The Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship
The Hunt Family Foundation committed $2.5 million over six years to launch the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship to advance Arrowhead Center’s work in commercializing discoveries and innovations, encouraging entrepreneurship, launching and developing new businesses, and creating lasting partnerships in the Borderplex region.
With these funds, Arrowhead Center has extended existing programming and created new initiatives to promote economic development. Working with partners across the Borderplex, the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship is having a meaningful and lasting impact on entrepreneurs, businesses, and communities.
Leveraging and Growing Collaboration in the Borderplex Region
The Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship is playing a critical role in implementation of the Borderplex Alliance’s regional strategic planning. Key to this work is ensuring that existing partnerships between economic development experts and stakeholders are nurtured, and that new relationships are formed. By working as a team, we can position the region for economic, social, and quality of life improvements. This work is underway through developments such as the formation of the Borderplex Entrepreneurship Task Force and launch of Innovation Frontera.
Student Startup Sponsorships
One of the brightest points of the Hunt Center programming is the student startup sponsorship program, which provides crucial financial support and mentorship for selected participants in Arrowhead’s Studio G student business accelerator.
Student entrepreneurs supported by Hunt sponsorships are diverse in their personal and educational backgrounds and through the ventures they are pursuing. Recruited from throughout the NMSU System, the first cohort of Hunt-sponsored students has made impressive progress in their entrepreneurial efforts.
Please see the video below to meet some members of the first cohort of Hunt-sponsored students.
Launch Licensing Studio
Established in 2011, Arrowhead Center’s LAUNCH program provided commercialization and business development mentorship for ventures based on technologies developed at NMSU. Through the Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship, LAUNCH has expanded significantly.
LAUNCH participants work with teams of business experts to validate and demonstrate their technologies, explore possible customer bases and markets, and identify investment opportunities.
Following LAUCH, participants receive ongoing support through NMSU’s Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer to continue commercialization progress.
Investor and Entrepreneur-in-Residence
The Hunt Center supports Arrowhead’s Investor-in-Residence and Entrepreneur-in-Residence programs, which give clients and program participants access to expert mentors who can guide them through technology commercialization and business startup. In addition to providing valuable advice and serving as sounding boards for new entrepreneurs challenges, Investors-and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence help those seeking funding with connections to their deep professional networks.
Investor-in-Residence: Dr. Beto Pallares
Dr. Pallares is an active high tech early-stage investor and university lecturer who conducts research on incubators and accelerators. He also serves on several corporate and venture fund advisory boards. He is a Kauffman Fellow, as well as a Presidio Institute Cross Sector Leadership Fellow. He received a BA in Economics from Brandeis University, and a MBA and PhD in International Business from the University of Texas-El Paso.
Entrepreneur-In-Residence: Dr. Yun Li
Dr. Yun Li, PhD, is Managing Director of VIC Ventures’ New Mexico Branch. Her multifaceted professional career spans from R&D and global program management in Fortune 500 companies to technology commercialization and startup business consulting. In 2006, she started a consulting firm in business and professional development, assisting a wide range of companies in building commercialization strategies and capabilities, clarifying value propositions, defining applications/markets, building teams, and raising capital.
Arrowhead Center Thanks the Hunt Family Foundation
CARLOS MURGUIA,
DIRECTOR
575-646-2025
cmurguia@nmsu.edu
https://arrowheadcenter.nmsu.edu/program/the-hunt-center/
Hunt Center for Entrepreneurship
3655 Research Road
P.O. Box 30001
Las Cruces, NM, 88003