TechBirmingham Blog

Archive for June, 2016

Meet our Member Companies – Book-It Legal

TechBirmingham thrives through its immensely talented and diverse group of member companies. Meet our Member Companies is an ongoing Q&A series highlighting this group of movers, shakers and makers in B’ham’s tech industry.

Meet Jack West, CEO of Book-It Legal. Jack has lived in Birmingham for 25 years and recently launched his company. Read on to learn more about Book-It Legal and the great things they are doing in Birmingham and beyond.

Hi Jack! Let’s get started — Tell us more about Book-It Legal.

We are modernizing and improving the attorney/law-student-clerk relationship by building a web platform to connect students with attorneys to collaborate on projects. Our goal is to help students gain real experience in areas of the law that interest them while giving attorneys immediate access to a pool of top students to help them out with basic tasks.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about your industry?

We actually don’t find there to be any misconceptions about our industry.

How do you feel about B’ham’s tech scene?

Birmingham has a burgeoning tech scene, and we are proud to be joining such a fine community. Simply put, we need more tech talent. Attracting that talent is our biggest challenge and one Birmingham is tackling with the likes of Innovation Depot, Velocity, and TechBirmingham, of course!

What exciting news or product/service announcements does your company have on the horizon?

We plan to launch our platform in mid-August.

 

Thanks so much for sharing, Jack! 

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Meet our Member Companies – Daxko

TechBirmingham thrives through its immensely talented and diverse group of member companies. Meet our Member Companies is an ongoing Q&A series highlighting this group of movers, shakers and makers in B’ham’s tech industry.

Meet Janna Bradt, Talent Marketing Manager at Daxko. Janna is a Birmingham native. Read on to learn more about Daxko and the great things they are doing in Birmingham and beyond.

Hi Janna! Let’s get started — Tell us more about Daxko and your typical day.

Daxko provides mission-critical software and services to member-based organizations to help them do more with less, grow their constituency, drive involvement, and remain relevant in their community. Daxko is a multi-year award winner for Great Places to Work, and has 200 team members across the Southeast.

In my role as Talent Marketing Manager, I am responsible for communicating the value of Daxko’s culture to team members, candidates, the local community, and the software industry. As the marketing extension of the Daxko People Team, I work closely with our Talent Acquisition Specialist and the rest of the People Team to attract talent and to engage current team members.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about your industry?

Two come to mind: 1) that job opportunities in tech are only centered around bigger cities (Birmingham is a well-kept secret!) and 2) that you have to know how to code to work for a tech company. Of course tech companies need developers and engineers, but these companies also need trainers, consultants, sales representatives, etc.

I’ve held many roles at Daxko since I started in 2012, including that of Software Trainer, which was one of my most-enjoyed roles. As a trainer, I was able to travel around the country teaching Daxko’s customers how to use our software. Now that I work in Marketing, my focus is engaging the talent we currently have at Daxko as well as assisting our recruiters in attracting talent.

How do you feel about B’ham’s tech scene?

Birmingham’s tech scene is on the rise, and I’m proud to say that Daxko has helped contribute to that buzz. Several Daxko alumni have gone on to start their own tech companies in Birmingham (shoutout to Fleetio and Airship!) The growing tech community is great for Daxko because we are able to provide rewarding careers to more team members. And as the tech scene grows, it makes my role in helping our recruiters more exciting, because it means Birmingham is attracting more tech talent.

What exciting news or product/service announcements does your company have on the horizon?

We have several exciting announcements on the horizon for the next few months that will excite our customers, but we can’t spill the beans quite yet. Check daxko.com in the near future for updates!

Anything else you’d like to share?

You can get a taste of Daxko’s vibrant company culture via our Culture Blog, which consists of posts contributed by Daxko team members: daxko.com/cultureblog.

Thanks so much for sharing, Janna! 

