Techstars Tuscaloosa has tapped Anastasia Simon as the program’s first Managing Director.
Simon is a natural fit for the program, which will focus on supporting WaterTech and Sustainability startups. She’s been a star of the Atlanta tech ecosystem, moving from the startup to the investor side of the table. As Simon’s career has progressed, sustainability has been a “thread” throughout her tech career, she told Hypepotamus. Simon started her career in tech at SoftWear Automation, an Atlanta-based robotics startup making t-shirt manufacturing more sustainable. She later worked in the green building sector with Atlanta-based VC firm Shadow Ventures and worked with several sustainability-focused companies while serving as the Investment Principal for Techstars Atlanta’s programs.
Simon admitted that as an LSU (Louisiana State University) grad, it might be a bit rough for her to be in Tuscaloosa (home of the University of Alabama), during football season. But SEC rivalries aside, she is excited to work with startup founders dedicated to building technology to combat our global water and climate woes who will be coming into town to be part of the program.
There is no doubt it will take urgent deep tech innovations to address the global water crisis. But Simon believes that Tuscaloosa could grow to be a hub for such innovation to grow.
“When we talk about water, the South has too much of it in a lot of places,” pointing to places like New Orleans and Miami as examples. But the Southeast is also home to a deep agricultural scene that has been battling an increased number of droughts in recent years.
“Regionally, WaterTech makes perfect sense…and it is a great way for Tuscaloosa to put its foot on the map as its own growing hub,” Simon added.
The WaterTech and Sustainability program is designed in partnership with the University of Alabama and the Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority.
Since joining as Managing Director, Simon said Tuscaloosa has been a “welcoming community” for her and those in the startup ecosystem.
“It’s a smaller market than Atlanta, but it is filled with opportunities and potential,” she added.
Techstars Come To Tuscaloosa
The community of Tuscaloosa is welcoming the program and Simon to town. Justice Smyth, Executive Director, TCEDA (Tuscaloosa County Economic Development Authority), said that “the decision to partner with Techstars was driven by their unparalleled expertise in fostering startup ecosystems and their commitment to sustainability and technological advancement. We believe that Techstars’ presence will serve as the catalyst for growth of our local startup community and position Tuscaloosa, and Alabama as a whole, as a hub for innovative water technology solutions.”
“The University of Alabama has become an epicenter of cutting-edge water research. Our talented faculty, staff and students are helping address critical water-related challenges through the programs and facilities housed on UA’s campus,” said Dan Blakley, associate vice president for economic and business engagement at UA. “We are eager to partner with Techstars to launch the WaterTech and Sustainability Accelerator as a way to support commercialization and economic development in this critically important field. I am excited to work with Anastasia as the founding Managing Director. She brings experience, a vast network, and the entrepreneurial energy needed to lead this program. I am confident she will excel as we seek to align the strengths of UA’s talent and state-of-the-art facilities with the most innovative start-up companies in the world to create sustainable solutions to society’s most urgent issues and continue to develop the Tuscaloosa community as a hub for the water economy.”
Earlier in the year Techstars held a Founder Catalyst program in Tuscaloosa, a pre-accelerator designed for WaterTech and sustainability founders. The pre-accelerator program attracted founders from multiple countries, showing the growing global importance of the Watertech sector.
Now under Simon’s leadership, the first full accelerator program will launch in the city this September. Be on the lookout for news about the program’s Demo Day, which is set for December 5.
