A collaborative project supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem of north Alabama will take place the first week of May in Huntsville.
Innovate Huntsville Week, hosted by the Women’s Business Center of North Alabama and BizTech, will kick off with a hackathon by GEO Huntsville on May 2 and end with Will This Fly? and interactive programming at Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment on May 7. A two-day entrepreneurial summit will begin May 3, followed by an awards luncheon at Campus No. 805 the next day.
Mayor Tommy Battle issued a proclamation Tuesday declaring May 2 the start of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week in the Rocket City.
“I’ve never seen a time in Huntsville’s history where we had more people working on more projects, in different types of projects, different types of work,” he said. “Entrepreneurship is alive and well here in Huntsville.”
WBCNA, a nonprofit organization created 13 years ago, has served more than 16,000 individuals in north Alabama by providing one-on-one business coaching and education to help them get started, grow and prosper.
Joanne Randolph, president and CEO of the WBCNA, said entrepreneurs will come together during Innovate Huntsville Week to be educated, inspired and engaged with the local support system.
“We are really looking forward to Innovate Huntsville Week, a week to celebrate entrepreneurs,” she said. “If there’s anyone interested in getting connected or plugged into the Huntsville startup scene, this is the week to do it.”
Larry Lewis, president of PROJECTXYZ and CEO of BizTech, has been working to grow the entrepreneurial scene in Huntsville for years. In 2014, Lewis and his wife, Kim, purchased the BizTech building on 515 Sparkman Drive, now known as The Entrepreneurial Center (TEC 515).
Lewis hopes Innovate Huntsville Week will shine a light on the resources that are available and inspire future entrepreneurs to establish their businesses in Huntsville.
Current partners include GEO Huntsville, Energy Huntsville, Cyber Huntsville, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, Rocket Hatch, Downtown Huntsville, Inc., HOTCoffee, Open Huntsville, Huntsville West and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology. The event is open to entrepreneurs, small businesses, investors, mentors, inventors and the community at large.
For more details, visit innovatehsv.com or email Erin Bloxham Curtis at erin.bloxhamcurtis@wbcna.org.
March 08, 2016
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