This post was contributed by Kathleen Hamrick, director of marketing and education at Innovation Depot.
Alabama’s first seed accelerator, Velocity, launched in Fall 2016. Over 100 applications were received and less than 10% were accepted to the inaugural 2017 class. Each Velocity Accelerator startup received $50,000 in seed funding, workspace at Innovation Depot, over $800,000 in perks, and mentoring by proven entrepreneurs and investors. Today, at Iron City, the nine startups will pitch to investors in Alabama’s first-ever Demo Day. You can attend the event for free, but if you aren’t able to make it by in person, here’s the scoop on the startups:
Book-It Legal is an online marketplace that connects law firms to law students, previously featured on Startup Southerner. The startup makes it easy for law firms to post projects online and is a platform that allows top tier law students to commit to projects, for pay. Book-It Legal secured $50,000 from Alabama Launchpad prior to entry into Velocity.
Covalence is Alabama’s first software developer bootcamp. The home-grown program was originally founded as Depot/U and has been re-branded as it expands to markets outside of Alabama. Covalence is focused on expanding to mid-market cities (500k-1.5 million metro area). The startup is expanding to Chattanooga and Fort Lauderdale on May 30, 2017.
Delect enables automatic mobile payments at restaurants, regardless of group size.
GLOW offers on-demand beauty services. Think Uber, for hair-styling, spray-tanning, and makeup – from skilled professionals (called GLOW-Pros). In month four of operation, GLOW is serving 150 clients per month with 20 GlowPros and is in the final stages of closing a seed round with two investors.
Healthfundit is crowdfunding for research; it’s an alternative to the shrinking federal funding available to researchers and scientists commercializing technology. A recent BBJ article investigates how funding cuts may impact future biotech. Healthfundit recently partnered with the National Institute for Health (NIH), sourcing top projects eclipsed from federal funding.
Koyote is an Internet of Things startup. It’s primary product under development is Pointz. Pointz is a customer rewards system that uses bluetooth beacons to track customer flow at participating merchants’ storefronts.
Likely AI is driven by an algorithm that identifies which images most resonate with an audience.
Planet Fundraiser takes the pain out of fundraising. The startup’s app helps users raise funds for their favorite schools and not-for-profit organizations through everyday purchases. During the Velocity Accelerator program, the startup partnered with Chick-Fil-A and Shipt, and expanded to Atlanta. Planet Fundraiser recently closed on a one million dollar raise that will support its expansion into Memphis, Nashville, Auburn, Tuscaloosa, and other smaller southeastern markets. The expansion will take place within the next 30-45 days.
Quantalytix hopes to “create the Bloomberg of analytics” by offering software that assesses and analyzes risk in small and large banks across the U.S. Prior to founding Quantalytix, co-founders Chris Aliotta and William Bryant worked as analysts for Regions Bank.
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