A Birmingham tech accelerator has succeeded in attracting more companies to the Magic City, boosting the local startup scene.
Techstars has completed its second cohort, and multiple companies that participated have made commitments to the Birmingham market.
Cohort member Hdata, which delivers smarter compliance for the energy sector, has secured a deal with Alabama Power and has moved its headquarters from Illinois to Birmingham.
Several other members are following suit.
That includes Moduly, a smart energy storage platform previously based in Montreal, and Raleigh-based Flux Hybrids, a company that has developed a system that can convert vehicles to plug-in hybrids at an affordable price. Both are establishing a presence in Birmingham. Boston-based SolarFi, which works to change urban planning by providing more access to solar-powered pods, left the cohort but still plans to create a local presence.
This follows a successful first cohort in which multiple out-of-town startups relocated or established local presences.
Nate Schmidt, managing director of the accelerator, said this year’s cohort was unique because no local companies participated, opening doors for more companies to enter the Magic City’s startup scene.
“It was very interesting to invite all these companies to Alabama and see them interact with our state for the first time. We had a really ... fun class. (They were) high-energy founders and really a cohesive bunch and were very sad to leave each other once the program was over,” Schmidt said. “They did a great job working hard and playing hard; they were in the office long hours, but then they would go out to all the restaurants, go hiking, go to the state fair, go to football games. They were out in the community.”
Since the program took place during a relative slowdown in Covid-19 cases compared to 2020, this year’s cohort experienced a busy and vibrant office environment as intended.
With the boost in activity, cohort members were able to engage heavily with Alabama Power and over 50 mentors. The mentors did proof of concepts or pilots with many of the teams, providing connections to companies in the state and reasons to come back.
Schmidt said he is looking for additional mentors and speakers for the program’s future cohorts.
“If we help these companies find investment and if we help them find customers, then it’s a huge success along with everything else that goes into doing this accelerator,” he said. “So, I’m always laser focused on deeper ties to the energy-tech and clean-tech investment community, (also forging) deeper relationships nationally or internationally with mentors that could support our program.
“In this offseason I’m already back to recruiting ... and then I’ll spend a lot of time building my network of mentors and investors that can support this program.”
