Rotarian Entrepreneur Shegun Otulana discusses high-growth business development
Rotarians Shegun Otulana and Miller Girvin with RCB President Chuck Redden.
The Rotary Club of Birmingham recently welcomed Rotarian Shegun Otulana, Founder and CEO of Harmony Venture Labs (HVL), an idea and growth studio that owns and operates a family of technology companies. He also serves as the CEO of Copysmith AI, a startup that uses artificial intelligence (AI) for content generation.
Otulana discussed lessons he learned founding companies such as Zertis Technologies, a computer software consultancy company, TheraNest and its parent company, Therapy Brands, the leading provider of software technology solutions for mental, behavioral, substance use disorder and physical rehab providers and organizations. KKR acquired a majority interest in Therapy Brands for a reported $1.2 billion in 2021.
Otulana shared his experience coming to Birmingham from Nigeria to study business at UAB. He described the support he received as a young entrepreneur through programs at EDPA and Innovation Depot and his desire to focus on supporting the development of promising new businesses in the region. He explained the concept behind venture studios as entities that create other companies, supporting startups through the ideation process, product design and launch.
“I knew this was the next thing I wanted to do,” Otulana said. “It was born out of my own experience investing in startups, starting one, and seeing the challenges that entrepreneurs and founders have in trying to build high-growth companies.”
Otulana said HVL hopes to organically launch 40 new startups in Birmingham over the next ten years with aggregate valuation in the billions of dollars. He discussed the challenges that exist in building high-growth companies in the area, including the density of talent, a lack of experiential knowledge that results in entrepreneurs making the same mistakes repeatedly, and risk-adverse funding sources.
Otulana discussed HVL’s approach as “venture equity” which combines the positive attributes of venture capital and private equity approaches to business generation.
“We think it’s the better way to build companies in an environment like Birmingham, where we’re not overflowing with capital,” Otulana said. “Can we combine the high-growth and the discipline and the rigor of a venture-type company with the eye toward profitability and sustainability of a private equity-type company. Those are really the kind of companies we’re trying to create so that at the end of the day—whether it’s an eight-figure valuation company or a ten-eleven figure valuation company—it’s actually meaningful to the participants in the company and it’s meaningful to the community in which we find ourselves.”
Otulana discussed the importance of workforce development and talent retention and how early seed stage growth funds could benefit business generation in the Birmingham area.
“I believe it is a really powerful vehicle to do all the things I care about at once. I care about building teams, I care about building companies, I care about value creation, and I care about Birmingham. For me it’s the perfect vehicle do all those things and still create momentum in the tech ecosystem that we have here.”
About Shegun Otulana
Otulana is a recipient of the 2018 Jemison Award, Alabama Power’s 2018 Power of Leadership Award, and was named a 2019 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Additionally, he is a 2019 Henry Crown Fellow within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. Otulana is passionate about promoting entrepreneurship and serves on the boards of Venture for America, Birmingham Business Alliance, and Innovation Depot. He also is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and is an active Endeavor Mentor. Otulana resides in Birmingham with his wife Mary and their four children.