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Monica.Acosta-Alvarado@nau.eduApril 2024 Border Entrepreneurial Challenge
The Border Entrepreneurial Challenge (BEC) 2024 will take place April 19–21, 2024, at the AWC/NAU–Yuma campus in Yuma, Arizona, with participants from Mexico and the United States. The purpose is for interested students, college and university alumni, and entrepreneurs to have the opportunity to work with binational teams to pitch new entrepreneurial ideas or expand their existing entrepreneurial projects to a binational panel of judges.
The BEC will give you the opportunity to present your business ideas to potential investors by interacting with different participants from the border region, listening to experts from different entrepreneurial fields, having guided working sessions with mentors, and competing with your team or entrepreneurial idea to gain the spot on the final presentation.
There will be 3 different tracks
Track 1: Students
Graduate and undergraduate students
Purpose/Objectives
- The participants in this track will have the opportunity to create and develop a Business Model Canvas and perform a public presentation pitching their entrepreneurial ideas.
- They will put into practice and improve specific skills and abilities such as communication and negotiation skills, teamwork, and networking.
- They will have the opportunity to present their business ideas to potential investors.
Participation days
Friday (Online)
Saturday & Sunday (In-person)
Deliverables
Business Model Canvas
Pitch
First round
All Teams present their Business Model Canvas and pitch to judges for the opportunity to pitch in the final round.
Final round
Top 3 teams pitches
Track 2: Alumni/Entrepreneurs
Alumni, entrepreneurs, community
Purpose/Objectives
The participants in this track will have the opportunity to develop their Business Plan for their preconceived business idea and present their pitch to potential investors.
Participation days
Saturday & Sunday (In-person)
Deliverables
Business Model Canvas
Business plan
Pitch
First round
All participants present their Business Model Canvas, business plan, and pitch to judges for the opportunity to pitch in the final round.
Final Round
Top 2 pitches
Track 3: Active Business Owners
Active business owners
Purpose/Objectives
The participants in this track will have the opportunity to develop their acceleration/expansion plan and present it to potential investors.
Participation days
Saturday & Sunday (In-person)
Deliverables
Business Model Canvas
Business plan
Financial executive report
First round
All participants present their Business Model Canvas, business plan, and pitch to judges for the opportunity to pitch in the final round.
Final round
Top 3 pitches
Schedule
Friday, April 19th
Online Track 1
3 pm Welcome – Introductions
3:15 pm Ice breaker
4:45 pm Proceedings/Model description
5 pm Border/Region Challenges presentation and discussion
6 pm Brief reminder of the model
6:05 pm Ideas/project presentation (60 secs per participant approximately)
8:05 pm Voting (most popular ideas)
8:15 pm Integrate teams (most popular ideas and multidisciplinary teams)
8:45 pm Closing
Saturday, April 20th at the AC Building
9 am Breakfast – Welcome for Track 2 and 3 — Speaker: Dr. Ricardo Alvarez (Business Model Canvas)
10 am Working sessions – Mentors
2 pm Lunch – Speaker: Buna George
3 pm Working sessions – Mentors
7 pm Dinner – Entrepreneurs Panel: Karla Canales, Paul Cunningham, Karime Hayer, Christian Iniquez, and Dr. Adrian Lopez
Sunday, April 21st at the AC Building
8 am Breakfast
9 am Working sessions
10 am Presentations – Judges (5 minutes to present & 5 minutes for Q&A) (AC 282)
12 pm Working lunch – Closing Ceremony
1 pm Presentations (Pitch to Final Round Judges) (5 minutes to present & 5 minutes for Q&A)
3 pm Event Finale
Facilitator
Monica Acosta-Alvarado
Professor, researcher, and consultant in Strategic Management, Entrepreneurship, Organizational Development, and Human Talent Management. Full-time Professor, Lead Faculty for Human resources, and Chair of the Faculty Council at Northern Arizona University (NAU). Former International Rankings Director at CETYS University System. Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) in Strategic Management, Master in Business Administration (MBA) and Master in Human Resources Management (MHRM).
More than 20 years of professional and academic experience. International Academic Accreditations Evaluator. Author and co-author of academic articles and two books. Reviewer for Scholarly Journals. Speaker. Business Advisor. Wife and a proud Mom of two daughters.
Erika Martinez Lugo
Dr. Erika Martínez Lugo was born in Querétaro City, in central Mexico, and has been happily living in Mexicali for almost 24 years. She holds a BA in Modern Languages (English), a Master’s in Education and a PhD in Linguistics. She has been teaching for more than 28 years, 23 of those have been for the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC). She is a research professor and a member of the National Research System (level 1) since 2023. Her areas of research are Code-Switching, Language Transfer and the Language Teaching Training process. Dr. Martínez Lugo is passionate about teaching and what she enjoys the most is guiding students in their teaching training process through analyzing and discussing case studies about the teaching-learning process and reflecting about the teacher´s role. Learning along with students and from her students has been an enriching experience and Dr. Martínez Lugo thinks teaching has a very important role in the future for students, the city, the state and the country.
