08/27/2020
The Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments is excited to announce that CO.STARTERS, an internationally renowned platform for supporting startups, will soon be coming to Catron, Grant, Hidalgo and Luna counties! If you would like to be an entrepreneurial leader in your community, we’d love to have you involved as we adopt this new program and gather the best community support team to ensure its success in our region.
What is CO.STARTERS?
CO.STARTERS helps communities build vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystems by equipping entrepreneurs with the best tools and resources needed to support starters of all kinds.
This is a nine-week, cohort-based program that equips entrepreneurs with the insights, relationships, and tools needed to turn ideas into action.
How does it work?
Participants enter into a facilitator-led, collaborative process with a small and supportive group of 10-15 peers. The program facilitator/s and mentors are from the community.
Over nine weeks, participants develop and fine-tune their ideas using the CO.STARTERS Canvas, critically examining every part and determining next steps through real-time feedback from people in the community.
Participants leave the program with a deeper understanding of how to create a sustainable venture, articulate their models, and repeat the process with the next great idea.
What are we requesting from you?
We need leaders in our community to help us fill several roles:
Facilitators: Although a CO.STARTERS Facilitator might have experience starting and running a business, he or she doesn’t have to be an expert on everything. Rather, a Facilitator’s role is to guide participants through the program by asking the right questions, drawing on the knowledge in the room, and using available resources and connections in the community to point participants in the right direction. A strong Facilitator must enjoy working with groups and have a passion for helping other entrepreneurs succeed. The time commitment for this role is approximately 5 hours a week during a CO.STARTERS nine-week program. A facilitator will be paid a stipend for their time.
Guest Speakers: Throughout the CO.STARTERS nine-week program, Guest Speakers enrich the conversation, letting participants learn from the experience of others in the community. Guest Speakers share their particular insights into a topic and only need to commit 30 minutes or so of their time.
Mentors: Mentors can bring depth to the program by meeting with participants individually to share particular expertise or industry connections. The time commitment to be a Mentor is an hour or so, as needed.
Community Advocates: Sometimes the most needed role is Advocate, someone who understands what the program is and how it can help the community. Advocates help get the word out about the program, recruit people to participate, and inspire others with what CO.STARTERS is all about.
How can you help?
We will be holding a facilitator training on the CO.STARTERS program in the near future and would love for you to participate.
The goal of the training is for us to get together as community leaders to learn more about the program and figure out the best way to plug in moving forward. Full attendance at this training is required to become a certified CO.STARTERS facilitator.
There are limited spaces available for this training session. Please let us know of your willingness to participate by leaving your name, county you live in, and email.
PLEASE FORWARD THIS INVITATION - IF THERE IS SOMEONE THAT YOU FEEL SHOULD RECEIVE THIS INVITATION,THANKS!
Many thanks for your support of startups in our region!
