As part of our mission to support the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, First Avenue Ventures seeks to provide resources to help Birmingham entrepreneurs and their businesses succeed. Below, you’ll find our monthly round-up of recent Birmingham start-up news.
4 tech events in Birmingham including DevOpsDay, April 20-21 (Bham Now)
A preview of spring Birmingham tech events, including DevOpsDays, the Southeast Cybersecurity Summit, Voltage’s Ask Me Anything with AppThink, and a Women in Tech Talk at UAB.
Alabama Launchpad names Cycle 1 2023 cohort (Birmingham Business Journal)
Alabama Launchpad names their cohort for Cycle One of 2023. PowerTechs, NanomediGene LLC, Dani Cheesecake, Welcomed Benefit Corporation (DBA Welcomed Co), and Cahaba Fire Company LLC will compete for $25,000 of funding in the concept stage. Sweet Home Spirits, Daughters Baking, Harmony Diagnostics, Idyllo, and Domestique Coffee LLC will compete for $50,000 of funding in the early seed stage.
AppThink, Girls Inc. leaders selected for national list of leading businesswomen (Birmingham Business Journal)
Kellie Clark, the CEO of AppThink, an online community platform designed to train new founders on how to validate ideas for start-ups, was named to the first-ever Bizwomen 100 list.
Bham’s TaxxWiz headed to L.A. to participate in major accelerator (Birmingham Business Journal)
Executives from TaxxWiz, a Birmingham start-up that created one of only fifteen tax softwares approved by the IRS, will participate in the 12-week intensive program at the prestigious Techstars Los Angeles accelerator.
Birmingham approves redevelopment to support Innovation Depot grads + create 311 jobs (Bham Now)
The Birmingham City Council and Nextec, LLC announce plans to renovate the Edwards Motor Company Building on Third Avenue North to offer flexible workspace and an area for collaboration for Innovation Depot graduates.
Birmingham startup lands partnership with firm with national presence (Birmingham Business Journal)
OpenVia, a Birmingham start-up based in Hardware Park, partners with Boston-based The Flying Locksmiths. The Flying Locksmiths, with 84 franchised locations across the United States, will be authorized dealers for OpenVia.
Birmingham startup speaks at panel at SXSW (Birmingham Business Journal)
Gary Campbell, CEO of Birmingham start-up WineView, participated in a panel hosted by the Capital Factory at South by Southwest. The panel included discussions of WineView and of Birmingham Bound.
Birmingham tech leaders launching new edutech company (Birmingham Business Journal)
The CEO and chief revenue officer of Birmingham software development company ConcertIDC are preparing to launch VirtuOwl, a virtual tutoring platform designed to supplement education for K-12 students.
The feds aim to speed up patents for small businesses. Here’s how. (Birmingham Business Journal)
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announces a pilot program to expedite the process of patent examination for small businesses and individual entrepreneurs.
Insured Nomads accepted to large Charlotte startup accelerator (Birmingham Business Journal)
Birmingham-based Insured Nomads was one of fifteen start-ups accepted to Charlotte, North Carolina accelerator RevTech Labs’ Class 18 cohort.
Local startup chosen for Google’s Startups Black Founders Fund (Birmingham Business Journal)
Ziscuit, a former Velocity Accelerator start-up developing a grocery search engine designed to save shoppers money, was chosen to participate in the third cohort of the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund.
Local startup Condoit relocating headquarters (Birmingham Business Journal)
Condoit, a local start-up developing a platform to support electrical contractors in design and analysis as well as collaboration, is relocating to Innovation Depot.
More Than a Building: Shaping Innovation Depot’s Past, Present, and Future (Birmingham Business Journal)
The Birmingham Business Journal discusses exciting events and changes at Innovation Depot, including their partnership with local start-up AppThink, who will now run Voltage, the Depot’s idea-stage accelerator.
Prosper HealthTech Accelerator spring cohort includes all women CEOs (Birmingham Business Journal)
The Prosper HealthTech Accelerator’s latest cohort includes five companies with women CEOs. Quartolio, Practice Axis, BrightPay, Medsembly and Patientory all plan to relocate to Birmingham.
QuantHub closes $1.3M seed round with investment from Florida VC (Birmingham Business Journal)
QuantHub, a Birmingham-based start-up developing an AI-powered learning and developing platform, closed a $1.3M seed round led by Florida venture capital firm Florida Funders.
Tech firm with Birmingham office cuts 100 employees, including some locally (Birmingham Business Journal)
Fetch Rewards, a shopping rewards app, recently laid off one hundred employees, including some in their Birmingham office.
Techstars’ new local managing director named, Nate Schmidt steps down (Birmingham Business Journal)
Nate Schmidt takes on a new role as the head of product and founder experience at Techstars, as well as the manager of Techstars programs on the East coast, as Matt Jaeh, co-founder of ProctorU, steps into his role as local managing director.
Two teens aspire to grow Innovation Depot-based company to $1M (Birmingham Business Journal)
Samuel Smith and Samuel Wellingham, the eighteen-year-old co-founders of Innovation Depot’s Smith Limited Agency, talk about their plans to grow their digital B2B marketing company.
VC funding in Alabama grows while other states see declines (Birmingham Business Journal)
While the nationwide rate of VC funding declined in 2022, in Alabama, VC funding held steady – and actually increased by 2.6%.
Venture capital studio growing with a focus on Birmingham (Birmingham Business Journal)
Mark Two, a venture capital studio focused on the healthtech and proptech sectors along with pre-product SaaS and tech-enabled businesses, focuses on funding and supporting start-ups in Birmingham and other cities in the Southeast.
XpertDox boosts growth through partnerships, hiring (Birmingham Business Journal)
Data analytics company XpertDox furthers its mission to expand access to clinical trials and to automate the process of medical coding by developing partnerships and doubling the size of their team.