Venture for America draws best and brightest to Birmingham
More than 40 companies from Birmingham, San Antonio, New Orleans and Nashville were in Birmingham Friday hoping to hire one of 50 Venture for America fellows. Innovation Depot hosted the VFA regional job fair, making Birmingham the center of innovation attention for at least a couple of days. “We have screened more than 2,000 young people in the country this year and selected the 200 best and brightest and brought a good cross-section of them here today,” said Amy Nelson, managing director and incoming CEO of New York-based Venture for America. VFA fellows come from some of the most prestigious universities in the country. For startup companies or companies with a focus on innovation, it can be hard to visit all of those schools on career day, so VFA holds regional events bringing select students to one place. Fellows vie for a two-year apprenticeship with the companies. Once the two years are up, the company may offer to keep the fellow on or a fellow may look to pursue starting his or her own company. “We’ve seen an uptick each year in the number of companies wanting to hire VFA fellows,” said Devon Laney, CEO of Innovation Depot. “And from the VFA fellows themselves who have moved to Birmingham, they tell us over and over and over how excited they are about being here, how much they’ve enjoyed their time and the fact that they’re going to stay.” On Friday, the companies held speed interviews. Fellows had 20 minutes to interview with each of as many as eight companies in hopes of finding a fit and an offer. Landon Acriche is ending his two-year VFA fellowship with Alabama Power, where he works as an innovation strategist. He was one of eight fellows who were part of the first Birmingham VFA program two years ago. Acriche was on the other side of the table Friday helping interview potential fellows and telling them about Alabama Power. “They’re making the decision difficult for us,” Acriche said. “Everyone who comes through VFA is very qualified and so everyone we’re speaking to is very interesting and has a lot of great experience.” Acriche said he tells them about the opportunities to learn about all aspects of the business at Alabama Power but also how the company supports new ideas and areas of innovation. And what does he tell them about Birmingham? “I’m telling them it’s awesome,” he said. “They’re coming to the conclusion that we all love it here.” Jared Weinstein, a New York venture capitalist who attended Mountain Brook High School, has also been singing the praises of the Magic City. He approached Nelson a couple of years ago and asked if VFA would consider Birmingham among new cities for a regional job fair. “I was skeptical, to say the least,” Nelson said. “It’s a smaller city. We work in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Baltimore – which, they’re a little bigger, a little more established in terms of entrepreneurship.” But Weinstein encouraged her to visit Birmingham. Alabama Power officials showed her around the city and Innovation Depot companies told of the great things happening in the area. “Just the welcome and the energy – it was a no-brainer,” Nelson said. “By the end of that day, we were totally sold.” For the fellows, Nelson said the decision of where to go for their fellowship is not one they take lightly. “When you’re a young person, you want to be part of a winning team and part of a team that’s growing,” she said. “If you are able to join up with a group of like-minded individuals and see that progress, then your work is meaningful to you and that keeps you coming back.” Republished with permission of Alabama NewsCenter.
