Entrepreneurs Compete for UA Funding April 11

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — There may not be any business sharks, or other types, circling within Palmer Lake, but when some 30 University of Alabama innovators pitch their technologies, inventions and ideas to potential investors in UA’s nearby AIME building, real money will be at stake.

Hosted by UA’s Alabama Innovation and Mentoring of Entrepreneurs, or AIME, the Friday, April 11 competition, somewhat resembling the hit ABC TV show “Shark Tank,” provides a venue for 18 teams, composed of UA faculty and students, to compete for approximately $100,000 in start-up funding and in-kind services.

In addition to the funding opportunity, the annual event, known as AIME Day, provides an occasion for members of the investment and business communities to hear presentations about specific UA-based technologies and entrepreneurial activities under way on campus, said Dr. Dan Daly, director of AIME.

Eighteen presentations, each about 10 minutes in length, will be made throughout the day, beginning about 8:30 a.m. and concluding about 2:30 p.m. when judges begin deliberation. Most of the day’s events will be held in room 110, while those presentations made between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. will be in the building’s high bay area.

A group of seven outside entrepreneurial experts will select winners from among the day’s participants.

AIME, a part of UA’s Office of the Vice President for Research, focuses on bringing concepts from University of Alabama researchers and creating testable prototypes to demonstrate the value the ideas bring to the marketplace. It also helps fledgling companies create business plans and apply for select funding opportunities, and it provides laboratory and office space, through UA’s Bama Technology Incubator, where companies can begin operations prior to full start-up phase.