Latest news with #InnovateAlabama
Fast Company
an hour ago
- Business
- Fast Company
The next generation of startup funding
Venture capital fuels the world of startups. But for founders located outside major startup hubs such as San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, capital often remains just out of reach—no matter how promising the idea. At this year's conference in Birmingham, Fast Company and Innovate Alabama —the first public-private partnership in Alabama focused on growing the innovation economy in the state—hosted a panel on how to bridge that regional funding gap. The conversation explored how smart state policy and public-private partnerships can level the playing field and help launch thriving entrepreneurship ecosystems in smaller markets. Experts in capital access and company-building shared insights on what it takes to attract investment and grow new ventures in overlooked markets. Here are three takeaways from the conversation. (Some comments have been edited for length and clarity; scroll to the bottom to watch the entire panel discussion.) 1. To attract venture capital, start from the bottom up. Building a company from concept to thriving enterprise requires the right mix of technological infrastructure, adequate funding, qualified employees, and energetic collaborators. 'One thing that we think a lot about at Innovate Alabama is supporting founders across the entire innovation continuum, from that ideation stage to incubation, acceleration, commercialization, and stabilization,' said Mary Beth Grant, program director of the Innovate Alabama Capital Access Initiative. 'We're making sure that we're creating programming connections and an ecosystem that can carry [a company] all the way through.' In June 2025, Innovate Alabama launched the Venture Studio and Fund in partnership with Harmony Venture Labs, a Birmingham-based company that supports new enterprises. The Venture Studio is designed to help build high-growth, venture-backed startups from the ground up. Founders located at the studio site in Birmingham and remotely across the state build, test, and launch their ideas with mentoring, support, and collaborative partnerships. 'We really want to make sure that we're looking at this holistically to grow new companies here in Alabama,' Grant said. 'We're working to fill in the gaps and help them commercialize their ideas and stabilize their businesses.' The initiative builds on existing programs that provide tax incentives, matching grants, business incubator sites and acceleration. Innovate Alabama also helps young companies partner with industry players to test concepts and adapt their ideas through in-market experimentation. This multifaceted approach is focused on increasing venture capital flow into Alabama and helping innovative young businesses thrive. Several successful companies already have benefited from this suite of programs, including Accelerate Wind, which builds and installs wind turbines on commercial roofs, and Shipshape AgWorks, which creates AI -enabled modular vertical farm systems. 2. Create a steady flow of funding opportunities. Venture capital tends to focus on areas where the pool of potential deals is relatively deep. Investors are looking for a high concentration of well-managed companies that can generate returns, said Shegun Otulana, founder and CEO of Harmony Venture Labs. Historically, Alabama hasn't had a strong enough deal flow to capture the attention of VC investors, but that reality is shifting. The key? 'You have to create your own gravity,' Otulana said. Harmony Venture Labs is accomplishing this, in part, by leveraging Alabama's strengths. The organization has partnered with the state's cornerstone industries—including logistics, medical technology, financial services, industrial systems, and agricultural technology—to identify unmet needs and inefficiencies within their operations. 'We roll up our sleeves to do a lot of discovery work and research,' Otulana said. 'We then pair those problems with interesting founders who are also interested in that space and with capital, all with the goal of increasing momentum here in Alabama.' 3. Strike a balance between public mandates and business needs. Venture capital firms are used to moving quickly and doing whatever it takes to make a deal happen, Otulana said. But in public-private partnerships like the Venture Studio and Fund, a balance must be struck between making decisions that benefit the public good and decisions that will succeed in the business world. 'The most important thing is to make sure that everybody's in alignment,' he said. Clear communication plays a big role in ensuring this happens. 'We're communicating with the community about the programs we're doing, [being] transparent, getting public buy-in, and making sure that what we're creating is going to impact the state as a whole,' Grant said. Though the Venture Studio kicked off only in March 2025, this already appears to be a winning combination with positive feedback from the community and several corporate partners already onboard. 'It's been really validating to see that interest in utilizing the new programs,' Grant said. Watch the full panel:
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Exclusive: Halogen Ventures closes $30 million fund to invest in the future of family
– Family first. Halogen Ventures has closed a $30 million fund to invest in a new thesis: the future of family. Founding partner Jesse Draper identified this area as ripe for investment in the immediate aftermath of the COVID pandemic. The U.S. childcare system was broken, and families were struggling. Draper wanted to tackle it—but as an investor who already backed female-founded businesses, she could anticipate the response she'd get. 'People would say, 'that's not a big enough opportunity,'' she recalls. Draper repositioned from defining her thesis as childcare to the future of family, which includes the physical health and financial health of families, among other applications. She ran a study of the 'future of family' as a category, and determined it's a market valued at $7.5 trillion, including childcare, ed tech, tech for families, digital workplace solutions, and child and youth services. '[Families] want more scheduling tools, they want more financial management tools, they want more time overall,' Draper says. The firm has already invested in companies aligned with this thesis, including the baby registry platform Babylist, the childcare marketplace Upwards, and the transportation company HopSkipDrive. This is Halogen's third fund. The fund's LPs include Gingerbread Capital, Lanyon Advisors, Fenwick's Funds of Funds, and the state of Alabama through its program Innovate Alabama. Halogen is the first out-of-state partner for the program and has pledged to back Alabama-based female founders. After a very tough few years for emerging managers, Draper advises others to try nontraditional sources. 'It's a numbers game—don't get discouraged if eight people say no to you. You haven't talked to enough,' she says. 'We talked to hundreds almost every fundraise, and you really have to get out there. You have to travel. You can't only raise from your city. You can't be afraid to get on a plane and go to new places and meet new people.' Emma The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune's daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today's edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Sloss Tech returning to Birmingham in June
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — Sloss Tech is returning for a seventh year with an expanded three-day format in Birmingham. The three-day event will take place from June 25-27. Innovate Alabama returns as the sponsor for Sloss Tech 2025, continuing their investment into Alabama's innovation ecosystem. Kentuck Art Center hosting March 'Art Night' 'Alabama's tech community stands out for being genuinely supportive and collaborative,' saidMaria Underwood, Chief Operating Officer at Moxi and current board chair for TechBirmingham.'What founders discover when they come to Sloss Tech is an enthusiastic community ready tohelp them succeed. This welcoming community spirit is the driving force behind our continuedgrowth as a tech hub.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
