EDPA’s ‘imerge’ event honors Alabama’s top innovators
Alabama’s top innovators gathered in Birmingham recently to celebrate the region’s thriving entrepreneurial scene and collaborate on ways to make it stronger. The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama’s 2018 “imerge” event awarded $151,000 to winners of an Alabama Launchpad startup pitch competition and honored industry leaders with EDPA’s annual Innovation Awards. Attendees networked over food and drink as EDPA transformed the covered parking area of its office on First Avenue South into a pop-up performance venue. Entrepreneurs who have helped fuel the growing innovation ecosystem in Birmingham and across the state talked about how the Magic City has shaped their companies’ culture and played a role in their success. “Birmingham, and particularly the South, has a certain way of putting people first and really caring for people,” said Bill Smith, founder and CEO of Shipt, the same-day delivery marketplace that last week announced a plan to create 881 jobs in Birmingham over the next several years. Smith said Shipt, which was acquired byTarget last year, has been able to scale that culture to locations and shoppers across the country as it aggressively expands. “That’s been a huge part of our success and will continue to be part of our success in the future.” $1 billion reasons Smith was part of a panel discussion – “$1 Billion Reasons to Believe in Alabama” – so named because the companies that were a part of it represented more than $1 billion in recent transactions. Also part of the panel were Shegun Otulana, founder and CEO of Theranest, and Chad Trull of Hospicelink. Otulana offered encouragement to entrepreneurs who are just getting started. “It’s a journey, and it’s not going to be easy. Don’t be afraid to fail,” he said. “Keep at it and seek counsel and hopefully it gets you to the right place.” Birmingham auto racing software developer Apex Pro won $100,000 in the seed category of the startup competition, as well as the $1,000 audience choice award. Global Inspections of Mobile won $50,000 in the concept category. Other special guests at imerge included Henrique Dubugras, co-founder of San Francisco-based financial technology company Brex and Nashville singer-songwriter and entrepreneur Holly Williams. EDPA President Steve Spencer said imerge brings together the many facets of Alabama’s vibrant entrepreneurial scene in one place to foster even more growth. “These are the stars of Alabama innovation here tonight. We want to create an environment where people can work with each other, learn from each other and celebrate each other,” he said. The 2018 EDPA Innovation Award winners are: Lifetime Achievement in Innovation: Art Tipton, Birmingham, is president and CEO of Southern Research, one of the leading research organizations in the U.S. in the areas of drug discovery and development, engineering and energy and environmental sciences. Startup of the Year: XpertDox, Birmingham, is a free web-based resource that connects patients to expert doctors, hospitals, ongoing clinical trials and peer-to-peer support. Outstanding Achievement in Innovative Manufacturing: Alignment Simple Solutions, Pelham, manufactures portable, affordable and accurate wheel alignment products and accessories for all vehicles. Corporate Innovator of the Year (small company, 10-50 employees): Inventure Renewables Inc., Tuscaloosa, pioneers process technologies for the rapid, low-cost, high-yield extraction of natural, biochemical and material building blocks from low-value/waste to provide cost-effective, carbon-neutral biofuels, biochemicals and biomaterials. Corporate Innovator of the Year (large company, 50-plus employees): Shipt, Birmingham, is a membership-based online grocery marketplace delivering fresh foods and household essentials through a community of shoppers and a convenient app. Startup Executive of the Year: Dr. Karim Budhwani, Birmingham, is CEO of CerFlux Personalized Medicine, which aims to reduce the pain, reduce the discomfort and reduce the cost of cancer treatment. Business Executive of the Year: Miranda Bouldin Frost, Huntsville, is president and CEO of LogiCore, which since its inception in 2002 has been an innovative resource for Department of Defense, government and commercial clients. Social Entrepreneur of the Year: Buddy Palmer is president and CEO of Create Birmingham, which has a mission to invest in imagination and invention. Through its programs, Create Birmingham constructs and supports diverse avenues for commercial and nonprofit creative success. “imerging” Young Leaders awards: Dustin Embrey, Connie Griesemer, Wayne Heard, Trent Kocurek, Chris Maurice, Ben Podbielski and Jeff Zeiders. Republished with the permission of the Alabama Newscenter.
