It had been more than a year since I had spoken to Nick Salazar when I interviewed him last week for a story about the Venture Builder program launched by the Santa Fe Office of Economic Development and the Arrowhead Center at the Santa Fe Business Incubator.
Salazar is the founder and CEO of a tech startup, Slazer AI, that is part of the first cohort to go through the Venture Builder program, which is designed accelerate the growth of early-stage New Mexico companies or nonprofit groups through an innovative, tailored approach.
But when I became acquainted with him in August 2025, he was the frustrated owner of Santa Fe Trail Outfitters. He was in the middle of shutting down his enterprise because he said the Trump administration’s tariffs were costing him significantly and because he no longer felt it was safe to operate in the downtown area.