Workshops and teaching sessions offer education and resources post-Demo Day MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Sept. 8, 2014) – Start Co. today announced its new post-acceleration program specifically designed for founders to build the additional skills needed to succeed after Demo Day through to product and business success.  The program kicked off September 5th at the Start Co. Start Lab in downtown Memphis. The program aims to help founders that recently graduated from one of Start Co.’s four accelerator programs to build out the next phase of their business plans and better align themselves for follow-on funding rounds. It consists of Friday office hours with key Memphis business partners and the Start Co. team, business development preparation sessions, workshops, lunch-and-learns and investment strategy sessions that include insight on investor and term sheet development. “This program is a critical stepping stone for new founders to transition from startup stage to an operating business,” said Eric Mathews, Start Co. Founder and CEO. “We’ve recognized that ongoing education and support, access to capital and our pool of mentors and resources each play a critical role in determining post-acceleration success.” Members of the Start Co. 2014 graduating cohort participating in the post-acceleration program have their own designated working spaces in the Start Lab and are each expected to deliver weekly stakeholder updates to the team. The program also helps teams pre-plan investor meetings, secure introductions and debrief after investor meetings. Applications for 2015 Start Co. accelerator programming, which has been internationally recognized by the Global Accelerator Network,

(Memphis Business Journal) Memphis-based Start Co. is one of several national small business accelerators to receive a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration, receiving $50,000 from the organization. Start Co., which recently completed the latest classes of its Seed Hatchery, Upstart, Sky High and Spark Gap small business accelerators, was selected from a pool of 800 applications from 31 states to receive the funds. “The SBA is empowering accelerators and startups that are on the cutting edge of successful, innovative new endeavors,” said Maria Contreras-Sweet, SBA administrator. “We’ve seen the enormous success of the accelerator model in communities like Silicon Valley. We believe we can export this type of sophisticated support structure across the country to help startups become commercially viable and create jobs more quickly. I want SBA to stand for ‘Smart, Bold and Accessible,’ and these accelerators encompass all three of these goals.” View the full article at the Memphis Business Journal

(Memphis Business Journal) Entrepreneurs from throughout the world came to Memphis three months ago to learn how to turn their new business ideas into reality. On Aug. 21, they got one step closer to realizing their dreams when they completed the Start Co. accelerator program by pitching their business concepts to investors during the Start Co. Demo Day at the Orpheum Theatre. Half of the 16 entrepreneur teams hail from outside of Shelby County, including startup hot spots Silicon Valley and New York City, as well as Hungary, Canada and the Netherlands. Historically, 70 percent of Start Co. graduates stay in Memphis, which means the city itself benefits from Start Co.’s work, not just the entrepreneurs the program serves. Start Co.’s four cohort programs provide budding business owners more than 200 hours of technical and business assistance, connections to mentors, access to business resources and $15,000 in seed funding. In other words, the programs provide a significant head start on the road to business success. Read the full article at the Memphis Business Journal

Seven of the 15 teams reported revenue after the 100-day accelerator MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 21, 2014) – Start Co. Demo Day, sponsored by Launch Tennessee, the Downtown Memphis Commission, Softlayer and PayPal, brought together more than 500 people involved in the local startup eco-system, including the teams, investors from the Mid-South and as far away as Singapore, mentors, members of the business and nonprofit communities, government and local companies such as FedEx, AutoZone, Mosaik Solutions and others to celebrate innovation and the startup movement in Memphis. Each of the 15 teams that participated in this summer’s intensive 14-week startup training and mentoring program, presented their ideas and the group. Attendees also heard from keynote speaker, the Honorable Edward B. Montgomery, dean of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, professor of economics and former chief economist to the White House, who talked about the importance of entrepreneurial activities as key for the future economic success of the country. At Demo Day, each of the  teams presented and many shared points of progress in developing their networks, including fundraising events, major strategic and corporate partnerships, as well as significant traction and user adoption. Highlights include: Seed Hatchery cohort (high-growth technology businesses): Troopto, a group gifting platform for co-workers, has partnered with HRO Partners, a human resources outsourcing firm , on-boarded many HR professionals at large corporate offices to beta test and has 200 early adopters currently signed up on the platform’s waiting list. To learn more, visit www.troopto.com. Phase,

