Bronze Valley’s Neill Wright brings 25 years of finance and banking experience to his new role as the organization’s executive director. He shares his insight on challenges, mission and why diversity matters.
For starters, how would you summarize Bronze Valley?
Bronze Valley is an opportunity to further assist entrepreneurs, innovators and help them realize their dreams. We are building a bridge to assist and help bring capital, ideas and community together.
Why is something like this necessary?
It is necessary because there is a void; there is a need. There is a gap that we can fill and as business leaders we have an obligation to do so. We have an obligation to help enhance and continue to improve our ecosystem and we think Bronze Valley is the perfect vehicle to do so.
What are the challenges minorities face in entrepreneurship and innovation?
Entrepreneurs generally have a lack of access to capital and one of the things we will do with Bronze Valley is plug entrepreneurs with capital, provide mentorship and create a network they can grow and benefit from.
How does workforce development factor in?
Workforce development is the key issue to success for business in Alabama. We have done an excellent job of continuing to support through education programs, through secondary education and higher education. As the economy continues to grow and as the focus on jobs, especially skilled jobs, continues to increase, we will continue to have to place a focus on making sure workforce development is a priority statewide and throughout our region.
How do you feel we as a community have done in identifying and addressing needs?
We have fallen short and we can do better. We can create an environment that is more nurturing, more supportive and more inclusive. First, we must recognize there is an issue or problem to be in a position to address it. I think we all recognize that the more diverse, the more open our business community is, the better degree of success we can achieve. We hope that Bronze Valley is the catalyst to bring that change.
What will you define as benchmarks of success?
I think that we continue to enhance the burgeoning tech community we have here. It is not homogenous; it looks diverse. It is inclusive and it resonates. We want to create a Silicon Valley of the southeast and we think that Bronze Valley is a good starting point. We are going to focus on making sure we nurture our entrepreneurs, and make sure the community is aware of our effort and continue to tell our story. I think the rest will take care of itself.
What are the greatest misconceptions about Alabama in this industry?
I am a transplant to Alabama; I am originally from the northeast. There are a lot of misconceptions about Alabama, having spent the better part of the past 10 years here. Alabama is a lot more progressive than it gets credit for. There are thinkers here; there are doers here. And if I were to elicit an example – the growth and development of the auto manufacturing industry is case evidence of what can be done on a statewide level if you have a plan and a commitment to an industry. It has had a tremendous impact and continues to be felt today nearly 25 years after the first large auto manufacturing plant came to Alabama.
What is Bronze Valley’s proposed impact in the community?
We are bringing innovation and ideas and thought together with capital, with mentorship and we intend to create change, we hope that we could elicit the support of the community and we think that diversity is a positive thing. From this, we will help improve the lives of not only the entrepreneur, but the community as a whole.
Why now?
The time is now. The economy is very well positioned for a strong uptick.
Why here?
The Southeast for me has been a gem. I think we can do a lot in terms of recruitment for business, especially here in Birmingham. It is centrally located in the Southeast. The climate is right – the business community will embrace this. It will take an effort on behalf of the collective and I think it’s what people want.
