Another new company is making the move to Innovation Depot.
Birmingham-based Backr is transitioning into the incubator. The news comes shortly after it was unveiled that local startup Croux was also moving operations into the depot.
"We're excited to welcome our newest entrepreneurs to the Innovation Depot, Thomas Coiner and Thomas Cooney from Backr," a LinkedIn post from Innovation Depot stated. "We couldn't be more excited to have them back in our community. They recently completed the The Minnesota Twins Accelerator by Techstars."
Thomas Coiner, co-founder of Backr, is no stranger to the incubator, having previously served as the entrepreneur in residence for the depot's Velocity accelerator.
"When deciding where to build Backr in Birmingham, we were blown away by Brooke Gillis' vision," Coiner said. "Being surrounded by a thriving community of entrepreneurs is everything for our early-stage company. The depot is clearly becoming our city's hub for the entire startup ecosystem, and this will be the perfect place for us to source talent and resources as we continue to grow."
Backr, formerly called ProU, accompanied nine other companies from around the world, including one based in Nigeria and one based in the United Kingdom, in the Twin Cities to participate in the Techstars Minnesota Twins Accelerator's second cohort. There, founders learned from mentors from the Techstars network, the Minnesota Twins’ front office and the broader sports tech ecosystem and startup community.
The company underwent its name change in October and has been based in Birmingham since January 2021 when it went through the Velocity Accelerator. It also won Alabama Launchpad in 2021.
ProU was started to solve the disconnect between college fans and professional sports. Its mission was to enable fans to keep up with their favorite college players.
