TaxxWiz and Ride Resorts came away the two big winners at Alabama Launchpad’s Cycle 2 2022 finale in Huntsville this week.
TaxxWiz, a tax-preparing service, won the early-seed-stage prize of $50,000. The company recently relocated from Dallas, Texas, to Birmingham.
“Winning definitely feels good,” said Tevin Harrell, TaxxWiz’s CEO. “Just being in Launchpad and talking to launch advisors really helped us take our business to a whole new level. Now – winning actual money – I think the sky’s the limit for us.”
Ride Resorts, which helps outdoor areas set-up high-tech mountain bike experiences, won $25,000 in the concept-stage competition.
“This process has been super valuable in refining our vision and learning where our weak points were,” said Hobie King, co-founder and COO of Ride Resorts. “This money will help us accelerate our proprietary technology of RFID gates.”
Since its start 16 years ago, Alabama Launchpad has funded 110 Alabama startups, awarding more than $5.8 million in funding. Alabama Launchpad is funded in part by grants from the Alabama Department of Commerce and Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.