Following a dynamic creative partnership resulting in a brand new website and visual identity, we caught up with US innovators Roadrunner Venture Studios to hear more about the future of the tech landscape, the story behind their headquarters in New Mexico, and how digital design helped to accelerate their vision. 🌍
For someone who knows nothing about Roadrunner, how would you explain your purpose and focal ambition?
We’re an American-made foundry for new deep tech ventures, co-founding breakthrough companies with our nation’s most brilliant scientists, engineers, and innovators. As a venture studio, we get involved with companies at the earliest stage — often when a company is just a whiteboard scribble or a modelled wire-frame.
Our co-founders look to us to provide services like a first investment check and support in fundraising from our network of capital partners, as well as opportunities to work hand-in-hand with Roadrunner’s “gurus” in communications, product development, and executive searching and coaching.
Roadrunner will also support our portfolio companies in business model development, including customer discovery, product roadmapping, and product management and engineering support. We’ll support, as needed, in legal services for company formation, IP protection, and fundraising, and provide HR support and infrastructure.
Taken together, we roll our sleeves up, partner with co-founders, and rapidly accelerate company creation so that innovators are freed up to do what they do best — innovate.
Achieving that kind of ambitious innovation can take more than one person – tell us about the people behind Roadrunner and what brought you all together.
Like the companies we build, Roadrunner began as an ambitious idea. In 2022, our co-founders at America's Frontier Fund (AFF) envisioned a national system of venture studios capable of catalysing the American technological renaissance. Led by Gilman Louie, an early CEO of In-Q-Tel—the pioneering technology investment firm funded by the CIA—and Jordan Blashek, AFF and the early Roadrunner team were motivated to build deep tech ventures in communities often overlooked by Silicon Valley. With support from the New Mexico State Investment Council, AFF turned this vision into reality by co-launching Roadrunner in Albuquerque, New Mexico with our President, Adam Hammer. Our team has since coalesced around our shared vision that the great American technological renaissance is ahead of us.
“Digital design helps us tell our story in more compelling ways”
With a team of committed innovators from across America, it would be great to hear about the process of building Roadrunner as a brand in Albuquerque – from what perspective do you approach the deep tech landscape?
Our brand reflects our community and the brilliant innovators we work with every day. Roadrunner will always be headquartered in New Mexico, and it’s important we honor the place that raised us. Our logo, colour scheme, and imagery are an homage to New Mexico and its long history of scientific exploration.
Roadrunner is building a thriving network and vibrant community – what role has digital design played in accelerating Roadrunner’s mission as a leader in innovation?
Digital design helps us tell our story in more compelling ways. Having a cohesive visual and storytelling language has helped us articulate to our audience why we need to bring together the best minds and build breakthrough companies to ensure the U.S. remains the most advanced technology centre in the world. With our website and brand book, we can augment the words on the page to paint a comprehensive picture of Roadrunner and our goals. For example, we use the colours and imagery on the site to show what matters to us — our community in New Mexico and our work to build companies at the frontier of science and technology.
As communicators at Roadrunner, part of our job is to fill in the skill gaps that our founding scientists and entrepreneurs bring to a venture. Oftentimes, that will be designing and executing a brand identity and marketing plan. Our brand assets are proof positive to our target audiences that they’re in the best of hands.
With the support of digital design and a promising deep tech future, what is the number one thing Roadrunner hopes to achieve in the next 2-3 years?
We will build and spin out numerous deep tech ventures that benefit the people of New Mexico, while also strengthening the U.S.’s position in the global technology race. After successfully modelling the studio concept in New Mexico, our vision is to construct similar studios across the country in the years to come.
