Kellie Clark was born and raised in Alabama, and after moving away in 2012 to spend time in the Midwest and on the East Coast, she and her family made their way back to Alabama. Why? The state offered a few things she couldn’t find elsewhere, including proximity to her family and amazing fried okra. And since coming back, she’s found that the state’s outdoors also set Alabama apart.
In Birmingham, she works for gener8tor, a nationally ranked venture capital firm and startup accelerator, specifically working with health tech companies.
Can you tell me about your role at gener8tor?
I’m the managing director of the health tech accelerator that’s powered by gener8tor and sponsored by Prosper. What we do is recruit early-stage software companies that are focused on improving healthcare, and we invite them to Birmingham to work with us for 12 weeks. During those 12 weeks, we work on de-risking the company and making key intros for them with our partners.
gener8tor’s mission is to invest across race, place and gender, and as a result, we have a really diverse portfolio of companies. We’ve invested in 20 companies, and out of those 20 startups, 13 are run by women. 43% of our cohort identifies as African-American, and the rest identify as children of immigrants. Most of our founders are BIPOC, which is kind of rare in the VC world.
What are misconceptions you hear about Alabama?
An obvious misconception is that we don’t have infrastructure. And something that shocked me most is how diverse the South is. We truly are a really diverse part of the country. You do not have to go to a major city to find diversity in the Deep South.
How do you see your career growing and changing in Alabama?
The more I’ve been in the healthcare space on the innovation side, the more opportunities I see. Alabama, because it’s rural, has a really unique backdrop. We have some of the worst health outcomes of any state, and that can be something we shy away from, or we can look at it as a place where there are unique opportunities.
When you’re not working, what’s your favorite way to adventure outside?
I love a kayak-camp combo. There’s a little place that’s part of the Cahaba that we’ll kayak to, and then there’s a beach right outside of Perry Lakes Park. We’ll sit there, and it’s a really sandy beach. You have to do a lot of prep because you’re on a kayak, and you’ll need all of your camping gear, but that’s my favorite thing to do.
And every morning, I go for a walk. I firmly believe humans are just plants with complicated feelings. My family and I go on hikes regularly. We love Moss Rock Preserve as a quick, accessible option. There’s the orange trail at Moss Rock that’s a great, quick trail. You walk along a stream, and you can go up to this modest waterfall.
I also love going to Oak Mountain State Park solo and going to fish out there.
How do you get your children involved with these activities?
We introduced them to nature early, and now it’s just a part of their life. They’re not afraid of bugs. They’re not afraid of heights. They’re good campers. It’s just kind of been the norm for them.
What’s your advice for working parents who want to make getting outside part of their lives and their kids’ lives?
With kids, it’s important to let them actually do it. When my daughter was younger, we would wear her sometimes, but by just letting them walk on their own and letting them explore, they get so comfortable so quickly. Their motor skills take a leap.
You don’t need all this gear. You don’t need to make it a thing. You just need to go outside.
Just get started, and don’t worry about going to an outdoor goods store and dropping hundreds of bucks. Nature is just there. It’s meant to be enjoyed. Just get out there.
What sets Alabama’s outdoors apart from other states?
It’s extremely accessible for all intents and purposes. You can drop two hours and go to Talladega National Forest or Bankhead National Forest and really be out there alone. Sometimes if you go somewhere else, when you go outside, you don’t really get that feeling of being one with nature with just you there. That’s one of the things I enjoy the most. When I go visit other places and I’m in their outdoor spaces, it’s just so crowded, and for me, that defeats the purpose.
Do you have any favorite Alabama hidden gems?
I would really say that orange trail that’s connected to Moss Rock. It’s rarely crowded, but if you have a dog or small kids, it’s perfect.
