Most people who want to start a business think the hardest part is the idea. John Joseph disagrees. “How few people think of themselves as entrepreneurs,” he says. “And I fundamentally believe that every person can be an entrepreneur.” John is the executive director of the E-Center, a business incubator in Morgan County that has…
Nitrogen drives yield, costs real money, and is notoriously elusive once in the environment. It moves with water running off, leaching, or volatilizing so fixed, pre-season plans often misfire when weather and soils don’t cooperate. SentinelAg helps farmers and advisors make better in-season decisions by pairing satellite imagery with crop/soil nitrogen modeling to track status…
Nitrogen sits at the center of farm profitability. It drives yield and ranks among the highest input costs yet behaves unpredictably, moving with water and slipping out of the root zone. Jack Stansell, founder and CEO of SentinelAg, explains how this volatility creates financial risk for farms that rely on fixed, early-season nitrogen plans. SentinelAg…
Founders often struggle to convert ideas into investor-ready plans, especially when preparing for regulated milestones. In this FAQ, AJ Singhal founder and CEO of Com Therapeutics shares lessons from Launchpad: how direct feedback sharpened his pitch, budgeting, and FDA readiness; why investors rarely give detailed notes; and why repetition and critique make founders more credible….
Founders often pitch, wait, and hear nothing useful. In this conversation, AJ Singhal founder and CEO of Com Therapeutics describes how Launchpad’s direct, honest feedback helped him move faster at a critical moment: preparing an FDA application for first-in-human clinical trials while raising capital and engaging potential pharma partners. Coaching focused on clear messaging, pitch…
Life sciences founders face scientific risk, regulatory navigation, and capital-intensive milestones that don’t resemble software or CPG. That’s why specialized advisors are essential. In conversation with Launchpad, Sakshram Narang emphasizes that life sciences isn’t one vertical diagnostics, therapeutics, devices, and biomanufacturing each demand different milestones, evaluation criteria, and networks. Collaboration beats isolation because progress relies…
Life sciences founders operate in a world where general startup playbooks fall short. As Launchpad advisor Sakshram Narang explains, biotech companies must navigate scientific validation, regulatory pathways, and capital-intensive milestones that differ across diagnostics, therapeutics, medical devices, and biomanufacturing. That’s why pairing founders with domain-specific advisors matters: each vertical has its own evaluative criteria and…
Early hardware teams don’t usually fail for lack of ideas; they stall because the next unit of proof costs money machining one part, outsourcing a quick fabrication, or paying for a small validation test. Advisor Matt Fitzgerald explains how Alabama Launchpad’s stipend solves that first-mile gap and why verticalized advisor matching gets founders relevant, actionable…
Early product companies don’t stall for lack of vision they stall for lack of cash to do the next essential step. In his conversation with Alabama Launchpad, advisor Matt Fitzgerald explains that physical-product teams routinely need “just one part machined,” a prototype fabricated, or a quick outsourced test and can’t afford it yet. Launchpad’s new…
Caroline and Trevon of HomePoint a tech-forward residential brokerage improving affordability and transparency share hard-won lessons from Launchpad. They skipped their first pitch when their daughter was born two days before the event, then used the time to win customers, refine pricing, and clarify their identity before returning stronger. Advisors challenged the viability and value…
