![\"Bill](\"http:\/\/comebacktown.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/12\/Bill-Smith.jpg\")
<\/a>By David Sher<\/em><\/p>\n I just finished listening to a podcast<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>on how Chip and Joanna Gaines built a business empire and the extraordinary impact it had on Waco, Texas, their hometown.<\/p>\n We can do the same for Birmingham.<\/p>\n Belief built Waco<\/strong><\/p>\n Chip and Joanna Gaines, made famous by their HGTV show Fixer Upper<\/em>, co-founded the Magnolia bran<\/span><\/a>d<\/a><\/span><\/strong>\u2014a lifestyle company that now includes a TV network, magazine, retail stores, and home furnishings\u2014all centered in Waco.<\/p>\n When they opened their first little shop in Waco in 2003, few could have imagined what would follow. For two decades, Waco\u2019s legacy had been defined by the Branch Davidian tragedy. Today, Magnolia Market attracts 1.7 million visitors annually.<\/p>\n One couple, well invested in their city, changed the name and identity of an entire city.<\/p>\n The transformation wasn\u2019t magic\u2014it was belief. Chip and Joanna stayed, invested, and built an empire that changed not just buildings, but perceptions. Birmingham is doing the same thing right now.<\/p>\n Birmingham\u2019s future will not be imported\u2013it will be built<\/strong><\/p>\n Just as Waco embraced its own entrepreneurs, we must build\u2014and celebrate\u2014ours.<\/p>\n Our entrepreneurs leading the way<\/strong><\/p>\n Bill Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n Birmingham doesn\u2019t have many tall buildings, but two of them bear the names of companies founded by one local entrepreneur, Bill Smith.<\/p>\n Smith<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>launched Shipt<\/a><\/strong><\/span> in 2014. Three years later, Target acquired it for $550 million\u2014and Smith kept the headquarters in Birmingham. Today, the city\u2019s tallest building bears the Shipt name.<\/p>\n Smith then founded Landing<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, bringing his second startup home to Birmingham and putting that name on another Birmingham building as well.<\/p>\n Last month, Smith put together a fintech deal worth a billion dollars<\/a><\/strong><\/span> and is headquartering it here\u2014growing our number of public companies.<\/p>\n Shegun Otulana<\/strong><\/p>\n Shegun Otulana<\/strong><\/span><\/a> moved from Lagos, Nigeria, to Birmingham in 1998 to study at UAB. In 2021, he sold Therapy Brands for $1.2 billion<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. Like Smith, he could have gone anywhere. Instead, he founded Harmony Venture Labs<\/a><\/strong><\/span> with an audacious goal<\/a><\/strong><\/span>: launch 40 new startups in Birmingham over the next decade.<\/p>\n Last week Innovate Alabama announced <\/b><\/span>it\u2019s committing $5 million in funding to establish the Innovate Alabama Venture Studio and Fund<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, which will operate out of Harmony Venture Labs.<\/p>\n Del Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Del Smith<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, CEO of Acclinate, deliberately chose Birmingham as headquarters for his digital health company. His vision? Build a future S&P 500 firm right here.<\/p>\n \u201cBirmingham represents the most compelling opportunity in American business today,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re intentionally building an innovation ecosystem from the ground up.\u201d<\/p>\n He turned down Atlanta and other cities because, in his words, \u201cthere\u2019s simply no reason to leave a city with this mix of opportunity and quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n Julian Maha and Michele Kong<\/strong><\/p>\n Then there\u2019s KultureCity<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, a nonprofit founded by Julian Maha and Michele Kong after their son was diagnosed with autism. From its beginnings in Birmingham just 11 years ago, KultureCity has grown into<\/strong><\/span> a global movement<\/strong><\/span><\/a> reaching more than 40 countries. They set the gold standard for sensory accessibility training and pioneered sensory rooms in public venues at scale.<\/p>\n Now they\u2019re transforming Birmingham\u2019s historic Powell Steam Plant into a National Center of Accessibility, Empowerment, and Innovation\u2014a groundbreaking technical college designed specifically for individuals with disabilities, connecting graduates directly to employment opportunities through KultureCity\u2019s partnerships with companies around the world.<\/p>\n Kong says that soon people from around the world will be coming to Birmingham.<\/p>\n Turning our innovators into icons and tell their stories everywhere<\/strong><\/p>\n Let\u2019s celebrate these leaders the way Waco celebrates the Gaineses.<\/p>\n Identify our promising entrepreneurs, lift them up, and let the world know their names.<\/p>\n Amplify our advantage<\/strong><\/p>\n As Otulana says, \u201cIn a city this size, you\u2019re only one or two connections away from the person who could change your life.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s Birmingham\u2019s secret weapon\u2014world-class medical institutions, a growing tech scene, and entrepreneurs choosing Birmingham over other high-tech cities.<\/p>\n Birmingham\u2019s future<\/strong><\/p>\n Visitors to Waco say, \u201cYou two (Chip and Joanna) are the reason I know about Waco.\u201d<\/p>\n Imagine visitors saying the same about Birmingham\u2014but naming dozens of founders and changemakers.<\/p>\n We don\u2019t need to reinvent our identity\u2014we just need to amplify the authentic excellence already here.<\/p>\n If one couple could rebrand Waco through belief and commitment, imagine what happens when an entire city does it\u2014together.<\/p>\n When we celebrate the people building something remarkable right now, the magic is in the people who stayed, believed, and built.<\/p>\n Birmingham has those people<\/strong><\/p>\n Now it\u2019s time to make sure the world knows their names.<\/p>\n This is Birmingham\u2019s future. Let\u2019s tell it like we mean it.<\/p>\n David Sher is the founder and publisher of\u00a0<\/em>ComebackTown<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.\u00a0\u00a0He\u2019s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).<\/em><\/p>\n Click<\/a> here to sign up for our newsletter.<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com<\/p>\n (Visited 161 times, 20 visits today)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bill Smith speaks on May 17, 2022 in Birmingham (William Thornton \/ wthornton@al.com) By David Sher I just finished listening to a podcast on how Chip and Joanna Gaines built a business empire and the extraordinary impact it had on Waco, Texas, their hometown. We can do the same for Birmingham. Belief built Waco Chip […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":337545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11763],"tags":[13518,8709,561,21211,11249,1783,65623],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-337544","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alabama","tag-birmingham","tag-chip","tag-harness","tag-joanna","tag-lets","tag-power","tag-waco"],"yoast_head":"\n