Linda Elliott-Nelson
Dr. Linda Elliott-Nelson retired as Vice President for Learning Services at Arizona Western College. She previously served as Strategic Partnerships/Vinculación, the Dean of Instruction, Division Chair of Modern Languages and Professor of Spanish at Arizona Western College. Her prior work experience also involved several years in the international business sector.
Dr. Elliott-Nelson earned a Ph.D. in Education from Walden University, an M.B.A. and an M.A. in Spanish from Arizona State University, and a B.A. degree from Northern Arizona University. Her activities have included co-founding the Yuma Youth Town Hall; founding and coordinating the Gifted Summer Academy for 4th – 8th graders; co-coordinating the Binational Conference on Education with Baja California, Mexico; serving on the national Modern Language Association Committee on 2-year Colleges; and evaluating employee Spanish language proficiency for the City of Yuma. She was honored with the Heart of Yuma Philanthropist of the Year 2022 in Yuma County, the Shirley Agnos Legacy Award from Arizona Town Hall in 2022, the Arizona Women in Higher Education Woman of the Year in 2021, the International Athena Leadership Award in 2019, the Outstanding University/College Educator Award from the Arizona Language Association in 2000 and the Teacher of the Year from Arizona Western College in 1999.
Dr. Elliott-Nelson has presented internationally on community outreach and engagement, regional collaboration, partnerships, accelerative learning techniques, and community college trends. She served as the Chairman of the Board of Arizona Town Hall during 2015-2017, Chair of Arizona Women in Higher Education Executive Board during 2019-2020, Co-chair of the AZTransfer Steering Committee and Chair of the Arizona Community College Chief Academic Officers, and currently serves on the boards of the Yuma Orchestra Association, Arizona Town Hall, Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area, the Arizona Community Foundation of Yuma, the AHS Rio Colorado Chapter, and the Yuma Regional Partnership Council as well as the steering committee for Southwest Arizona Town Hall. In 2021, Governor Ducey appointed her to the Arizona Historical Society Board. Her current activities focus on community engagement, education, and development in the Arizona/California/Sonora/Baja California mega-region.
Speakers
Viridiana Rosales-Trujillo
Viridiana Rosales-Trujillo, is the current interim center manager for the Imperial Valley Small Business Development Center. She is a wife and mother of three who was born in Mexicali, Mexico but grew up in the United States. Viridiana began her first business in 2018 and a second business in 2020. Through her personal experiences she now focuses in helping clients with start-up requirements, business plan writing, marketing strategies and capital funding. Viridiana obtained her bachelor’s degree from SDSU and completing her master’s degree at CLU. Her passion is helping others in the community and making a difference in the valley she calls home.
Ricardo D. Alvarez, DBA.
A full-time entrepreneurship professor and researcher at CETYS Graduate School of Business and a seasoned entrepreneur and marketing professional, Dr. Ricardo Alvarez has more than 36 years of professional experience working in different industries, from advertising agencies to retail marketing to banking and health services. He holds a BS in Advertising, a Certificate in Marketing from ITAM, an MBA and a DBA from USIU/CETYS. He launched Publicomm, an full-service advertising agency in Mexico City in 1988, and is founding partner of Teknos Capital, an early-stage VC fund and Simó-Bosch Consulting, a strategic management and business development firm.
Dr. Alvarez has been a mentor for several incubators, like MindHub and Endeavor. He serves as a board member of the International Council for Small Business and is the current president of the Mexican chapter (ICSB Mexico). His academic research is focused on business innovation and sustainability, experiential learning, organizational development and entrepreneurship finance.
Buna George
Buna George is the principal owner of LG Advising LLC, a company she created that offers operational and administrative services to regionally based non-profits. Currently, she currently serves as the Executive Director to the Greater Yuma Port Authority (GYPA), a private quasi-governmental nonprofit whose purpose is to facilitate regional economic competitiveness via international trade and commerce that crosses through the San Luis Commercial Port or Entry.
Buna was born in is a Yuma, AZ and has grown up on both sides of the US–Mexico border. Her mother, a resident of Los Algodones Baja California moved to Yuma Arizona after meeting Buna’s father who relocated to Yuma from Texas after the Vietnam war. She was taught English and Spanish simultaneously and border culture was embedded in her as of an early age.
