Innovation Depot
written by: Michelle Amaral | photos by: Katie Cesnick
Do I need a website? … How do I pay my employees? … Will my idea sell?
Starting your own business can be quite a daunting task. Even today’s most successful entrepreneurs endured sleepless nights, panic attacks, and loss of appetite when they began their endeavor. Tom Broughton, President and CEO of ServisFirst Bank, confesses that he got sick at 2am every morning when he opened his first bank in 1985. These days, however, business incubators such as Innovation Depot in downtown Birmingham are lending a hand to budding entrepreneurs and, in the process, bringing new life to a lackluster economy.
“Creating, nurturing, and growing start up businesses is the backbone of the American economy,” says Dalton Smith, President and CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance. “This makes an incubation program such as Innovation Depot an incredibly valuable asset for the Birmingham region. The Depot’s work in the development of emerging biotechnology/life sciences, information technology, and service businesses helps make the Birmingham region one of the best places in the southeast to start a business.”
According to Smith, under the leadership of Susan Matlock, President and CEO of Innovation Depot, the business incubator has had more than a $1.3 billion economic impact in the Birmingham region over the past five years – an impressive feat that is creating an optimistic mood in the area.
“I am very excited about the quality of companies we have at Innovation Depot,” says Matlock. “In order to be successful in the region and in the world, we need to stay on top of current technological advances and educate people to work in these types of environments.”
This hotbed of ideas is located at the corner of 15th Street and 1st Avenue North, strategically placed between the city’s downtown business district and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), a partner with Innovation Depot and a world-renowned medical research center. Many biotechnology startups originate from scientific discoveries that occur in these very laboratories; the diverse environment at Innovation Depot brings people together and creates a beneficial, positive workspace.
“Innovation Depot has a strategic relationship with UAB, allowing entrepreneurs to maximize the potential of businesses that are developed as a result of technology licensed from the UAB Research Foundation,” Smith says. “At Innovation Depot you can find a true entrepreneurial ecosystem that includes groups such as the Biotechnology Association of Alabama, TechBirmingham, and the Birmingham Venture Club.”
Innovation Depot assists the small business owner from the inception of a business plan and provides guidance throughout its growth and maturity. Starting a business is a multi-faceted effort and expertise in many different areas is necessary for success. This can be quite a challenge for a small business that likely has a minimal number of employees. Everything a business needs to thrive, however, is housed within this 20,000 square foot facility. From financial and legal advice to assistance with the design of marketing materials and strategic planning, business coaches skilled in a variety of areas are at the owner’s beckon call. It’s this type of support that really makes a difference for the small business owner.
“I feel like people are vested in what we’re doing,” says Amy Bailey, editor and publisher of My Scoop Media, an online fashion magazine that targets the Southern female. “Each quarter, they sit down with us to look at our numbers and see where we need help. It’s encouraging to know that someone other than yourself and your accountant care about the growth of the company.”
Of particular importance to Bailey is the physical size and layout of the office space. A business owner can select from several different sizes, depending on their needs and their budget. Although a new lessee trying to conserve their money may start out with a smaller space, they can eventually upgrade to a larger size.
“As your business grows, the office grows with you,” Bailey says. “We’re all in one room together, and the open space facilitates good communication. The office can be as public or as private as we need it to be.”
Innovation Depot offers numerous amenities for the small business. Each has access to conference rooms for meetings, the Culinard Café restaurant for dining or catering, and a verdant terrace for entertaining clients. Several times a month, informative seminars are offered on such topics as taxes, supervising employees, and marketing strategies.
Currently, Innovation Depot houses 65 up-and-coming businesses, 13 of which are based upon life science discoveries and biotechnology. Erik Schwiebert, founder of DiscoveryBioMed, a company that utilizes cell-based assay systems for drug discovery, is a tenant who finds the environment to be one beneficial aspect, since most everyone there is in a similar position as himself.
“I was a neophyte to the commercial life sciences and biotechnology space when I founded DiscoveryBioMed. It was extremely helpful to have others around in a culture and a network that were thinking the same entrepreneurial thoughts and were also trying to make their companies start, survive, and begin to grow.”
According to Schwiebert, companies like DiscoveryBioMed could benefit greatly from a growing critical mass of new life sciences and biotechnology companies on the Birmingham entrepreneurial scene. In the future, he hopes that the area around Innovation Depot will continue to grow and develop into a ‘Research Park’ of sorts that is affiliated with UAB and Southern Research Institute, another local research company.
“So often, you find these parks out on the fringe of a large town or city. Why not in the city center? There are existing structures around Innovation Depot that can be modified into spaces for differentiating and differentiated companies to create a new Research Park without much additional building.”
Regardless of the direction Innovation Depot takes in the future, one thing is certain – the business incubator is making things happen for the city of Birmingham.
“Birmingham is extremely fortunate to have Innovation Depot, and we believe it is one of the cornerstones of a bright economic future for our region,” says Smith.
