Thanks to everyone who submitted their 90-second video in Start Co.’s first Pre-Seed Pitch Competition. There were tons of great ideas and we encourage everyone to continue working on and building their startups.  We had 6 different prizes and are excited to announce the winners: 1st Place: SnapSitter from Austin, TX $1,000 Cash 1 Hour Meeting with Jan Bouten, Partner at Innova Ventures Finalist in the Start Co. Accelerator applications Promotion via our social networks Check out their pitch: Runner-up: Game Time Giving from Dallas, TX $200 Amex Giftcard Solving the Biggest Problem: One Body Medical from Memphis, TN $150 Amex Giftcard Strongest Team: Addicaid from New York $100 Amex Giftcard Most Enthusiastic Presentation: EPK Page from Memphis, TN $50 Amex Giftcard Best Memphis-Based Pitch (Sponsored by OPS-FUEL): Front Desk Connect 2 Tickets to the Memphis Grizzlies Game Also, we’re accepting accelerator applications through March 1st so apply today! Click here for more information or reach out to us at info@neverstop.co  

Why should a college student or recent graduate start a business? To be honest, this is a difficult question for me to answer. At first, all I could think of were reasons why college students or recent graduates should not start a business. Numerous reasons came to mind including our lack of experience, societal pressures and norms regarding college students. This actually surprised me that this was my initial train of thought due to the fact that my parents have very strong entrepreneurial minds. I grew up learning what it means to own a business, to take risks, and to fail, as well as the feeling of being successful. The reasons why I thought negatively about starting a business in college or right after stems from the very thinking that students do not have enough experience in such matters. The more I thought about the question though, the more I realized neither do any other entrepreneurs, no matter the age or past experience! Each start-up process is unique and catered toward a target audience, the product, and their willingness to make their product or service successful. For that reason, I began thinking that students are actually probably some of the best people to start a business because they are young, persistent, and hungry for success. In addition, students’ minds are not yet disheartened and still strive for challenges rather than just settling for mediocrity. College students also have the least to lose because generally speaking they are providing solely for themselves or anyone else relying on them and are willing to try whatever it takes to become successful.

Co-Founders Peter Bassa, Ken Sills, and Sasha Kucharczyk (pictured below respectively) are building a predictive truck maintenance platform using real time data science and machine learning in the long haul truck industry.  Preteckt, a Start Co. alumni (Seed Hatchery ’15), streams 16,000 data points a second off a big rig truck to the cloud and then using high powered machine learning in the cloud their data systems analyze data and predict when a truck will break down in the future and which part or system will fail.  We asked the Preteckt team a couple of questions about their business and their partnership with SoftLayer, a Start Co. partner. SoftLayer’s Catalyst Startup Program provides our entrepreneurs with the cloud infrastructure to help them scale their companies quickly and correctly. Q: Why did you start Preteckt? A: Preteckt was started because the Co-Founder’s hated it when their vehicles broke down on them.  It was a ghastly occurrence that ruined their day and usually the following week.  We realized we were not alone in suffering that pain, so we set out to find a way to prevent breakdowns from happening.  In developing our solution we started working with trucking companies due to the increased costs associated with a truck breaking down compared to a passenger vehicle.  A truck breaking down can create a loss of over $10,000!  Since then we have been focusing our time and efforts to make breakdowns a thing of the past. Q: What has Preteckt been up to since going through the

We want to hear about your startups, so we’ve created a video pitch contest. Win $1,000 cash for your technology startup by entering a short, 90-second pitch. Don’t know if you can win the grand prize? We also have prizes for the “Strongest Team” and “Most Enthusiastic Presentation” so check out the details below. Description: The Pre-Seed Pitch Competition aims to encourage entrepreneurs with idea stage technology startups. Prizes: 1st Place $1,000 Cash 1 Hour Meeting with Jan Bouten, Partner at Innova Ventures Finalist in the Start Co. Accelerator applications Promotion via our social networks Most Creative Pitch $200 Amex Gift Card Solving The Biggest Problem $150 Facebook Ad Credits Strongest Team $100 Facebook Ad Credits Most Enthusiastic Presentation $50 Starbucks Gift Card Best Memphis-Based Pitch – Sponsored by OPS-FUEL 2 tickets to a Memphis Grizzlies Game Section 103 (valued at $280) Judging Criteria: Applicants must submit a 90-second video sharing their startup idea using the following guidelines. Introduce your team Describe your tech product/service Tell us about your customer and the problem you’re solving for them Explain how your product works to solve that problem Tell us where you are in the process Make a realistic ask Passion and enthusiasm count Watch The Elevator Pitch Eligibility: Must be a technology driven startup that is bootstrapped or has raised less than $100K from non-institutional VCs Entry Deadline: February 15th, 2016 at 11:59 PM Click here to apply! Contest is limited to 250 submissions  