Prior to joining the Port Authority, Buna served her community in the real estate profession. From property management, to sales and educating clients, she knows, first hand, the impact a home can make for families and individuals. With a heart for her community, she is part of the Board of Advisors through the Arizona Community Foundation for the Yuma region and serves as a board member to the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce and the Yuma Multiversity Project.
She is honored to be the first-generation University Graduate in her family. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Urban Planning and Development and is currently pursuing a Master in Legal Studies through the James E. Rogers College of Law through University of Arizona.
One of her favorite quotes is “life doesn’t happen to you, it happens for you”. As a young cancer survivor and now business professional, she believes the sky is the limit and that you shouldn’t live by the limitations placed on you by others.
Panelists
Karla Canales
Psicóloga egresada de Universidad Vizcaya De Las Américas Campus Mexicali. Esposa, madre y emprendedora. Apasionada por promover amor propio en la mujer latina y motivarlas a lograr sus metas; aun después del matrimonio y la maternidad.
Dueña de The Caring Shop, su marca de accesorios con significado, con la cual; después de 3 meses de retos, tareas y clases con personajes como Emilio Estefan y Alina Villasante, se convierte en a ganadora del primer lugar en el concurso nacional de emprendedores hispanos; “Con Despierta América Todo Es Posible.”
Paul Cunningham
Paul Cunningham first came to Yuma in 1989 as a young Marine where he served for 3 years as an air traffic controller. After the Marines, Paul received his Associates Degree from Arizona Western College and later, his Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Arizona. Paul began his 23 year real estate career in 2000 and still sells real estate full-time with ERA Matt Fischer REALTOR today.
Paul and his wife of 29 years, Terra founded Notch together in March of 2013. Like many brands, they started Notch out of their garage. They were very excited as the first orders started to trickle in! From those humble beginnings, they’ve been fortunate to see Notch grow into an established brand with customers and retailers all over the world. They also founded the Notch on the belief that it’s better to give than it is to receive. For every Notch hat they sell, they provide 1 meal to a child in need through our partner, Children’s Hunger Fund. To date, they’ve provided over 600,000 meals.
Karime Hayer
Karime is the Business Coordinator at Greater Yuma Economic Development with experience in Bi-national partnerships with Baja California, and Sonora, Mexico. She is the Business Retention & Expansion Director for Greater Yuma EDC. She is a member of Arizona Association for Economic Development since 2016 and Board Member since 2021. She is also a Board member of the Consejo Consultivo Internacional of the Universidad de Baja California. Former member of the Education Committee for 4FrontED. Karime has worked for the dairy industry as the Office Manager at Sarah Farms for 8 years. Her experience in business has helped her build relationships across the border.
An entrepreneur, owner of the Nichim café & Boutique.
Christian Iñiguez
Christian Iñiguez es CEO y Co –fundador de Forward Innovations. Una compañía joven dedicada a la creación de productos y sistemas que promueven la sustentabilidad. Egresado de CETYS de la carrera de Ingeniería en Energías Renovables ha participado en diferentes convocatorias del ecosistema emprendedor Nacional e Internacional como la Feria Ambiental de Tijuana Innovadora, TrepCamp, Fowler Global Social Innovation Challenge e INCmty dónde igualmente ha sido Conferencista. Ganador del Premio Santander a la Innovación Empresarial y Fondo Gallego Monje en el 2019 , además de su emprendimiento, actualmente es coordinador de Programas Digitales en la academía de emprendimiento llamada TrepCamp de Impulsa y participa en algunas etapas de la Feria Ambiental Académica de Tijuana Innovadora.
Dr. Adrian H. Lopez
Adrián junto con su esposa Mary, fundaron ALIQUAM, una empresa con presencia a nivel nacional que se denomina “el aliado estratégico del médico”, brindando servicios administrativos y de consultoria para trabajar, entre otros, con las compañías de seguros. Egresado como médico de la facultad de medicina Mexicali de la UABC; Cuenta con Posgrado en administración de empresas (MBA) por CETYS Universidad, así como, Maestría en gestión y dirección en salud por la Universidad Del Valle de Mexico.
Ha participado en el ámbito emprendedor ganando convocatorias en el consejo de desarrollo económico de Tijuana (CDT); V2 Pitch en University of San Diego y recientemente el fondo Gallego Monge en CETYS Universidad en el 2022. Actualmente en un proceso de expansión tienen la visión de construir la alianza de Médicos más grande del Noroeste.
Hotel accommodations
Nearby Hotels:
- Four Points by Sheraton Yuma
- Comfort Inn & Suites
- Best Western Plus
- Homewood Suites by Hilton
- Holiday Inn
- Wingate by Wyndham
