Upcycled toys. A sexual literacy resort. Chile-flavored gummies. Yes: BizMIX 2019 has arrived, with more than a dozen innovative businesses ready to start up and stay up. Following a one-month open application process, judges convened at the end of April for several hours of deliberation before choosing this year’s finalists. On May 16, in advance of VitalMIX, 13 teams were revealed for MIX Santa Fe’s annual accelerator, in which local startups compete for cash and prizes while forging camaraderie and connections. For their first meeting, the finalists introduced themselves and learned more about the program, which will run for the next several months and accumulate with an awards ceremony on Sept. 19. These nascent businesses seek to fill gaps in a variety of sectors: food, cybersecurity, retail, tourism and more. Read all about the finalists, and be sure to come out and support them in their public pitch nights.
The Chummy Factory™: Chili + gummies = chummies, “sweet treats with heat!”in more than 40 flavors. The company also is poised to become a regional resource for countless businesses to make their own lines of gummies in niche industries. Founders: Beverly Winters, Todd McCoy and Paula Winters Rushford
Dragonstone Kitchen: Dragonstone Kitchen will be a fully equipped commercial kitchen that will will be affordable, accessible and available to the community members of Santa Fe. Founders: Andrea Abedi and Rachel Roode
FRAGO: This is an app to help military members and their families enter and navigate the gig economy. The right tool could make a big difference for these heroes, and nothing has emerged in this flex-work marketplace to answer the call. Founder: Mabel Sigrid
Lettuce Etc.: At regular retail prices, Lettuce, Etc intends to deliver tasty, healthy, local, fresh, and green produce and fish from a solar-powered, water-neutral aquaponics farm within 10 miles of Santa Fe. Founder: Nate Downey
Liberty Gourmand: Liberty Gourmand, a concept for a vegan restaurant-and-more, aims to fill a significant market gap in Santa Fe’s social and restaurant scenes, leveraging the booming global consumer demand for vegan and plant-based options. Founder: Hannah Levbarg
Merek Security Solutions, LLC: Among other services, Merek Security Solutions is a cybersecurity-based firm that focuses within the data privacy and data ownership realm. The vision of this business’ idea is to create a platform that users can opt-in to control access to their own online data stream, but also have a prominent role in how their online data presence is used, filtered, and respected by outside third party organizations. Founder: Michael Davis
Motherbrain LED: This smart LED and indoor garden controller can be run from a phone, and is intended to make indoor gardening easier and more fun by centralizing all the processes. Founder: Nick Pelton
Museum of Interactive Art: Aaron Harrington grew up in Santa Fe being told not to touch art, so now he’s disrupting the “don’t touch” art culture by creating hands-on interactive art. Unlike other art museums, at the Museum of Interactive Art, visitors can not only touch but also move, change, play and create the art as well. Founder: Aaron Harrington
Sand Diffusion: Mobile Glass Recycling: A glass recycling plant in Eldorado area (near the transfer station), that melts bottle glass, reforming and reusing the glass to make objects, i.e. bricks. The non melted glass will be used as material for water processing and cement filler. Founder: Cia Thorne
Shanny’s BARKery: Shanny’s Barkery is a locally owned business focused on the integrity of our products: Organic ingredients are the foundation of all our handmade treats, ensuring the quality for our beloved pupstomers! Founder: Shantelle Encinias
Siddha Labs: Siddha Labs crafts organic Āyurvedic supplements to nourish body, mind and spirit. Our mission is to put the power of health back into your hands. Founder: Sarah Otto-Combs
un(Bound) is a bnb (bondage and breakfast)—a pleasure destination and sexual literacy resort where guests can safely and discreetly explore their deepest longings and desires within the high desert of sexy Santa Fe, New Mexico. Founder: Holly Beck