That’s right! You are far more likely to achieve your goals when you have someone to hold you accountable. Startup entrepreneurs take note and find someone. If accountability leads to more success, why are people so afraid of it? It might have something to do with their childhood upbringing. I’m sure your parents held you accountable for completing your chores. They had to be done ‘right’ before running out the door only to return for lunch and beat the street lights home. So, what I’m really saying here is most things that fall under accountability have little to do with fun or comfort. They do, however, help us become better individuals at prioritizing, order, and systems. At Start Co. this is exactly how we lead. Entrepreneurs and innovators come through our doors with ideas and/or working businesses seeking help to move to the next level. During our initial meetings, we spend time assessing the current needs of each individual and team so we can plug them into the proper channel of resources. These resources include one-on-one mentoring, a co-working space, 90 day accelerators programs, weekly workshops on fundraising, pitching, and general business development. After finding a fit, the real work begins. Starting up and giving yourself a shot at success is no small task. All massive undertakings such as this require a vision, planning, and accountability. We’ve found that accountability is usually the missing (but important) piece for founders since most are starting up at home or working alone. However,

With this post we want to give you a feel for what it is like to be a part of the startup community in Memphis, and more specifically, the Start Co. accelerators. Welcome to Start Co. Our Culture in Action: It wouldn’t be a Memphis without blues, rock ‘n’ roll, and BBQ.  At Start Co. we take full advantage of the natural assets of our community to make sure our founders, partners, and investors experience the true flavor of Memphis with unique events and networking opportunities. Start-Q is hosted during The World Championship of Bar-B-Que in Memphis TN.  With National Office Hours, pitch competitions, and BBQ, we draw national partners and supporters such as Amazon Web Services, American Airlines, PayPal BrainTree, Softlayer, and more to Memphis to support the regional growth of startup ecosystem. Start Co. Lounge is a monthly gathering of fellow innovators, investors, developers, designers, accelerator alumni, and many other business leaders in the community for an evening of drinks, good conversation, and creative collisions. 48 Hour Launch is a weekend long event where veteran, and first time, entrepreneurs come together to identify potential startup businesses and build them in just 48 hours.  Sound intense?  It is.  80-100 people are working around the clock to build new innovations that solve problems, while simultaneously building community.  You will find our accelerator alumni giving back and mentoring new generations of entrepreneurs at these events each year. Our Space: Start Co. Lab is ground zero for our accelerators, workshops, training sessions,

Each year we release our applications for our highly competitive accelerator programs.  Our founder, Eric Mathews, wrote two posts previously with macro and micro level application tips here (Fierce, Flexible and Functioning) and here (Application Tips).  With this post I wanted to tell how you can stand out over others during application screening.   Here are my 7 tips for standing out in your application to our accelerator programs at Start Co.  Be sure to apply and learn more here: neverstop.co/accelerators Teamwork makes the dreamwork The #1 factor of success for a startup company is the team. So at Start Co. we want to see that you have a strong founding team. We want to know that your talents and skills complement each other and you can work together. Do you have the technical ability to build something?  Founding a company is not easy and you need great teammates. Amaze us! We receive 100s of applications, so make yourself stand out! Tell us how you’ve overcome big problems in the past and what things you have loved doing. Show us why we should offer you a spot in our next cohort. We value diversity and focus on inclusion — help us understand why you are different. Build great relationships Recommendations spark our interest and instantly catapult you forward. A strong reference from a member of the Start Co. network, perhaps a mentor or a founder from a previous accelerator, will definitely help you.  Hustling to get an awesome recommendation is a great

We’ve released applications for our three 2016 Summer Accelerators: Seed Hatchery (B2B) Upstart (Women-led) Sky High (Social Innovation) As a participant in our program you’ll have access to world-class mentors, hands-on programming, and $25,000 in seed funding that will help you build a killer startup.  You’ll do a deep dive into your business and product strategy, learn to understand your KPI’s for growth, and perfect your investment pitches.  You’ll also build your professional network through events like Start-Q and Memphis Demo Day, forming the relationships you need to scale your business. Since 2011, Start Co. portfolio companies have raised over $12.3M in funding, and graduates from our accelerators leave with the skills, confidence, and traction they need to take their companies to the next level. But you don’t have to take our word for it, just ask some of our 2015 startups; “Upstart was the most valuable personal and professional experience I’ve ever had. I learned more in 3 months than I did in 3 years of law school.” – Rachel Fuller, CEO, Feather (Upstart ’15) “Bring all you have to the table. Start Co. will pour gasoline on it and light your idea on fire.” – Jessica Buffington, MLSmyNest (Upstart ’15) “It’s not just business-changing… it’s life-changing.” – Ken Sills, Preteckt (Seed Hatchery ’15) “The curriculum is rigorous and rewarding. Oftentimes, the feedback is tough but because of it, you’ll be well-equipped, if not over-prepared once you graduate.” – Aaron Fitzgerald, CEO, Ncrease (Seed Hatchery ’15) So who are we