By Britney Summerville and Rep. Danny Garrett, Innovate Alabama Board Members
Skilled talent, business plan development, product testing, market research, intellectual property protection and technical work are essential elements of innovation, and they each have a cost.
Access to capital is one of the most important factors in growing a thriving innovation ecosystem, according to research by the Alabama Innovation Commission and Stanford’s Hoover Institution. As such, helping entrepreneurs get the resources they need is one of Innovate Alabama’s three core pillars.
Innovate Alabama is charged with making the state a hub for technology, innovation and entrepreneurship by partnering with the private sector, state agencies and state policymakers to develop and implement programs and policies that will lead to a healthy startup ecosystem in Alabama.
Guided by a vision of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, Innovate Alabama is propelling our state toward a future where ingenuity thrives, and we are proud to serve as members of the board of directors.
Since its inception, Innovate Alabama has allocated more than $77 million in startup capital and ecosystem support, including creating $46 million in tax credits. Most recently, and perhaps most notably, Innovate Alabama secured $98 million from the U.S. Department of the Treasury State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) to launch the state’s largest ever funding program for small businesses.
In just one year, Alabama jumped from 42nd to 20th in CNBC’s Top States for Business annual study that was released last week, showing remarkable growth in areas like education, business friendliness and technology and innovation. This tremendous leap from 2023 to 2024 reflects statewide collaborative efforts to build a diverse and resilient economy. However, our state still has significant room for improvement in access to capital, receiving a grade of D+.
Last week, the Alabama Securities Commission issued a new order that exempts certain investment fund advisers from the registration provisions of the Alabama Securities Act. While this order is a step in the right direction to help grow the state’s nascent startup ecosystem, there’s more to do.
As we reflect on these achievements, we know that our work is not yet done. One of the greatest opportunities we see is in venture capital.
For Alabama to be a competitive tech hub, we must appeal to investors and advisers who can grow and manage funds, both large and small. Unfortunately, we’re losing them to places like Nashville, Atlanta and Dallas where the regulatory entry requirements are less burdensome and getting money into founders’ hands is significantly easier. While we are making progress to increase the volume and accessibility of capital in Alabama, we must remove red tape and ensure we are on par with our neighboring states.
We look forward to exploring opportunities to work with the Alabama Securities Commission, investors and advisers to position our state to gain more investors and grow these small private funds, ultimately ensuring that Alabama has the resources in place to help innovators grow roots here.
Britney Summerville is founder of Birmingham Bound and a member of the Innovate Alabama Board of Directors.
Representative Danny Garrett chairs the Ways and Means Education Committee in the Alabama House of Representatives and is also a member of the Innovate Alabama Board of Directors.