Graduates to present business plans to more than 750 investors, entrepreneurs and community leaders MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 11, 2014) – Start Co. today announced that 16 startup teams will present their companies to the entrepreneurial ecosystem, including community leaders, at Demo Day Aug. 21. Demo Day is the culmination of a nationally recognized intensive 14-week startup training and mentoring program, which is specially recognized by the Global Accelerator Network. Mayor A.C. Warton, Jr., has proclaimed Aug. 21 to be “Demo Day 2014,” recognizing the efforts of Start Co. to serve the community and citizens of Memphis.  Each team will pitch their business on stage at the Orpheum Theater to investors and community members to celebrate progress to date and to seek additional funding.  The event will begin at 1:00 p.m. with pitches from the first group of teams. The keynote address will then take place at 4:00 p.m. followed by the remaining pitches. The Honorable Edward B. Montgomery, dean of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, professor of economics, and former chief economist to the White House, will be the keynote speaker. He plans to discuss the importance of entrepreneurial activities as key for the future economic success of the country, and especially in communities such as Memphis. More than 750 attendees are expected, ranging from successful entrepreneurs to regional and community leaders and investors from throughout the Mid-South and even areas such as St. Louis, San Francisco and Singapore. Start Co. operates four accelerator programs, Seed Hatchery,

54-hour event tailored toward developing talents of aspiring female entrepreneurs MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Aug. 11, 2014) – Start Co. announced today that Memphis will play host to Startup Weekend Sept. 12-14. Startup Weekend is an international series of weekend events to spur entrepreneurship, and the Memphis Startup Weekend will focus on showcasing the talents of aspiring female entrepreneurs to inspire, educate and empower female founders and teams and invigorate the community. “Inclusion of women-led startups has always been a key priority for Start Co., so we are excited to sponsor Startup Weekend to support female founders here in the Memphis region,” said Eric Mathews, CEO and founder of Start Co. “Being selected to participate reinforces the recognition Memphis has received for being a diverse and upcoming entrepreneurial ecosystem that empowers women.” The event will begin with a presentation from Laurie Tucker, former Senior Vice President of Corporate Marketing at FedEx, to be followed by open mic pitches from potential founders, where attendees can inspire others to join their team. The rest of the weekend will be spent by the teams to build business models and presentations to pitch their ideas to judges on Sunday evening. Teams will have access to professional assistance mentors, representing a cross-section of industry talent across the Mid-South, including marketing, financial, development and legal services, among others. Startup Weekends from UPGlobal take place all over the world and provide hands-on experiences that allow entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to discover whether their ideas are viable. An intensive 54-hour

(Memphis Daily News) Start Co.’s “Summer of Acceleration” already has proven a success for at least one startup that’s participated in one of the organization’s accelerators this year. Graph Story, a graph database-as-a-service offering for small and medium businesses and which is a member of Start Co.’s SparkGap accelerator, is the recipient of a six-figure angel investment award, the first as part of this year’s “Summer of Acceleration” program. The $250,000 investment was mostly furnished by members of Start Co.’s Angel Network, the first angel network and fund in the region specifically designed to fund high-growth technology startups. Graph Story’s award is the latest funding event for Start Co. Angels. At the start of the year, three previous Seed Hatchery teams – Seed Hatchery being another Start Co. accelerator program – got funding from both the network and fund itself, a result of how Start Co., since 2011, has rapidly boosted its base of angel investors at the same time it’s tried to increase entrepreneurial talent and access to mentorship in the area. Read the full article at The Daily News

(SouthernAlpa) Today, Start Co. announced a $250,000 angel investment for Sparkgap cohort member Graph Story, a graph database-as-a-service offering for small and medium businesses. The funding is the first investment for this year’s Summer of Acceleration programming. “Moving through Sparkgap’s curriculum has helped me establish a valid business model and strategy,” said Greg Jordan, CEO and Founder of Graph Story. “The team and mentor network at Start Co. has helped coach me every step of the way, from customer discovery to development to receiving the investment dollars that will help propel my business forward to the next stage.” Read the full article at SouthernAlpha

(Memphis Business Journal) Ahead of Start Co.’s Aug. 21 Demo Day, one of its startups has secured $250,000 in angel funding. Graph Story, a company participating in Sparkgap, the logistics accelerator created by Start Co., received the funding from the Start Co. Angels network. The company was founded by Greg Jordan in February 2014. It utilizes a variety of information compiled by logistics companies to troubleshoot possible problems before they happen and save time for drivers by finding alternate routes. “Graph Story’s funding is a validation of his hard work and business model, which provides tangible benefits to small and medium-sized businesses,” Eric Mathews, CEO of founder of Start Co., said. View the full article at Memphis Business Journal