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Dear Entrepreneurs in Alabama, Let me tell you something you probably already know: there is not a lot of venture capital investment in Alabama. In fact, in 2016 there was only $47M invested according to PWC/ CB Insights. I hear folks complain about this. Don’t. It’s a waste of time. Rather, I think it’s good to adjust. Here…

Are you honest about your start up’s prospects? The goal of Alabama Launchpad is to help entrepreneurs create high growth companies in Alabama. This is really important. Too often we’ve found, people are enamored with the idea of being an entrepreneur, but have lost sight of the fact that they are working on an idea that…

Hey!!! This Alabama Launchpad competition round is closing soon! With just about 2 weeks left, you should be thinking less about doing more and more about clarifying and polishing. In fact, you should really be focusing on removing as many distractions as possible. Because, with a field of roughly 50 companies, distractions are a death knell…

OK… let’s talk about making an overview video for your business plan. For many folks, this can feel daunting. And yes, making a video can get very complicated… but this one shouldn’t be. If you own a smart phone, you’ve already got the camera you need. And if you can describe your customers, their need, and how…

If there’s one thing you can do to get started right, it’s to really really really define your customer. Did you get that? I wrote “really” three times… in bold and italics and underlined. I mean it. To really define your customer, you have to get much more in depth than something like my customer is “men.”…

Hey there! So one of the most important things you can do as a budding entrepreneur is get a mentor. In fact, you need one. Just like Luke Skywalker needed Yoda to develop his powers, you need a mentor to develop yours. That’s because starting a successful business without mentorship is about as hard as lifting your…

Hey folks! Have you heard there’s this Innovation Conference happening August 23rd in Birmingham? If you haven’t bought a ticket yet, do it. I’ll be there, and I think it’s worth it. Here’s why: Meet really smart, risk-taking people. If you’re starting a company, you want to know these people. They are going to be…

One of the most frustrating things about startup competitions is being rejected. But it’s not because of the fact that you were told no. Rather, it’s because it’s so hard to get any lessons out of it! In my experience, having submitted to a number of competitions, the rejection usually comes in the form of…

Hello Alabama Entrepreneurs! We are excited that the next round of the Alabama Launchpad Startup competition is open! Deadline to apply is September 14th, so you have time… but with $200,000 on the line, I’d also suggest you get moving. Every Friday, we will be posting what we hope are helpful tips that you can…