ABQid Identifying, Developing Startups

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Congrats to the Winners of Balloon Pitch 2020!

Balloon Pitch 2020 was a huge success with over 140 attendees hearing pitches from ten New Mexico startups. All companies pitched well and answered tough questions from the judges in Q&A, but the following three rose above the rest to claim top prizes.

FIRST PLACE: Parting Stone ($5,000, balloon ride)

SECOND PLACE: GPER G-1 Development Group ($2,500)

THIRD PLACE: Osazda Energy ($1,500)

And, selected as Crowd Favorite by the attendees in the live web meeting: Parting Stone ($200 gift card)!

Congratulations to all our competitors, big thanks to all our investor judges, and huge shoutout to our gold sponsor ROOK ADVISORS as well as our silver sponsors:

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Announcing Balloon Pitch 2020 Competitors!

Balloon Pitch brings New Mexico’s top high-growth startups together with investor judges from multiple states representing over $150m in investable capital. It’s a pitch event like no other, and this year we’re going online!

This year’s competitors come from around New Mexico and are innovating in a range of industries:

  1. Apogee Spirulina. Our most ancient superfood for the most modern-day super you.
  2. B.PUBLIC Prefab (PUBLIC, PBC). Imagine Building Differently.
  3. FreeRange. FreeRange helps banks manage cryptocurrency.
  4. GPER G-1 Development Group. A Novel Therapeutic for the Treatment of Diabetes and Obesity.
  5. HempNotics LLC. We Provide High-Quality CBD-Infused Products & Services.
  6. Osazda Energy. Providing a cost-effective, crack-tolerant metallization process for the solar energy market.
  7. Parting Stone. Empowering families choosing cremation by providing a form of remains that can be touched and held.
  8. Quotient. The Great Revaluation of Assets has Begun.
  9. Rerouted. Making used outdoor gear painless to buy & sell online.
  10. toSERVO. A network of high-quality armed security rapid response providers.

We can’t wait to hear their pitches October 2, 1-3pm ONLINE.

Get your tickets today!

And we couldn’t do this year’s competition without our amazing sponsors:

See you October 2!

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Announcing Competitors & Tickets for Balloon Pitch 2019!

The field is set for an amazing Balloon Pitch 2019! This year’s event, powered by CNM Ingenuity and sponsored by the City of Albuquerque and more, features 8 startups and is being held at Vara Wines on October 3 from 10am-2pm. The event includes pitches with judge Q&A and feedback, as well as coffee, snacks, and a catered networking lunch. One winner will come away with $10k cash for their company and a Mass Ascension flight experience on the first weekend of the  Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, one of our amazing supporters!

Tickets are available now with special early bird pricing. Space is limited!

And now, the competitors:

  1. Adaptive Biomedical Design, offering Sidekick, an assistive technology product that promotes independence for wheelchair users.
  2. EasyFlo, the company with an eco-friendly baby bottle that eliminates the hassle and stress of feeding on the go while preserving our planet
  3. Legacy Concierge, elegantly removing the electronic footprint when a person passes away
  4. Lenties, providing crunchy roasted lentils that are delicious, convenient, cost effective, healthy and sustainable
  5. MS Money Moves, providing a subscription investment analysis service to aspiring investors that provides otherwise out-of-reach expertise and a reduction in time spent on due diligence.
  6. PaintingBots, launching a robotic painting solution initially targeted at commercial operations. The future of painting is robotic.
  7. Perspective Components. Pioneering the world’s smallest mechanical stabilizer for devices and sensors.
  8. Schola, Inc., an online platform that helps match your child to the best school.

Read more about the event on the Balloon Pitch page, our investor judges, and get your tickets to see the pitches, network, and help build the entrepreneurial community!

Amazing Supporters

HUGE thank our amazing supporters helping to #ElevateYourPitch through the Balloon Pitch:

  • City of Albuquerque (Platinum)
  • Clifton Larson Allen (Gold)
  • Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta (Gold)
  • Sorenson Capital (Silver)
  • Merrill Lynch Wealth Management (Silver)
  • Assure Services (Silver)

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Join us Thursday, March 7 for a VC Meetup with Crosslink, Kickstart, and more!

Join us on March 7, 2019, 5-7pm at Lobo Rainforest for a Venture Capital Meetup with Crosslink Capital from San Francisco (investors in Descartes Labs, Ancestry.com, Pandora), California and Kickstart Seed Fund out of Salt Lake City, Utah (investors in AdWallet, Lucid, and Trilumina). The event will also feature representatives from Arrowhead Center, NMA Ventures, Sun Mountain Capital, Aspen Vista Capital, and ABQid Fund.

This event is an exciting opportunity for New Mexico entrepreneurs seeking venture capital to hear from and meet with top regional funds. After a panel and Q&A session, we’ll host a structured networking exercise in which attendees will have the chance to meet 1-on-1 for a brief period with the investors. ABQid Staff will facilitate these interactions to respect everyone’s time.

Heavy appetizers and beverages will be provided. This event is hosted by ABQid, powered by CNM Ingenuity.

RSVP now on Addmi (FREE)

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Medicheck wins Ski Lift Pitch 2019!

We are excited to announce Mexico City-based Medicheck as winner of the fifth-annual ski-based pitch competition in Taos, New Mexico.

Ski Lift Pitch Contest began in 2015 after founding ABQid board member Katie Rice came up with the idea in order to attract more investors to the state. With the support of Taos Ski Valley, the event has successfully brought together snow-loving investors and startups for the past three years. Former Ski Lift Pitch Contest winners include Taos Mountain Energy Bars, UBQid, EquiSeq, and Twistle.

“Ski Lift Pitch is one-of-a-kind,” says Executive Director T.J. Cook. “Connecting entrepreneurs and investors through shared experience is one the biggest values we bring to New Mexico, and everyone who came to this year’s competition made connections that otherwise would been very difficult.”

Competitors on the mountain pitched four judges one at a time while riding up the ski lift. The judges then scored each pitch on a five-point scorecard to determine which of the four companies made it to the final round. Those three companies then pitched to a full crowd to separate group of judges from an indoor stage.

The three finalists were K&K Skin Products, iTherapyDocs, and Medicheck.

Medicheck, represented at the event by founder Dr. Juan Manuel Arellano from Guadalajara, Mexico and CTO Michael Herrick from Albuquerque, is a platform for digitization of medical information that has already partnered with over ten of the biggest hospitals in the country. The two met when Arellano was paired with Herrick in Albuquerque as part of the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI), a U.S. State Department program.

“The spirit of the event is to give entrepreneurs an opportunity to make meaningful connections with investors, and this year was the best yet with outstanding pitches, investors from around the country, amazing conditions at Taos Ski Valley, and, as always, tremendous energy throughout the day,” said Katie Rice, Founder of Ski Lift Pitch.

“Getting to know all of the judges and competitors helped grow my mindset about how this startup world works,” said Arellano. “Being able to go across borders and be not only in Mexico but now in the U.S. as well is amazing. The format of the event was so completely different–and I got to see snow as well.”

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