Two UA Teams among Finalists in April 16 Business Competition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Two teams affiliated with The University of Alabama are among nine finalists in a statewide competition designed to help launch start-up companies.

Winners in the Fourth Annual Alabama Launchpad Governor’s Business Plan Competition will be announced at approximately 2 p.m. Friday, April 16 at Wilson Hall on the campus of the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

HydrogeNow and Sutterlin Technologies, both affiliated with UA, are among the finalists competing for a share of $175,000 in seed capital awarded to winners in the competition.

Company presentations, which are open to the public, begin at 8 a.m., April 16 in Wilson Hall at UAH. The nine teams of finalists have been trimmed from a list of 45 who began the competition last fall.

HydrogeNow is an early stage start-up company applying a technology platform for the production and storage of hydrogen as a fuel source for fuel cells. Team members include Riz Shakir, Blake Brown, Wes Smith, Dr. Scott Spear, Nick Bates and Katie Wells.

Sutterlin Technologies is an insecticide manufacturing company that will provide its customers with the first commercially available 100 percent biodegradable insecticide. Team members include Dr. Rusty Sutterlin, Chris Cater, Cory Blanchard, Tara Veasey, Benjamin Miller and Chase Krug.

Alabama Launchpad is a partnership between the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, the business community and seven public universities in the state. The competition is a vetting process to evaluate high growth start-ups and provide seed funding in the form of cash prizes to the top three. This is the competition’s fourth year. For more information, visit www.alabamalaunchpad.com