Follow Janna online here:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jannabradt
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jannabradt

 

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Cool Spaces: Protective Life

Protective Life Corporation, which today offers a broad portfolio of life and specialty insurance and investment products, traces its roots to the Corporation’s flagship company, Protective Life Insurance Company. Throughout our more than 100-year history, we have been a values-driven company.

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Meet our Member Companies – Eco Three

TechBirmingham thrives through its immensely talented and diverse group of member companies. Meet our Member Companies is an ongoing Q&A series highlighting this group of movers, shakers and makers in B’ham’s tech industry.

Meet Jonathan Handey, President and Owner of Eco Three. Jonathan is originally from Montgomery and has lived in Birmingham the last 13 years. Read on to learn more about Eco Three and the great things they are doing in Birmingham and beyond.

Hi Jonathan! Let’s get started — Tell us more about Eco Three and your typical day.

We are home performance experts. We specialize in home energy evaluations and upgrades. We help people live more comfortable in their homes while saving money on utility bills.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about your industry?

That it is not affordable. We will always recommend the most cost-effective energy upgrades to our clients. If it does not make financial sense then we will not recommend it.

How do you feel about B’ham’s tech scene?

Since we are located at the Innovation Depot, we see it first hand. It is really buzzing right now. We are surrounded by some extremely innovative thinkers. They are changing they way people view Birmingham down here.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Software Engineering doesn’t have to be so messy. Our experience, vision, and openness gives us an edge over our competition.

Thanks so much for sharing, Jonathan! 

Follow Eco Three online here:

https://twitter.com/ECOTHREE

https://www.facebook.com/EcoThreeDifference/?fref=ts&em=1

 

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Sloss Tech Coming Up Soon!

 

sloss tech

Unless you live under a rock, it’s safe to say you’ve probably heard about the upcoming tech conference in Birmingham, Sloss Tech. This one day event on July 15 at the Lyric Theatre is in conjunction with the Sloss Music and Arts Festival and is being billed as “Birmingham’s South By Southwest”. TechBirmingham and Telegraph Creative are proud to co-host this event!

With Sloss Tech fast approaching, we thought it might be good to give you a few nuggets of information on the event, speakers and mission.

  • The event is July 15 from 8 am to 6 pm at the Lyric Theatre in downtown Birmingham. This intimate theatre is the perfect setting for the conference. Attendees will have great views of the stage and speakers in this recently restored venue that dates back to 1914.
  • World-class speakers highlight the event! As someone who loves all things tech, you will surely know Gary Vaynerchuk, Robert Scoble and Andy Grignon. If you don’t know them, you should click through those links and catch up. They are innovators, disruptors and change-makers!
  • We have social media accounts! Go follow and like our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts NOW!
  • In addition to the awesome speakers mentioned above, we also have a great lineup of local tech talks from founders and successful tech execs. These talks will focus on local tech successes and why Birmingham was instrumental in their achievements.
  • People are talking about us HERE and HERE and HERE.
  • During the event, you’ll have the option to drink some great local beer. Your coffee and tea fix will be provided by Royal Cup Coffee. You’ll be treated to some awesome Frios Gourmet Pops in the afternoon to battle the heat of July as well!
  • We have some AMAZING sponsors of this event! Without them, it would be impossible to pull it off. Click HERE and scroll down the page to see all of them. If you see any of them in person at the event, shake their hand and thank them.
  • This event has a much BIGGER purpose. Sloss Tech is a key component of TechBirmingham’s multi-year branding campaign focused on attracting tech talent to town. We all know what a great place Birmingham is to live and work, now we need to tell the rest of the world why they want to come here too. This campaign will feature multiple stories, videos and ads on a regional and national level telling the country about our amazing food scene, great cost of living, incomparable outdoor activities and so much more. If you want to learn more about the campaign and how your company can get involved, email us at info@techbirmingham.com.
  • And last but certainly not least, in order to attend Sloss Tech, you have to have a ticket! You can purchase them HERE. A word of warning, this is a hot ticket and will go fast! Don’t let the opportunity to be a part of this great event pass you by.

sloss tech

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