Innovation Depot Birmingham startups — Some of the best startups in the area are thanks to Innovation Depot! (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)

You know what time it is—another guide to Birmingham startups! We found three companies crushing the local business world, and you’re going to want a front-row seat to their recent success.

1. Etch

Etch, an e-learning provider, integrates learners’ education with Etch’s smart-learning retention platform, allowing them to build a strong, permanent knowledge base for the future.

According to a press release, the company announced its selection to the sixth cohort of the USC Rossier School of Education’s EdTech Accelerator. This program has chosen Etch for its unique approach to building a learning and skill retention ecosystem for education.

Etch is an EdTech startup co-founded by Birmingham local Sean Haskell and Alabama native Taylor Larsen.

“We’re grateful for the embrace of the Birmingham startup ecosystem. Mentors that we’ve met through Alabama Launchpad and other local ecosystem events have been critical to getting us ready to take advantage of opportunities like the USC EdTech accelerator.

As Alabama natives, it’s our goal to not only flip the narrative on education in Alabama but to reverse some of the trends that lead to the reinforcement of that narrative. A personalized learning and skill retention infrastructure is crucial for the future of education and we’re excited to build it right here in Birmingham.”
Sean Haskell, CEO + Founder, Etch.

MORE FUN: Coral, a subsidiary of Etch, launched a Kickstarter campaign to expand Coral’s reach in advancing personalized education through AI-adaptive textbooks, digital homework delivery and assessments built on personalized learning engineering.

Material that will be covered includes content tested on:

ACT
AP exams
MCAT
NCLEX

Teachers from across the state of Alabama have joined a waitlist to receive access to Coral for their students

Etch: Website | LinkedIn

2. University Fancards

fanfares — You can connect your Fancard to your bank. (University Fancards)

University Fancards is the intersection between sports and payments, offering solutions for a variety of needs through prepaid gift cards and prepaid reloadable cards.

As the nation’s leading provider of collegiately licensed prepaid products, University Fancards creates ways for fans to pay with team pride, through a fintech-focused approach designed to reach fans of 30+ collegiate brands.

In early December, Fancards announced the launch of Fancards Payment Solutions, and its first proprietary software as a service (SaaS) product, Benjamin by Fancards.

“We started developing Benjamin over a year ago, and are incredibly excited to bring it to market. The inspiration came from insights we gathered from our collegiate and youth sports partnerships, and we reimagined how our existing products could be applied for organizations’ needs and built Benjamin to streamline and simplify payments.”
Greg Boggs, Co-Founder + EVP of Operations, University Fancards

This new platform provides a cost-effective system to save organizations time and money with daily operational expenses. Its features include bulk payments to optimize programs, manage operational business expenses and automated reporting to track payments.

The launch is part of an internal restructuring that streamlines Fancards’ product lines. In addition, Fancards will provide custom gift cards for the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in January 2024.

Fancards: Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn

3. Circool

Circool is a K-12 school safety software created to give administrators the tools needed to control attendance for events, secure daily dismissal and implement a plan in case of an evacuation.

“When schools have large events—think pep rallies or even a graduation—Circool sends out invitations to parents, grandparents and other invitees to validate their identity.

Then, instead of having the doors wide open, guests are required to scan in with their pre-validated ticket. In addition, we print out a name badge to give others a visual indication that they are approved to be inside the school.”
Jason Routson, Circool

Circool was a recent seed-stage finalist in Alabama Launchpad. Early seed stage finalists compete for $50,000 to accelerate the growth of their existing business.

Circool: Website | Facebook | Instagram

A lot is happening within the world of Birmingham startups, and we’re excited to see it. Sign up for our FREE newsletter for more updates.