FatPipe readies new RR facility

Business incubator’s third location expected to be up, running this month

RIO RANCHO — The sound of construction and smell of fresh paint permeates the walls of a 6,000-square-foot office space on the first floor of the AMREP building.

FatPipe, a business incubator from Albuquerque, is in the process of making that space its third location. The Rio Rancho facility will have four available offices and a large conference room, and it will facilitate networking opportunities as well as business workshops for locals who want to take their home business or idea to the next level.

Lisa Adkins, FatPipe chief operating officer, said she expects the new location to be up and running this month.

Adkins said she works with a diverse group of companies and people who all have a vision to grow and work together.

“When you get ‘creatives’ combined with technologists combined with nonprofits, really great things start to happen,” Adkins said. “It’s amazing how well they work together and start helping each other rather than feeling like there’s competition.”

That camaraderie is also an antidote for the isolation that can be a problem for many solo business people.

“Working at home can be very isolating,” Adkins said. “I worked at home running my consulting business for three years. My puppy was always on my lap, my laundry was done and Oprah was on in the background.”

Adkins said when she got back into the business network, she didn’t realize what she was missing out on.

“I then realized that even just a couple of days a week, spending your time in a shared space with likeminded people was beneficial,” she said.

Adkins said FatPipe’s new location in Rio Rancho will offer the same opportunities.

“We turned what used to be a gym into a giant conference room,” she said. “We also see using this space as a training center. We would love to see people come in and provide training and workshops for people as well.”

Along with the office space, Adkins said there will be two huge televisions on the wall to create bigger meetings with other business and trainers from around the state.

The facility will have one private conference room with seating for 10, and a smaller IT room that FatPipe clients can use for small private meetings.

Right now FatPipe has three locations: in Albuquerque, Raton and Rio Rancho.

STEPHEN MONTOYA/RIO RANCHO OBSERVER Fat Pipe Chief Operating Officer Lisa Adkins stands in front of the AMREP building in Rio Rancho, where the incubator will open a new location.