Nicholas ("Nick") Sgalitzer, a seasoned technology entrepreneur, software engineer, and founder of Sgalitzer Technologies, is leading a new movement through NexTech Labs.

BIRMINGHAM, AL / ACCESS Newswire / November 14, 2025 / In an era when startups are born every minute yet only a handful survive past their first few years, one Alabama-based visionary is reimagining what it takes to succeed in today's innovation economy. Nicholas ("Nick") Sgalitzer, a seasoned technology entrepreneur, software engineer, and founder of Sgalitzer Technologies, is leading a new movement through NexTech Labs, an emerging startup incubator created to close the gap between bright ideas and sustainable businesses.

For more than 15 years, Nicholas Sgalitzer has been on the frontlines of digital transformation. He has helped companies navigate the complexities of software development, cybersecurity, and IT modernization. His career has been shaped by one guiding belief: innovation should be accessible to everyone, not just the well-funded few. Now, through NexTech Labs, Sgalitzer is transforming that vision into reality by building a hands-on innovation ecosystem where startups can test, refine, and launch technology solutions with real-world support.

A Vision Born from Experience

Sgalitzer's journey to founding NexTech Labs began long before the idea took form. As the founder of Sgalitzer Technologies, he spent over a decade working with businesses of all sizes, from local startups in Birmingham to Fortune 500 corporations. He helped them deploy cloud solutions, automate their operations, and strengthen cybersecurity. During this time, he began noticing a recurring problem that troubled him deeply.

"Too many great ideas die in the gap between concept and execution," Nick Sgalitzer explains. "Startups often have vision and energy, but they lack the technical guidance, infrastructure, and mentorship needed to turn an idea into a scalable product. NexTech Labs was created to bridge that gap."

His solution is a hybrid model that blends the strengths of an incubator, accelerator, and technology lab. At NexTech Labs, entrepreneurs receive more than mentorship or workspace. They gain access to engineering expertise, cybersecurity oversight, and digital product development support designed to bring ideas to life efficiently and sustainably.

The NexTech Labs Difference

Unlike traditional accelerators that focus mostly on business strategy or investor readiness, NexTech Labs integrates entrepreneurs directly into a working technology ecosystem. Startups are able to co-develop products alongside experienced engineers, access shared cybersecurity tools, and test their solutions in a secure sandbox environment before going to market.

This unique approach helps founders avoid common pitfalls that often derail early-stage companies, including unsecured code, poor scalability, and lack of user validation.

"Our approach is practical and technical," Nick Sgalitzer says. "We do not just hand out advice; we sit next to founders and help them build. We believe collaboration is the foundation of sustainable innovation."

Each startup that joins the program is matched with a dedicated team that includes developers, data analysts, and industry mentors. NexTech Labs also hosts Innovation Sprints, intensive week-long workshops where teams tackle real-world challenges in fields such as artificial intelligence, healthcare technology, green energy, and cybersecurity. These collaborative sessions accelerate development and often lead to unexpected breakthroughs through cross-industry problem solving.

Empowering Underserved Innovators

Having built his career in the southeastern United States, Sgalitzer is deeply committed to empowering innovators in regions that are often overlooked by the national tech industry.

"The South is full of brilliant innovators, but many do not have access to the same capital or networks as entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley or New York," Sgalitzer explains. "With NexTech Labs, we are proving that world-class innovation can thrive anywhere when people have the right tools and mentorship."

To ensure inclusivity, NexTech Labs offers tiered membership programs, sponsorship opportunities, and community scholarships for entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds, including women, minorities, and rural innovators. Through collaborations with local universities and city governments, the lab also organizes free coding bootcamps and cybersecurity training sessions. These initiatives reflect Sgalitzer's long-standing commitment to advancing technology education and opportunity across Alabama.

By investing in local talent and nurturing community-based innovation, NexTech Labs aims to create a self-sustaining ecosystem of homegrown startups that can scale globally while remaining rooted in their communities.

Collaboration Over Competition

At the heart of NexTech Labs lies a simple yet powerful philosophy: the future of innovation depends on collaboration, not competition.

The lab's open-collaboration model encourages startups to share knowledge, exchange technical expertise, and learn from each other's experiences. For Nicholas Sgalitzer, this cultural shift is essential to building resilience in a volatile and rapidly changing market.

"The old model was about secrecy and competition," he says. "The new model is about collaboration, transparency, and shared growth. At NexTech, when one startup succeeds, we all succeed."

To make this possible, NexTech Labs partners with corporate sponsors, academic institutions, and municipal innovation councils. These partnerships provide shared access to advanced computing infrastructure, R&D resources, and compliance expertise that would otherwise be out of reach for most early-stage founders.

From Birmingham to Beyond

While NexTech Labs is proudly headquartered in Birmingham, its ambition reaches far beyond state lines. Nick Sgalitzer envisions NexTech as a national model for regional innovation hubs that empower smaller cities to compete with major tech centers.

Each future NexTech Lab will operate under the same principles: leverage local expertise, foster inclusive innovation, and provide startups with tangible technical resources that allow them to grow sustainably.

Discussions are already underway to expand NexTech Labs to nearby innovation hubs in Huntsville, Atlanta, and Nashville. These regional locations will be connected through a shared digital platform that allows founders to collaborate virtually and access the combined expertise and resources of the entire NexTech network.

"We are not just building companies," Sgalitzer says. "We are building communities of innovators who can support one another for the long term."

The Human Side of Technology

What truly distinguishes Nicholas Sgalitzer from many others in the technology industry is his emphasis on the human side of innovation. He speaks with equal passion about mentorship and mental health as he does about software and cybersecurity. Having personally experienced the isolation and pressure of entrepreneurship, he understands the importance of empathy and emotional resilience.

To support this, NexTech Labs offers wellness check-ins, peer support circles, and leadership development sessions focused on communication, self-care, and teamwork. It is a holistic approach that recognizes founders not just as innovators but as people navigating stress, risk, and uncertainty.

"Technology is about solving human problems," Sgalitzer reflects. "If we lose sight of the human side, even the best code will not matter. My goal is to build a generation of entrepreneurs who are both brilliant and grounded."

A Call to the Future

As NexTech Labs continues to grow, Nicholas Sgalitzer's message remains clear: the future of innovation does not belong to isolated success stories, it belongs to collaborative ecosystems that empower everyone to participate.

By combining technical excellence with mentorship, inclusivity, and shared resources, NexTech Labs is redefining what it means to build and scale a startup in the twenty-first century.

"The next generation of great innovators will not come from billion-dollar venture capital pipelines," Nick Sgalitzer says. "They will come from ordinary people with extraordinary ideas, people who just need someone to believe in them and give them the tools to grow. That is what NexTech Labs is here for."

About Nicholas Sgalitzer

Nicholas (Nick) Sgalitzer is a technology entrepreneur, cybersecurity consultant, and founder of Sgalitzer Technologies in Birmingham, Alabama. With over 15 years of experience helping businesses modernize through software, artificial intelligence, and IT innovation, he is a recognized leader in the southeastern United States technology ecosystem. Through NexTech Labs, Sgalitzer is building a collaborative platform designed to help startups overcome early barriers and bring meaningful innovation to life.

Media Contact:
NexTech Labs
Birmingham, AL
Email: info@nextechlabs.com
Website: http://nicholassgalitzertech.com

NexTech Labs: Empowering innovators, one idea at a time.

SOURCE: Nicholas Sgalitzer