Q&A with Maria Underwood, President
Birmingham Bound was founded in 2019 as a corporate initiative at Shipt by Bill Smith and Britney Summerville. In 2022, the organization established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit and hired its first president, Maria Underwood. Next year the organization plans to add one or two additional full-time staff.
What does innovation mean to you?
Innovation means creating new ideas to tackle old problems and potentially taking a step back and looking for those solutions from a different point of view.
What ways has your organization innovated and/or created meaningful impact?
We know that Birmingham can be the place to start and grow a tech startup, and we believe the ecosystem is primed with leaders and enthusiasm to solidify that notion. Our approach to be a meaningful partner in that goal is to 1) recruit top-tier, ambitious tech founders and companies to the city and 2) lead with a founder-first methodology when it comes to the resources we provide back to the ecosystem. Our concierge-service like approach to help finders make connections, find resources and tap funding easier, in turn helps them grow and scale their companies faster.
