#StartupsEverywhere Profile: Carlos Martínez-Vela, Executive Director, Pioneers 21
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Carlos Martínez-Vela (photo credit: Jorge Salgado)
Support Entrepreneurial Success in the Borderlands
Based in El Paso, Pioneers 21 is a nonprofit incubator working to unleash the creative and economic potential of the U.S.-Mexico border by supporting startups and small businesses. We recently spoke with Pioneers 21’s Executive Director, Carlos Martínez-Vela, to learn more about the organization’s work supporting local entrepreneurs, the El Paso startup ecosystem, and the importance of attracting talented workers.
What in your background made you interested in supporting entrepreneurs?
My broader interests have to do with innovation and economic development, and one of the ways we can channel innovation to create opportunity is through entrepreneurship. I’ve been thinking and working about these issues for nearly 20 years, since I was a master’s and then a Ph.D. student at MIT. My research there was on the role of universities in economic development, and I worked on issues related to industry clusters and innovation districts. And that’s how I ended up working on how innovation and entrepreneurship relate to the economy.
After I graduated from MIT in 2006, I worked in the private sector in Boston on various initiatives to help entrepreneurs amplify innovation. I helped launch District Hall, the world’s first public innovation center, and also worked in the public sector for three years on innovation policy at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. That was a great experience because it involved a lot of work on the ground in different regions of the Commonwealth.
I first came to El Paso five years ago when I was invited to give a couple of talks in El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. And I was just captivated by the Borderlands: the creative energy, the kindness of the people, and all of the very distinct things that were going on. I felt drawn to it. I started a research project there and met a lot of people, and I just kept coming back. After a 1 1/2 year gig in San Diego and following my 20 years in Boston, I had the opportunity to take this job and move to El Paso, and I took it.
Can you tell us more about Pioneers 21’s work helping entrepreneurs launch, build, and grow their startups?
The primary way Pioneers 21 supports entrepreneurs is through training, coaching, networking, and advice. Everything we do focuses on starting and growing businesses. A lot of entrepreneurs come to us with just an idea, so we help them articulate their ideas and provide them with the ability to move it forward. We are also very intentional about bringing people together and organizing conversations, because innovation and businesses often start with just a conversation. We invite a lot of people—now virtually—to share their stories with us and connect with other entrepreneurs. Oftentimes, these conversations help new projects come together and new teams form and new product ideas emerge.
It’s also very important for us to shine a light on new economic possibilities and new ways of doing business in the community. We’re not obsessively focused on high tech. We really have a big tent approach and believe a lot of opportunities for innovation are in many traditional businesses and in both established and emerging industry sectors.
What makes El Paso’s startup community so unique?
At the heart of it is the fact that we’re a border community. El Paso is at a geographic, cultural, and economic intersection. Our position at the U.S.-Mexico border creates a very unique economic and cultural context. The Borderlands region encompasses two countries and three cities: El Paso in Texas, Las Cruces in New Mexico, and Ciudad Juárez in the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. The biggest city of these three is Ciudad Juárez, which has 1.5 million people. I can see Ciudad Juárez from my apartment and from my office. You can walk from one downtown to the other, and the cross-border flow and linkages are quite intense. More than 85 percent of the population in El Paso is Hispanic, specifically Mexican or Mexican-American with many bilingual, bicultural, and binational individuals. So the culture is really a blend of Mexico and the United States.
We’re also the fourth largest manufacturing hub in North America. Startups, small businesses, and entrepreneurs all have an opportunity to create businesses by becoming part of the supply chain of these manufacturing companies. We collaborate on a program called The Bridge Accelerator to do just this.
How has El Paso’s startup community been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, and how is Pioneers 21 helping them out during this difficult time?
Our startup and small business community has been impacted just like businesses all around the world. But one particular issue that’s affected our regional economy as a whole have been the restrictions on cross border travel. This is a problem in all of the U.S.-Mexico border cities. It’s hard to see the impact from Washington or from Mexico City, but when you walk around downtown El Paso you see businesses shuttered because of the lack of foot traffic from the other side of the border. You just realize—not underestimating, of course, the public health priorities that both of our countries have right now—how devastating restrictions on cross-border flows have been.
For Pioneers 21, we’ve tried to be available and provide guidance, advice, and connections to help our entrepreneurs navigate this incredibly difficult time. And we’ve actually seen an uptick in this type of work and engagement with our entrepreneurs.
What can local, state, and federal policymakers do to further support entrepreneurs who are struggling right now as a result of the pandemic?
We know that immigration is a good thing for the United States. Our economy thrives when we attract talent and open the door, in an orderly and humane way, to individuals who are looking to improve their lives, start a business, and work hard. We see this every day in El Paso, and we see this in high tech hubs all across the country. Policies that shut the door to people looking for opportunities—including but not only highly-qualified individuals—are going to cause long-term damage to our nation’s economy and the life of our regional economies.
I wish every level of government would also realize that, in terms of the pandemic, we shouldn’t have to choose between public health and the health of the economy. We need to work on addressing both concerns—economic recovery and managing public health. Ideally, all levels of government would be working together to improve public health conditions so citizens can feel comfortable again and we can have a sustained economic recovery.
We also need vibrant urban economies. Right now, we know that we’re on the verge of a major crisis because of the consequences of the pandemic on the finances and revenues of local governments. Having vibrant urban economies will help many entrepreneurs and startups, since many of them are located in these cities. This needs to be a priority as well.
What is your goal for Pioneers 21 moving forward?
We define our mission as unleashing the potential of the U.S.-Mexico border. El Paso is our home and will always be the focus of our efforts. But my dream is for Pioneers 21 to move beyond just being an El Paso-focused incubator, and become a border-wide movement. I’d love for us to become an engine for unleashing the creative potential and changing the narrative of the U.S.-Mexico border everywhere, from San Diego / Tijuana to Brownsville / Matamoros. And I’d like us to mobilize and collaborate with organizations and individuals from all across the border to create more prosperous, just, and sustainable regional economies.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
Engine works to ensure that policymakers look for insight from the startup ecosystem when they are considering programs and legislation that affect entrepreneurs. Together, our voice is louder and more effective. Many of our lawmakers do not have first-hand experience with the country's thriving startup ecosystem, so it’s our job to amplify that perspective. To nominate a person, company, or organization to be featured in our #StartupsEverywhere series, email edward@engine.is.
