At STTE Foundation, we are deeply rooted in the Borderplex region—El Paso, Ciudad Juárez, and Las Cruces—a dynamic, bilingual community rich with potential. With a population that’s predominantly Latino, this region holds immense promise for innovation and economic growth. However, we’re facing two critical challenges: the well-known Brain Drain, and a less-discussed but equally pressing issue, the Startup Drought.
While the Brain Drain pulls talented professionals away in search of better-paying opportunities in larger tech markets, the Startup Drought is forcing our local entrepreneurs and innovators to relocate to ecosystems with more robust mentorship, capital, and investor networks. This stifles the growth of homegrown startups and undermines the development of a strong entrepreneurial economy in the Borderplex.
To address this, we’re proud to present the Southwest Startup Showdown on November 8th at the Starlight Event Center in El Paso. This is our annual end-of-year event that brings together high school, collegiate, and early-stage entrepreneurs, providing them with a platform to pitch their groundbreaking ideas to investors, business leaders, and the wider community.
At STTE, we’ve been working hard throughout the year to cultivate startups and help them scale, tackling the Startup Drought head-on. Here’s what we’ve accomplished so far:
- We hosted Borderland AI, engaging industry leaders to address the most pressing issues in the AI space.
- We organized two Open AI Hackathons to generate innovative, AI-driven startups.
- We launched our first AI Accelerator, advancing startups from concept to customer.
- We worked closely with high school students, helping them turn their ideas into viable businesses.
- We mentored founders through our STTE Ventures program, preparing them to take their startups to the next level.
One of the highlights of the Southwest Startup Showdown will be the 2nd Annual Microsoft Collegiate Cup, featuring top teams from universities such as UTEP, NMSU, UNM, Texas Tech and Colorado State University. These teams will pitch their most innovative ideas and compete for the top prize.
