A UA-based company took second place in the Alabama Launchpad Governor’s Business Plan Competition last week, winning $50,000 in seed capital.
According to a UA press release, the IoLiTec Inc. team is made up of three members associated with the University in various capacities: Tom Beyersdorff, president; Rachel Frazier, a research engineer within the University’s Alabama Innovation and Mentoring of Entrepreneurs; and Whitney Hough, who holds a doctorate in chemistry and is pursuing a masters of business arts at the University.
IoLiTec, Inc., which stands for Ionic Liquids Technologies, is a “specialty chemical company that will develop and distribute solutions of nanoparticles that provide safer and easier handling options,” according to its website, iolitec-usa.com. The company operates from Tuscaloosa and a site in Heilbronn, Germany.
The competition, in its fifth year, looks to assess Alabama start-ups that are rapidly growing. The competition provides cash ‘seed capital’ to the top three finishers. IoLiTec Inc., the University’s team, won $50,000 in second place behind the UAH-based team Decisions Innovations. The Auburn University-affiliated company, IPC Foam, finished third.
Alabama Launchpad, a non-profit organization that works to provide support for entrepreneurship in Alabama, organized the Business Plan Competition. Launchpad works in partnership with several state universities, such as Alabama State University, Auburn University and The University of Alabama.
Dan Daly, Director of Alabama Innovation and Mentoring of Entrepreneurs at the University and an Alabama Launchpad Board Member, said the program was started after business leaders saw a need for entrepreneurial support in the state.
“Other states, such as Georgia and Florida have had programs such as this a lot longer than Alabama has,” Daly said. “We wanted to start a program on campus that responded to the need for entrepreneurs in Alabama. When we approached UA administrators with the idea, they responded by suggesting that we start a competition with all the four-year colleges in the state.”
According to Daly, potential participants must have been affiliated with a university as a student, staff or faculty member within the last five years. The Business Plan Competition begins with about 50 teams that are whittled down throughout four stages.
“In phase one, each team submits a brief business concept. In phase two, each team submits a business plan of less than four pages. Phase three involves the submission of a ten page business plan,” Daly said. “Eventually, eight or nine teams move into phase four. This is the final phase and judges decide who has the best plan.”
Three other UA affiliated teams—525PM, the Parent Care Readiness Program and MicroGreen Technologies—were among this year’s finalists who competed for a total of $175,000 in funding.
While Daly said Alabama has gotten off to a late start in the national entrepreneurial business game, programs such as Launchpad are helping the University catch up.
“I think that entrepreneurship is growing and thriving,” Daly said. “I think it’s unfair to judge our progress in comparison to [other states] because they have better infrastructure and have had programs such as this for far longer than we have. I really think that entrepreneurship in Alabama is doing well and growing rapidly.”
