Avilution: An Entrepreneurial Journey Taking Flight
From collegiate entrepreneur to technology disrupter, Mark Spencer pivots from his multi-million-dollar telecommunications company to providing cutting-edge avionics solutions for civil aviation, the military and NASA.
Mark Spencer, a seasoned software and technology disruptor, began his entrepreneurial journey in college by starting a business while studying computer science at Auburn University. He needed a business phone system, but couldn’t afford one, so…he developed one! With some initial guidance and introductions to mentors by the SBDC, that innovation turned into a business called Digium which disrupted the telecommunications industry with an open-architecture software solution for a private Voice-Over-Internet Protocol telephone network and exchange.
Upon graduating, Mark established an office in Huntsville, AL, and grew Digium into a turnkey business telecom system utilizing his open-source software, called AsteriskTM. The SBDC was critical during these early days, as explained by Mark: “The SBDC introduced me to mentors, business community support organizations, and provided much-needed information on business development plans and other topics with which I had limited familiarity.” After building Digium into a $30 million company, Mark sold it to Sangoma in 2018. To this day, Mark’s software solution, Asterisk, is still going strong: downloaded over 2,000,000 times annually, configured on over 1 million servers each year, and registered on over 1.3 million new endpoints each year.
Mark’s love of aviation led to his next entrepreneurial endeavor. It struck Mark that the aircraft avionics industry was just as stove-piped, expensive, and slow to innovate as telecom had been before he disrupted it with Asterisk. With eye towards disrupting another industry, he started Avilution. This company would combine his aviation and computer expertise to create a software solution—the eXtensible Flight System (XFS)—that translates and manages data flows from otherwise incompatible components so that customers can easily mix and match the best safety-critical avionics components for their purposes, regardless of manufacturer. Mark and Avilution spent the next several years adapting and improving XFS to specific government needs via several phase 1 and 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts through NASA and DoD. This work allowed Avilution to hire and train several employees and start marketing their product.
Fortuitously, the XFS architecture was catapulted to the forefront by recent Department of Defense modular open-system approach (“MOSA”) initiatives to reduce the cost and development times for new military weapon systems. This placed Mark right back where he had been 15 years prior: refining leading-edge software to provide much-needed technological innovations while also quickly scaling his small company to market those innovations. However, a key difference from Digium was that Avilution’s largest customers were military, with whom Mark had little contracting experience. So, he reached out to the Alabama SBDC at the University of Alabama at Huntsville (UAH) for support and guidance.
The SBDC Director introduced the Avilution team to local experts knowledgeable with business development in the Huntsville/Redstone Arsenal government contracting arena. The SBDC also helped Avilution create its first capability statement to pursue additional government contracting opportunities. Avilution attended the government contractor matchmakers hosted by the Alabama SBDC at UAH (in conjunction with the APEX Accelerator and Chamber of Commerce) to jumpstart introductions to key military decision-makers and their prime contractors. Then, the COVID pandemic struck. To maintain progress during the shutdown and its aftermath, Mark took advantage of the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and a small business grant from Innovate Alabama. These financial infusions allowed Avilution to cross the financial desert between a great idea and its successful implementation and emerge ready for growth.
Looking back through these years, Mark summarized,
“The great thing about the team at Alabama SBDC and APEX Accelerator team at UAH is that they genuinely cared and provided guidance as Avilution embarked into government contracting areas in which we had limited experience. They helped us understand the government market, develop marketing collateral, and introduced us to local business development professionals and various agencies and companies. Success didn’t come quickly or easily, but the SBDC played an important role in establishing Avilution with our government customers and we now look forward to building momentum.”
As Mark and his businesses have evolved, he has placed more emphasis on community involvement. Mark is a supporter of the Huntsville Symphony Orchestra and often hosts chamber music concerts in his aircraft hangar. He is also a founding board member of FlyQuest, a non-profit youth STEM educational organization headquartered in Huntsville. FlyQuest provides airport tours and aircraft simulator flights to educate and motivate area school students about exciting and well-paying careers available in the aerospace industry. To widen its impact, FlyQuest also outfitted a touring bus with mobile flight simulators and other STEM teaching aids to take their message directly to the students; volunteers drive it to schools across northern Alabama.
Although only at mid-career, Mark himself commented, “Reflecting on my luck to have had a few key mentors believe in me and guide me at the beginning of my career, I have a deep commitment to doing the same for today’s youth and aspiring entrepreneurs. I encourage others to pursue their goals with passion and purpose, not merely for independence or financial gain. My entrepreneurial story has been one of enthusiasm combined with a desire to provide a positive influence, and that’s what I want to pass on.”
Today, thanks in large measure to SBA and SBDC help, Avilution has multiple contracts with Army Aviation that will soon result in XFS enabling critical new avionics and mission capabilities on many of America’s frontline military aircraft. Avilution is also contributing to the youth and culture of the greater Tennessee Valley. Looking to the future, Mark summarized his plans for Avilution: “We intend to make the most of these opportunities, and sincerely appreciate the Huntsville community that helped make them possible.”