Alexander City Chamber to Host Auburn Regional Alabama Launchpad Startup Competition Info Session

Local startup businesses and entrepreneurs in Tallapoosa County will once again have the chance to compete for up to $50,000 as part of the Auburn Regional Alabama Launchpad startup competition. To help interested members of the community learn more, the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce will host the Auburn Regional team for an Information Session on Tuesday, October 9th from 2-3 pm at the Lake Martin Innovation Center.

“Auburn University and the City of Auburn are thought leaders in developing entrepreneurs, and it is exciting for Alabama Launchpad to collaborate and learn from each other. The leadership in the Auburn region provides startups with a longer runway for mentoring and funding. The regional startups get local support and practice pitching and are well prepared to compete then in the statewide Alabama Launchpad competition, which runs quarterly.  Entrepreneurs need a predictable, steady drumbeat of support to help them start, stay and grow in Alabama,” said Angela Wier, Vice President at EDPA.

In last year’s inaugural Auburn Regional, two Alexander City-based startups entered the competition, Beyond Home Care led by Founder and CEO Kelly Adams and JC Golf Info, a joint venture between WisePoint LLC and Dave Jennings, head coach of the Central Alabama Community College men’s golf team. Both businesses advanced through the early stages and ultimately pitched their ideas to the panel of judges at the semifinal event with Beyond Home Care advancing to the finale event.

“Last year was my first time to do a pitch competition, and it was a lot of work to prepare,” said Adams. “The process really pushed me outside of my comfort zone and was a great learning opportunity.”

“The Launchpad competition was a great experience even though we didn’t make the second cut,” added WisePoint’s Jeff Kirk. “We had just started the concept phase of JC Golf Info when we learned of the competition but decided to try it anyway. It really kicked our planning into overdrive and forced us to solidify concepts quickly and verify all of our research.”

Lucian Bifano, director of entrepreneurship strategy for Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business, will administer the business competition and be on hand at the Lake Martin Innovation Center to lead the information session. The university’s existing programs and infrastructure for startups will be utilized to support the young companies.

The information session on October 9th is open to anyone who wants to learn more. To RSVP or request more information, contact Jacob Meacham at the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce at (256) 234-3461 or by emailing [email protected].