Early Stage

Emerging Business

Just getting started? Emerging Business gives idea-stage founders a real foothold — a self-paced path that turns your idea into a plan, one concrete action at a time, before you're ready for Runway.

Emerging Business is SFBI's first stop for founders at the very beginning — an idea, maybe a side project, but no customers yet and no need for office space. It exists because this stage is where most founders get stuck: too early for a cohort program, too serious to keep going alone. The program works one conversation at a time. You talk through your idea with us, we capture where you actually are, and you leave every conversation with exactly one action to complete — talk to three people who have the problem, get one real customer conversation, find out what it costs to deliver your product once. Then we follow up on a real schedule to hear how it went. Over six self-paced modules, your idea becomes a sharpened intent statement, a named customer, honest numbers, a practical setup checklist, and a 30-day plan you've committed to — the groundwork that gets you ready for Runway when the time comes. The final module is always a personal conversation with SFBI staff about what's next — an invitation to Runway (our pre-incubation program), coworking membership, a connection to our Fabrication Center, or a plan to stay in touch until you're ready.

What’s included

One concrete action after every conversation — never a list.
Scheduled follow-ups that keep you accountable between modules.
Access to SFBI's education workshops and community events while you build.
A direct pathway into the Runway Program when you're ready for cohort work.
Module 1 — What are you actually building? Sharpen your idea into one sentence you can say out loud to a stranger.
Module 2 — Who pays you? Turn 'people who need this' into a specific, named customer type — and go talk to them.
Module 3 — Does the money work? What it costs to deliver once, what a customer would pay, and what break-even looks like.
Module 4 — Get set up. Legal structure, licenses, and the practical checklist for doing business in New Mexico.
Module 5 — Your first 30 days. A concrete plan with dates you commit to out loud — not a document that sits in a drawer.
Module 6 — What's next? A personal conversation with SFBI staff: Runway, coworking, the Fabrication Center, or a plan to stay in touch.