The mission of First Avenue Ventures is to grow Birmingham organizations. We’re particularly passionate about Birmingham entrepreneurs and start-up businesses. As part of our mission, we’re dedicated to provided entrepreneurs with useful information and other resources about the Birmingham start-up ecosystem. Below, please find our round-up of recent news about the Birmingham start-up community.

2 Alabama Startups win $75K at Alabama Launchpad’s Social Impact Competition (Bham Now)

Find out more about Monthly, winner of the $25K Concept Stage category, and VB Ideas, winner of the $50K Seed Category.

Birmingham Bound Names New President (Birmingham Business Journal)

Maria Underwood, a Birmingham native who has served in an executive role for local and international nonprofits, brings her expertise in fundraising and growing the entrepreneurial ecosystem to her new role as president of Birmingham Bound.

James Kirklin Creating New Health Care Company (Birmingham Business Journal)

Renowned UAB cardiac surgeon and researcher James Kirklin is launching Kirklin Solutions (KIRSO), a start-up using statistics and machine-learning algorithms to analyze clinical information for outcomes research and database construction. 

Innovation Depot Hires Brooke Gillis as New CEO (Bham Now)

Brooke Gillis, a leader in Birmingham’s start-up community with extensive experience facilitating start-up accelerators, started in her role as Innovation Depot’s new CEO on December 12, 2022.

Local Startup Moves into New Space in Innovation Depot (Birmingham Business Journal)

LunarLab, a consulting start-up focused on UX/UI design, product strategy, and project management, has a new home in Innovation Depot.

Local Startup Prepping to Launch Platform after Securing Seed Funding in June (Birmingham Business Journal)

After receiving $1 million in seed funding from Nashville’s Mark Two Ventures, Astound Research, a start-up dedicated to helping research institutions find corporate sponsors for scientific research, is planning to fully launch their platform in 2023. 

Shegun Otulana Launching Advisory Program for Startups (Birmingham Business Journal)

Shegun Otulana, the founder of Harmony Venture Labs, is launching an advisory program designed to help start-ups scale.

Techstars EnergyTech Accelerator Leads to D.C. Startup Launching in Bham (Birmingham Business Journal)

After taking part in the Techstars Alabama EnergyTech accelerator, D.C.-based home improvement marketplace company Idyllo has decided to launch in Birmingham.