.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... The Lobo Rainforest building was largely empty during the pandemic, but Rainforest Innovations maintained programming online. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Long-time angel investor and serial entrepreneur John Chavez had an unenviable front-row seat during the economic devastation wrought by the Great Recession in 2008. John Chavez At that time, New Mexico’s incipient startup ecosystem had limited resources to support many struggling businesses that had recently launched prior to the crisis, and investors like Chavez could do little as numerous startups crashed and burned in the downturn. Now, 13 years later, it’s a very different story as the state and country emerge from the pandemic, which plunged the economy into a far-worse crisis than the one a decade ago. This time, the local ecosystem was well-prepared to weather the storm, armed with an extensive statewide network of support programs, plus capital in place to help companies hunker down and adapt.