About
ACN exists to grow Alabama’s
innovation ecosystem.
Why ACN?
Helping entrepreneurs build world class startups, and connecting them to investors and value chain partners.
Our members are angel investors, family offices, entrepreneurs, executives, and corporate partners who are equally passionate about finding and supporting enthusiastic founders with innovative ideas.
Our Board of Directors and leadership team bring world-class experience in the innovation, entrepreneurship, and executive leadership of fast-growing companies. From leading multi-billion-dollar global companies to achieving multiple exits, the leadership at ACN have performed and exceled at every role critical to the entrepreneurial journey – from founding and growing, to exiting and investing. Beyond our leadership team, our network now spans members across the country who bring a broad, yet highly specialized basket of talent and insights needed to help founders excel.
Our team
Our Staff
Hunter Custard
Director of Membership
Benzamin Choi
Chief Executive Officer
Thomas Bugg
Sr. Venture Analyst
The journey
The ACN journey
- We constantly search the state for innovators and inventors and encourage them to submit their ideas to the ACN database.
- We encourage creators of the most developed and promising concepts to pitch our network through our virtual calls hosted monthly. These calls introduce entrepreneurs to investors and channel investor feedback into actionable insights that will improve the startup’s chances of success
- We actively look for networking and connection opportunities amongst our entire universe of startups, corporate partners, and investors
- We host regular meetups and networking sessions among our members to discuss and share the best ideas we’re seeing. Members love the ability to bounce their favorite investment candidates off other members!
- Once a quarter we host a “Showcase Event” and invite 4 or 5 of our favorite startups to present to our broader membership base
- We check in regularly with our “alumni” founders and actively seek ways to continue to accelerate their success
Our FOUNDERS
Board of Directors
20+ years of experience in entrepreneurial activities including multiple exits in medical and technology
Bill Goodrich
President & COO, O’Neal Industries
Ruffner Page
45+ years investment experience starting a bank, broker/dealer, and multiple funds
Charlie Perry
20+ years of entrepreneurial experience with multiple exits to publicly traded companies
Sanjay Singh
40+ years investment experience starting a bank, broker/dealer, and multiple funds
Bill Terry
Hayley Van Antwerp
Impact Partners
Our Impact Partners are organizations that seek to make a significant contribution to growing Alabama’s ecosystem.
Your partnership not only affords your employees opportunities to participate as ACN members, but it also is an excellent way to show the community your commitment to economic development and innovation. Click on the button below to learn more about Impact Partnership
Our Brain Trust
Advisory Board
David Bowsher
Balch & Bingham
Hafiz Chandiwala
Coca-Cola Bottling
Company United
James Childs
Maynard Cooper
Paavo Hanninen
Alabama SBDC
Key Hudson
Regions
Chris King
Bank Independent
Mark Manderson
Blue Cross & Blue Shield
April Mason
Burr & Foreman
Kathy Nugent
UAB
Andy Robison
Bradley Arant
John Smola
Alabama Power
BUILD YOUR BUSINESS
ACN supports Alabama’s most promising innovators through our member network of entrepreneurs, investors, advisors, service providers, and corporations.
What They’re Saying About Us
ACN is such an incredibly deep well of resources for startups in the state of Alabama.
Con.doit pitched at the first post-COVID pitch day and had a tremendous response from the ACN community. Our pitch led to several connections that I now count among my most valuable. The ACN network stretches in many directions and is flexible enough to accommodate established companies and early startup ideas alike.
ACN was instrumental in facilitating our first raise at QuantHub.
The opportunity to tell our story in front of a captive group of investors was invaluable and helped us forge relationships that have been a big part of our success.”
I’m proud to be involved, and excited to see how their work evolves in the years to come.
ACN is focused on growing Alabama’s innovation ecosystem, and they do this by bringing together entrepreneurs who want to make an impact with the people can help them do that.
ACN plays an important role in this ecosystem by connecting capital providers with entrepreneurs.
As a member, I have greatly enjoyed experiencing the cross-section of these two worlds within ACN and am excited to see its future growth.
ACN has provided me invaluable insight, connections, and opportunities.
As a startup founder, I can honestly say that the resources available to me through ACN have made a significant impact on my ability to build, scale, and fund my growing business.
ACN and the team behind it have been an integral part of Vulcan Line Tools journey.
Their guidance and mentorship have not only played a large part in growing my company but in my own skills as an entrepreneur. From helping me polish my presentation, to connecting me with the perfect people to present to, they have allowed me to propel the growth of my company. My experience with ACN has been invaluable and I look forward to seeing what they do for others just like me.
I’m energized by the opportunity to interact with some of the most innovative entrepreneurial talent in Alabama
as they cultivate their businesses alongside an active investor & corporate community. ACN’s potential to help diversify Alabama’s start-up ecosystem through intentional, purpose-led investments gives me tremendous hope for the future of our state’s economy.
We encourage the state to support the effort of Alabama Capital Network
More startups successfully raising capital equals more high paying jobs and opportunities for us to retain top talent from our pool of out-of-state students.
