Located in the Harbert College of Business, the Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship is home to four entrepreneurship programs. These programs are accessible to all Alabama residents at every stage of the entrepreneurial process, from having a business idea to running their own company.
Startup Studio
The first of these four programs is the Startup Studio. The Startup Studio works to create digital content for businesses at no cost. Funded by the Innovate Alabama Supplemental Grant Program, the Startup Studio has reached businesses across the state of Alabama, spanning from Mobile to Huntsville.
One of the businesses that the Startup Studio has helped is Beauty by Kate Scullen. The Startup Studio led a brand and web refinement for this makeup and hair stylist, including adding brand marks and custom color palettes.
“We provide free logos, websites and videos for small businesses in the area,” said BreAnna Osborn, program manager for the Lowder Center. “We’ve helped anyone from a lawn care business to a hair care business.”
The Startup Studio is run by Osborn, full-time faculty member Joshua Sahib and eight student-workers. Osborn is available to talk to interested businesses every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m in the Startup Studio in the Harbert College of Business. More information about the Startup Studio and their work can be found on their website.
EnergizeAL
The second program EnergizeAL is a series of information sessions for entrepreneurs in Alabama. The upfront cost is $20, but if participants attend every session in a series, the money will be reimbursed. These sessions provide attendees with binders of information about creating a business, guidance from business experts and food from local restaurants, such as Amsterdam Cafe.
“The initiative is to bring people with disadvantaged backgrounds out of poverty by using entrepreneurship,” Osborn said.
Similar to the Startup Studio, EnergizeAL also travels throughout Alabama to reach more clientele. EnergizeAL provides workshops and bootcamps focused on different topics, including growing an online presence and building a financial foundation.
Participants who graduate from the in-person Jumpstart Bootcamp are featured on EnergizeAL’s website. Stinson Breads, a bakery in downtown Opelika, and Trek Bikes, a bicycle shop in Auburn, are both graduates of Jumpstart. If a business is in need of a workshop on a specific topic, it can file a request with EnergizeAL. To participate in EnergizeAL’s workshops or bootcamps, applications can be completed on their website.
Business Builders Bash
Business Builders Bash is an annual program held in April that proposes the idea of building a business in a single weekend. Participants will pitch their ideas, with the top seven ideas being selected to move forward.
From there, participants will break into teams centered around those seven ideas and are matched with people who have related technical and business experience. Teams will ultimately compete for the best business prototype.
Winners will leave Business Builders Bash with a monetary prize, trophy and co-working space at the New Venture Accelerator, Auburn University's entrepreneurial center that provides counseling from its entrepreneurs-in-residence.
After competing in Business Builders Bash, the hope for aspiring entrepreneurs is to compete in Auburn Ideas Jam.
Auburn Ideas Jam
Auburn Ideas Jam is a competition intended for students and residents of East Alabama. At the competition, participants are split into groups where they compete against their fellow members rather than every single participant. The winning member of each group receives $1,000 towards their business. This year’s Auburn Ideas Jam will be held on Oct. 7.
In addition to assisting small businesses, these programs also connect students to work. Taimoor Hassan, a master’s student in computer science, previously served as a coach at Business Builders Bash and is currently working at the Startup Studio as an app developer.
“If you get a sense of what you’re building, get a clarity over it, it will encourage a student to go bigger than what is already happening in the industry,” Hassan said.
Micah Gordon, junior in computer science, attended Builders Bash as a participant. Since then, he has also begun work at the Startup Studio as an app developer alongside Hassan.
“[Builders Bash] led us through activities that not only broadened my understanding of business but were also engaging,” Gordon said. “It took building a business from this big high thing that you don’t imagine you could do to something that we were actively working towards.”
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Layla Hyatt, sophomore double majoring in journalism and public and professional writing, is from Mobile, Alabama. She has been with The Auburn Plainsman since the fall of 2025.
