Birmingham's Alabama Futures Fund recently placed an investment in an Austin-based company, recruiting it to the Magic City.
The company, Sequense Corp., is relocating its headquarters and CEO, Kimber Falkinburg, to Birmingham in connection with the investment. Sequense was recruited to Birmingham through the combined efforts of AFF and Birmingham Bound.
Financial details were not disclosed for the investment.
Sequense is a workflow automation software platform with a focus on travel agency business operations for independent and enterprise scale travel advisers. The company's goal is to streamline travel business processes.
It offers industry-specific automation for travel advisers. By entering key data points, the company’s software organizes hundreds of tasks by stage of workflow and work type. The Sequense platform provides visibility for each adviser on outstanding tasks to be completed using a project management tool.
According to a statement from Falkinburg, relocating to Birmingham was an easy decision after spending some time in the ecosystem.
“We've discovered more than a location in Birmingham," she said. "We’re tapping into a wellspring of potential. We're becoming immersed in a community fostering local talent and innovation, an ideal environment for our growth. At Sequense, we're not just building a business but committed to uplifting both the company and the entire Birmingham community.”
This represents the 18th investment from AFF since the fund launched in the third quarter of 2018. Redhawk Advisory LLC is the investment manager of AFF and advised AFF on the Sequense investment.
“We are excited about our investment in Sequense and can’t wait for Kimber to join Birmingham’s growing startup ecosystem," said Redhawk Partner Mickey Millsap. "Not only is the travel advisory space a massive market, but it is also a market that has historically not generated significant investment from the venture capital community, meaning the company has an opportunity to grab significant market share without facing the same level of competition as other sectors.”
An AFF investment lead to another company recently relocating to Birmingham. AFF invested in Tampa-based Allison Fintech Co., and it was unveiled the firm would move to Birmingham in June.
Allison is a banking-as-a-service platform that enables banks to incorporate fintech products into their traditional payment remittance and banking service offerings. Allison’s BaaS offering uses software that connects non-bank financial services customers with participating banking partners and incorporates compliance tools, low-code workflow creation tools, and embedded finance functionality.