Shipt commits to staying in Birmingham, adding 881 jobs
The booming Birmingham founded business, Shipt announced Thursday that they will be keeping their headquarters in the Magic City, adding 881 new jobs in the area within the next few years. “Shipt was founded and has flourished in Birmingham, and we would not have reached the success we have today without the continued support of this community,” CEO Bill Smith said. “As a rapidly growing technology company, we feel fortunate to be able to offer an avenue for creating highly skilled jobs within Birmingham. Tuesday night the Birmingham City Council unanimously approved a new incentives package under which the company must not only add jobs, but also implement the City’s newly developed Talent Investment Program (TIP), Talent Acceleration Program (TAP), and Talent Optimization Program (TOP) as part of the incentives package. The City will provide incentives of up to $1,762,000.00, payable over a term of up to five years on the basis of $2,000.00 per each new employee, with such funding to be used by Shipt, Inc. as reimbursement for the cost of implementing TIP, TAP and TOP. “With this development package, we’ll be able to deepen our roots in our hometown, helping establish Birmingham as a center of technology and innovation not only in the South, but also within the United States,” Smith continued. Shipt already employs over 300 people in the Birmingham area – not including it’s shoppers. The 881 new jobs will be highly-skilled, highly paid positions, mostly in high-tech functions including software development and data processing. Smith said the company expects to add 50,000 shoppers by the end of the year, bringing the total number of shoppers up to 100,000. “Shipt represents the innovation, ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that is defining a new generation of builders in Birmingham, and we are proud that Shipt calls our city home,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said. Governor Kay Ivey joined executives at Shipt headquarters in Birmingham for the announcement; “By simplifying life with innovative technology for personalized grocery delivery, Shipt is positioned for rapid growth,” Ivey said. “The ideal location for this growth is its hometown of Birmingham, and we’re committed to helping the company develop and attract the talent it needs to fuel its expansion plans in Alabama’s ‘Magic City.’” Woodfin posted a video of the announcement Thursday morning on Facebook. Watch the announcement by Kay Ivey below:
Birmingham tech start-up Shipt expanding into Huntsville market
A tech start-up founded in Birmingham, Shipt, announced Monday it will expand its app-based delivery service to serve customers in Huntsville, ahead of the upcoming holiday shopping season. The firm’s founder and CEO Bill Smith trumpeted the announcement Monday, saying it will create around 100 new jobs in Huntsville. “Our team could not be more excited to launch Shipt in a market in our own backyard, and to provide a new convenience to Huntsville, a city known for its innovation,” said Smith. The app’s employees – called “shoppers” – select and deliver groceries from local stores based on specifications provided by customers using the firm’s smartphone app. Huntsville, located about 90 minutes north of Birmingham near the Tennessee-Alabama border, is the company’s first foray into a new geographical market inside Alabama. The service costs typically costs $99 a year or a monthly fee of $14, though they are offering a special promotion to customers in the Huntsville area. Customers who sign up before December 2 can buy an annual membership for $49. Shipt generally charges a surcharge for convenience of around $5 for every $35 order. The company was founded in 2014 and currently serves eight cities in Florida as well as Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Nashville, and Phoenix.
Movement to bring Uber to Birmingham building momentum fast
A weeks-long organized effort to bring ride-hailing services like Uber and Lyft to Birmingham seems poised to cross the goal line in the near future. An outpouring of public support both from citizens – including via “Draft Uber”-style drive on social media – had been reciprocated by elected officials. City Council President Johnathan Austin declared yesterday that the city “definitely wants” Uber in town. Mayor William Bell has also signified his support, and has agreed to an expedited process that will accelerate the drafting and passage of a pro-ridesharing city ordinance. A spokesperson for Uber confirmed the progress on Thursday. “Based on today’s conversation, we’re optimistic that City Council is on a path towards bringing ridesharing to Birmingham,” a spokeswoman told Alabama Today. “We thank Council President Austin for his leadership, and look forward to working with City Council on an ordinance that aligns with the nearly 50 US jurisdictions with pro-innovation, pro-consumer ridesharing regulations.” Negotiation with the Magic City’s municipal government occurred last summer as well, but the two sides could not come to an agreement so talks fizzled. Talks broke down along lines familiar to those who have watched the ridehailing vs. taxis political/regulatory food fight that has occurred across the country – background checks, insurance requirements and taxes. Uber recently staged a unilateral pullout in South Florida’s Broward County after commissioners there attempted to fold ridesharing services – with some minor tweaks – into regulatory scaffolding that governs taxi cabs there. Representatives from Uber said that was not fair, because their business model is entirely different. Back in July local businessman Bill Smith – CEO of grocery delivery service Shipt – started a GoFundMe page to raise money for pro-Uber advocacy efforts. The drive surpassed its $10,000 goal easily. Council President Austin said Wednesday he hopes to have the new rules allowing for Uber and similar services to operate in Birmingham within one month from yesterday’s meeting of the city Transportation Committee.