Alabama business roundup: Headlines from across the state – 10/9/15 edition
What Alabama city has the ingredients necessary to become a hotbed for innovation and entrepreneurship? Who’s bringing 170 new jobs to Athens? Did you say ‘small business incentives that could drop power bills’? Who’s voting to a join a union? Answers to those questions and more in today’s Alabama business roundup: Alabama Newscenter: Airbus sponsorship brings private support for Mobile’s Riverside Ice to $80,000 With a $20,000 boost from Airbus Group, Mobile’s inaugural Riverside Ice attraction gained a title sponsor Tuesday, and the Port City took another step toward attaining “destination city” status. Just ask Santa Claus. In addition to its financial commitment, Airbus plans to fly Santa down from the North Pole to Riverside Ice every Saturday in December so the jolly old elf can keep a closer eye on exactly who’s being naughty or nice.“Airbus’ significant contribution will offer our community an amazing opportunity to delight in an outdoor pleasure that we typically don’t see in our neck of the woods,” Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said of the effort to install a 50-foot by 70-foot portable ice rink in Cooper Riverside Park for the holidays. Allan McArtor, chairman and chief executive officer of Airbus Group, called the ice rink a “great activity for the Mobile community, and a terrific holiday experience for all.” “We look forward to seeing everyone at the rink – let’s just keep the ‘hard landings’ to a minimum,” McArtor said. The latest offshoot of the recently unveiled Mayor’s Initiative on Tourism, Riverside Ice will operate seven days a week from Nov. 12 through Jan. 16 Although the rink’s hours are expected to fluctuate according to holiday and school schedules, tentative hours of operation will be from noon to 10 p.m. on weekdays and noon until 11 p.m. on weekends. Admission for skating will be $10 for adults and $8 for children 12 and under, including the cost of skate rentals. Stimpson’s office confirmed Wednesday Airbus’ contribution brings total private sponsorships to about $80,000 with more expected within the next 10 days. Admission fees are expected to cover the city’s portion of the initiative with any net proceeds slated to benefit the parks and recreation department.The total estimated cost of Riverside Ice hovers around $150,000, including a $132,350 contract with Florida-based Magic Ice USA Inc. to install, operate and maintain the rink. An additional $18,000 will be needed to cover utility costs, the operation of a ticket booth and other incidentals. Al Hutchinson, president and chief executive officer of the Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, said there’s no question Riverside Ice will become a “great downtown attraction for locals,” but it also “gives us the additional opportunity to package it with other holiday activities like Bellingrath Garden‘s Magic Christmas in Lights … to encourage out-of-town visitors to come for a weekend.” “The more seasonal activities Mobile has to offer, the better message we can deliver to potential tourists,” Hutchinson said. Stimpson said the support the project has garnered outside Government Plaza speaks volumes about the momentum Mobile continues to gain. “As we strive to become a destination city, we realize that through public-private partnerships many of our greatest desires can be accomplished,” he said. And while no official decision has been made regarding Santa’s travel accommodations to Mobile throughout December, Airbus spokeswoman Kristi Tucker said aircraft being produced by Airbus at Mobile Aeroplex and the CN235 are options. “We’ll work with Mr. Claus to determine his needs,” Tucker said. Alabama Newscenter: Andrew Yang: Venture for America aims to show world what’s possible in Birmingham Birmingham has all the ingredients necessary to become a hotbed for innovation and entrepreneurship, according to Andrew Yang. The founder and CEO of Venture for America made his first visit to the Magic City since the organization named Birmingham one of its designated cities for its distinguished fellowship programs in July. Birmingham joins Baltimore, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Antonio, St. Louis, Columbus, Ohio, and Providence, Rhode Island. Yang visited Alabama Power, where one of the first eight Birmingham fellows, Landon Acriche, works as a growth strategist for the company’s Innovation Team. The Yale University graduate has a degree in environmental engineering and a certificate for the completion of Yale’s Energy Studies Program. Venture for America hand-picks bright college graduates who are aspiring entrepreneurs for its fellowship program and pairs them with companies in designated cities. From there the fellows could go on to leadership positions within those companies or go on to start companies of their own in the area. More fellows will be introduced in an effort to help Birmingham achieve more of what Venture for America has already found here, Yang said. “In Birmingham’s case, there was a champion who is a native son of Birmingham, Jared Weinstein, who brought Birmingham to our attention and said, ‘Hey, there are great things going on. You should really look into it,’” Yang said in an interview with Alabama NewsCenter. “And thanks to Jared’s introductions, we realized the opportunities here and we came here to explore a number of months ago and things moved very quickly.” Yang said there is a checklist Venture for America follows in choosing a city for its fellowship program and there must also a feel for the culture and environment for young people. Birmingham had it all, including the clustering of young startup companies. “I’m glad to say, thanks to the work at Innovation Depot and a lot of other orgs here in Birmingham, those companies are numerous here in Birmingham,” Yang said. “The second thing is supportive leadership, and we’re grateful for the support of Alabama Power, Goodrich Foundation and others to help bring us here.” Yang said the plan is to add to the eight fellows already in Birmingham. There are already a number of success stories, Yang said. He pointed to a fellow in Detroit who opened a factory with 25 people making Banza pasta.“We’re going to bring in a set of people every year and build over the next
