Cole Wasdin [Humanoids of Huntsville]

When Jared and Cole Wasdin were looking for a new hometown, they wanted something that had a thriving startup culture and plenty of potential for growth. A small city with a hometown feel was high on the wish list, and proximity to family was a definite plus.

Enter Huntsville, which ticked all the right boxes when the couple visited for an exploratory trip.

“It reminded me of my Mississippi hometown, but also reminded us of Richmond, which we loved,” Cole says. “It has the feeling of, ‘Oh, we’re not like that big city. We’re just a small town – with everything you could possibly need.’ And we think that’s just perfect.”

Now that they’re settled in Huntsville, the Wasdins are both pursuing their interest in startups and entrepreneurship. Jared works as a technologist by day and volunteers with a Richmond, Virginia-based startup that helps to develop entrepreneurship in under-resourced communities. Cole recently founded Verity Consulting, which offers concierge cultural HR services, job interview prep, team development, and more.

“My journey with entrepreneurship has definitely been around supporting other entrepreneurs, hopefully in a holistic way, focused on the wider community,” Jared says. “And that may result in my own startup someday. But right now the startup that I’m most concerned about is Cole’s.”

As a married couple, Jared and Cole said they make an effort to give each other time to pursue their passion in entrepreneurship. Fortunately, they both find value in what the other loves, and they’ve found that their interests are complementary.

“We’re in the season of figuring out how many things we can switch between at a time, in a healthy way,” Cole says. “Because there’s really no such thing as multiple priorities—you get one at a time. And it’s a hard lesson to learn. But once you learn it, you can do everything more successfully.”