Alabama Launchpad: Economic Development in Practice

The following is written by Mr. Greg Jones with Hand, Arendall LLC and a judge in the recent finale of the 2011 Alabama Launchpad Business Plan Competition.  This post was originally written for the EDPA Developments Blog, www.edpa.org/blog

Last week, I had the opportunity to do something different. I was a judge in the final round of Alabama Launchpad’s 2011 Business Plan competition here in Mobile.

I am an attorney by trade, and my practice is concentrated on  general business, technology, international trade and intellectual property law. So naturally, I was curious to see what would be presented by the nine finalists. I was very impressed – both with the quality of the business plans and the detail of their presentations.

The technologies were varied…they ran the gamut from chemistry to materials engineering, to software development and pier construction.

The level of detail and current accomplishments addressed by the finalists were very impressive.

Now that I’ve participated in the competition, I can enthusiastically endorse what Alabama Launchpad and our state universities are doing to promote this non-traditional means of economic development to Alabama entrepreneurs. Awarding $175,000 to three highly deserving companies to help them pursue their business plans was both exciting and fulfilling. I left the competition knowing that my fellow judges and I had just contributed to Alabama’s economic development efforts in a meaningful and hands-on manner.

I am enthusiastically committed to further the good work of Alabama Launchpad. Alabama needs new companies that will create high-skilled jobs in the state, and to attract companies from outside the state to find the success that so many others have already found. The programs created by Alabama Launchpad are a strong contributor to that effort and I look forward to following its evolution.