

Most recently, she was assistant vice chancellor for commercial development for the University of Texas System. That put her in charge of research commercialization efforts at the system’s 15 campuses.

So what brought Swain to El Paso to take the executive director position at the upstart incubator?

“It is a clean sheet of paper. I love that,” she says, adding “El Paso is Austin in 1985 – all of the resources are here for it to really take off. But, you know, I am not interested in building an Austin here in El Paso; I am interested in introducing opportunities that will improve the quality of life and that will, essentially, make an asset out of the border.”

She turns and points at the only decoration on the wall behind her desk, two large maps.

“The Mexico/Texas border region is the gateway from Nova Scotia to Cape Horn,” Swain says.

What’s an incubator?
The first wall you see walking through the Hub’s front door is bright yellow, with the words “Technology Meets Market” painted in large letters. That is essentially what the Hub is designed to do – serve as a launch pad for startups, helping them turn their ideas into marketable products.

Those startups that make the cut and are accepted into the program can choose from different levels of service.

Some might need office space and others just a cubicle. Or there are those who are called “associates” who are not located at the Hub but take advantage of its other services.

Beyond the office or cubicle space, the incubator advertises on its website that it provides startups with mentorship, contacts to establish management teams and boards, help identifying investment capital, business gap analysis, access to a library of business development tools, and help creating business plans.

“Business incubation focuses on working with people in the community who may already have a business idea, but who need additional assistance in taking that idea to the next level,” says Linda Knopp, director of policy analysis and research for the National Business Incubation Association in Athens, Ohio.

The screening process involves a written application, a 20-minute presentation to a screening committee and an interview conducted by administrators and staff.

The Hub advertises that it is particularly looking for startups with high growth potential, who have innovative intellectual property, sufficient seed capital or personal resources to carry the venture for four months, products or services that can be brought to market in no more than three years, and founders who have a “coachable attitude.”

The fee structure for the incubator’s services is still under review, Swain says, but will probably involve some sort of monthly fee.

While the Hub has several partners – including Innovate El Paso, the City of El Paso, Medical Center of the Americas Foundation, Paso del Norte Group, U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC), University of Texas at El Paso, and the Bi-national Sustainability Laboratory – it will be its own organization with a stand-alone board.

The Hub has submitted an application to become a 501c(3) non-profit organization, according to Swain, and is working to fill 18 board positions.

The first class
Long-time El Paso developer David Bingham, founder of EcoLink, says he aims to have 1,000 of his company’s mallet-built “microhouses” constructed in the next 18 months.

In the Hub’s conference room, he pulls up a presentation on his iPad.

The homes run from 250-square-feet to 750-square-feet and retail for $20,000 to $40,000, according to Bingham. They can also be pieced together to make an apartment complex.

The homes are rigged with solar panels, a wind turbine and small generator, and can operate independently from the electrical grid.

Right now, he says the Hub is helping him find a manufacturing facility.

While the homes are not pre-fabricated and are built onsite, Bingham says, the pieces are digitally fabricated from a composite made of plant-based materials on a CNC machine, computer-controlled mills that accurately cut parts and components to make pretty much anything.

Besides EcoLink and LeFran World Products, other companies that have been accepted at the Hub are RoofCARE, a company that has developed a method of restoring and reclaiming roofs instead of replacing them, and TEAM Technologies Inc., an advanced engineering and electronics manufacturing company.

Local startup EvoAir also has a cubicle in the Hub. It has developed products to make general aviation safer by automatizing some of the tasks normally performed by the pilot.

Nationwide trend
Although El Paso is a bit late to the game, the incubator model is still a relatively new one.

While there were only 12 incubators in the country in 1980, there are now about 1,200 in the U.S. and 7,000 around the world, according to the National Business Incubation Association, or NBIA.

And nationwide, the idea of incubators as economic stimulators continues to gain steam, especially since the Great Recession, says Knopp with the NBIA.

More communities are adopting a “grow your own strategy,” as unemployment remains high, instead of simply trying to entice companies to the area, which only moves jobs, Knopp says.

The incubator model has proven effective for startups, she says, with 89 percent of companies that graduate from incubators still in business five years later.

El Paso may be playing catch-up when it comes to developing the infrastructure typically associated with turning ideas into successful startups – active angel investors, access to venture capital, business incubation and the like – but Swain says things are changing fast here.

“I see it rapidly evolving,” she says. “You’ve come a long way, baby.”

E-mail El Paso Inc. reporter Robert Gray at rsgray@elpasoinc.com or call (915) 534-4422 ext. 105.