People ask me this question all the time: why Las Cruces? Why southern New Mexico? You've got a CPA license, you've worked at KPMG, you teach at a university — why aren't you in Phoenix, or Dallas, or somewhere with a real startup scene? And honestly, the answer is pretty simple. I stay because this is where the opportunities are.
Let me back up a little. I graduated from New Mexico State University with triple bachelor's degrees in management, information systems, and accounting, plus a Master of Accountancy. I'm a New Mexico licensed CPA. I worked at KPMG for a couple of years after school, and I learned a lot there — how big firms operate, how to think about complex financial structures, how to work within systems that have been refined over decades. But I also learned that working inside someone else's system wasn't what I wanted to do with my life.
During my time at NMSU, I was president of the Beta Alpha Psi chapter — the honors accounting fraternity — and I led our case competition team to a national title in business ethics. Those experiences taught me that I was good at leading teams, seeing problems from multiple angles, and building arguments that hold up under scrutiny. But more than anything, they taught me that I wanted to build things, not audit them.
Why Not a Bigger City?
The conventional wisdom says entrepreneurs should go where the money is — where the venture capital flows, where the networking events are, where the accelerators and incubators are stacked on every block. And there's some truth to that if you're building a SaaS company and chasing Series A rounds. But that's not what I do. I build real businesses that serve real markets, and for that, southern New Mexico has advantages that most people overlook.
The cost of doing business is significantly lower here. Commercial real estate, labor, operating expenses — everything is more reasonable than it would be in Austin or Denver. That means I can take risks and experiment without the pressure of burn rates that would make your eyes water. When I built Bionic Barbell, for example, I was able to invest in recovery technology — cryotherapy, red light therapy, PEMF, oxygen therapy — that most gym owners in bigger markets couldn't justify because their overhead was already eating them alive. Lower costs gave me room to differentiate in ways that actually matter.
There's also less competition, which sounds like a backhanded compliment but it's genuinely strategic. In a saturated market, you have to fight for attention. In southern New Mexico, if you see a gap, you can often be the first one to fill it — and the first mover advantage in a market this tight is enormous. People here remember who showed up first, and they're loyal.
Business Acumen in Small Markets
One of the things I bring to every venture is a formal business education and accounting background. That might sound obvious, but you'd be surprised how many small businesses operate without basic financial literacy — no real understanding of their margins, their customer acquisition costs, their break-even points. Having a CPA's eye for the numbers and a management degree's understanding of operations gives me an edge that has nothing to do with geography.
I now teach financial accounting and accounting information systems at NMSU's College of Business, and one of the things I tell my students is that every business decision is ultimately a financial decision. Whether I'm managing inventory for Hatch Chile Store, optimizing pricing at Amigos Mexican Foods down in Deming — which is now part of the Hatch Chile Store family — or evaluating a new piece of recovery equipment for the gym, I'm thinking about the same fundamental question: does this decision generate more value than it costs?
That's not a big-city skill. That's a universal skill. And it turns out that applying it rigorously in a smaller market, where the margins for error are tighter and the feedback loops are shorter, is one of the most effective ways to build businesses that actually last.
Rooted Here
Southern New Mexico isn't for everyone. It's hot, it's dry, and the nearest major airport is in El Paso. But the Organ Mountains are right there, the skiing up in Ruidoso and farther north is some of the best in the Southwest, the hiking is endless, and the people are genuine. This is a place where your neighbors know your name and your customers become your friends.
Every business I've built is a bet on this place. And so far, this place keeps paying off.