April 18 was a special day for Birmingham’s startup “eco-system” which celebrated the presentations of nine companies which graduated from the Velocity Accelerator.
The so called, “Demo Day”, not only proved successful for these startup companies, but spoke volumes of our community support.
The Velocity Accelerator’s Demo Day was hosted at Iron City Bham where  hundreds of community members showed up to hear the presentations of 9 local start-ups.
The crowd included investors, entrepreneurs, CEOs, business men and women, young professionals, media, and those who believe in Birmingham.
Within the last 12 weeks, the Velocity Accelerator has been helping to propel these companies toward expansion and a firm foundation to move forward.
What normally would be done in a year, these companies have done in 3 months! This is sited by many of the entrepreneurs.
Bham Now Special
To find out more about the people behind these companies, Bham Now spoke with each of the startup founders.
Company Background
To find out more about each company, click the link
The benefits of working within the Velocity Accelerator
Next steps for each company
Presenting to investors and the community for further advancement is the chief aim of Demo Day.
No doubt, this event built up confidence in the founders and community surrounding them. Those involved in the start-up eco-system are working toward the same goal, building a better Birmingham for the long run.
In fact, the CEO of the Innovation Depot, Devon Laney, had a “call to action” for Birmingham…
This event, like Sloss Tech last summer, has helped to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit and fire under Birmingham’s startup scene.
As a result, large companies such as BBVA Compass are important sponsors of these programs.
“We are very excited about supporting things in Birmingham, and small businesses. This (Demo Day) is a great opportunity for them to shine and grow their businesses.
Secondly, we are very focused on ways we can help Birmingham become a ‘tech hub’.
There’s a lot of excitement around the Innovation Depot, and that’s something we are very focused on through digital technology… and we think that is going to be a way for our city also to be a leader and ‘think tank’.”
– Mark Smith, VP of BBVA Compass, told Bham Now
Having major players, like BBVA Compass, invest themselves in the growth process is critical. The company has a long standing with the Depot and has invested over $360 million with the incubator to date.
The process of putting Birmingham on the map continues! Will you be a part of growing our local businesses?
