At Ski Lift Pitch in New Mexico, startups ‘get in on the ground floor’

TAOS — Justin Crowe was almost ready to throw in the towel on his big idea.

Just a few years after starting his business, Parting Stone, in the late 2010s, he and his partner, Kelse Lighthizer, were feeling the pressure of rising costs, and their small team felt worked to the bone.

The unique concept Crowe had developed after losing his grandfather 10 years ago — turning ashes from deceased loved ones into keepsakes smooth as river rocks to be displayed in the home or held in the hand — was being put to the test.

Balloon Pitch and Ski Lift Pitch, two venture capital competitions now presented under CNM Ingenuity, Central New Mexico Community College’s tech and entrepreneurship nonprofit entity, gave Crowe and Lighthizer the boost they needed to keep going.

“We took that prize money back to Santa Fe, and we split it up with the team to reward the team for all the really hard work that they had been putting in,” Crowe said. “It was really appreciated by the entire company, and really helped us get through a hard time.”

Over the last 12 years, the two “Shark Tank”-esque investment events have awarded $10,000 each year to the best business pitches by entrepreneurs selected to float through the sky or shuttle up the face of a ski slope alongside investors, giving New Mexico companies cash and contacts that have led to major business success.

Ski Lift Pitch, set for Feb. 2-3 at Taos Ski Valley, will expand to include a second $10,000 prize to be awarded to the best pitch from companies chosen to compete from outside the state for the first time this year.

“We decided it was an opportunity for us to share New Mexico — our startup and business ecosystem — and invite others that are interested in doing business in the state,” said Xavier Lemon, senior program director at ActivateNM, an arm of CNM Ingenuity.

“We have a high concentration of smart and capable people building here,” Lemon added. “I think it’s a really attractive chance to essentially get in on the ground floor.”

This year, CNM Ingenuity and ActivateNM have selected five out-of-state and five in-state startups to compete at Ski Lift Pitch.

Next month’s event kicks off Feb. 2 with a check-in for judges, contestants and sponsors, which include Wells Fargo, the New Mexico Outdoor Recreation Division, the New Mexico Economic Development Department and the New Mexico Technology and Innovation Office.

“It’s an expensive event to put on,” said Harold Lavender, who runs Ski Lift Pitch as director of business and finance development at CNM Ingenuity. “We’re paying for 55 rooms at the Blake, skiing and food, and we’ve been lucky to have a number of consistent sponsors who love being part of it.”

Two Albuquerque skiers, the late Jennifer Riordan and Katie Rice, came up with the idea in 2014 while riding up the face of Taos Ski Valley. It dawned on them that the ski lift might offer the perfect, 5-6 minute opportunity for entrepreneurs to “sell” investors on their business concepts.

Kyle Hawari and Brooks Thostenson, two childhood friends who were living in Taos together in 2015, became the first entrepreneurs to win Ski Lift Pitch that year. The money helped propel their energy bar business, now known as Taos Bakes, into grocery stores throughout the U.S.

Last year, Santa Fe-based biotech company NeuroGeneces and its CEO, Karen Crow, won the top prize, which she put toward funding biometric sensors designed to assess and improve brain health.

“The money is nice for these little companies, but it’s not the most important thing,” Lavender said. “The most important thing (is) the contacts they make with the investors who are there.”

Crowe said every business faces challenges. His still experiences hurdles years after it finally found its footing, partly due to wins at both Ski Lift Pitch and Balloon Pitch, which is held annually on the cusp of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.

Strong partners who shared a belief in his idea, Crowe said, have proven key to Parting Stone's success.

“Now, seven years later, we’ve served over 13,000 families,” he said. “We were on ‘Shark Tank.’ We have two celebrity investors. We just launched ‘pre-needs,’ so people can prepay for their solidified remains directly on our site. And we’ve grown — we continue to grow every year.”

John Miller is the Albuquerque Journal’s northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.