Partners Drive Startup Ecosystem
Building startups is tough work that requires the engagement of money, mentorship and professional support. Back before there were incubators, accelerators and formal platforms to systematically assist startup companies, there were critical trusted advisers in the community to help guide entrepreneurs as they started up. Those advisers were local bankers, lawyers, marketers, accountants and others where entrepreneurs could turn for support and guidance. While new startup infrastructures have sprung up to provide knowledge, capital and other resources, professionals continue to be the backbone driving entrepreneurial growth. Read the full article at The Daily News
SciTech Maker Movement Moves Into Memphis
(My Fox Memphis) The next wave of digital technology in Memphis is called the Maker Movement. It’s a challenge the Bluff City is tackling head on. City representatives introduced several local entrepreneurs and makers at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. The Maker Movement is an umbrella term for independent inventors, designers and tinkerers. “We don’t say enough or know enough about what’s really going on here in Memphis and one of the key things is entrepreneurial activity,” said George Little, the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Memphis. Many startups and non-profits are already here. They came to Memphis to take advantage of its resources. Companies like Start Co, a startup accelerator that helps companies take an idea from concept to execution. Start Co says other major cities are oversaturated and that makes Memphis the perfect place for what they do. View the full article at My Fox Memphis
Remembering Dave Barger
Today I remember the life and contributions of one of our founding board members, Dave Barger Jr. A close mentor and friend to all of us at Start Co., Dave was instrumental in getting our organization off the ground in 2008, and his contributions to the technology community will always be remembered. Dave did so much to heighten Memphis’ innovation community, acting as our personal mentor for building new programs. A true digital guru, he will be remembered as our technological champion. He was always bringing in best practices and the latest social media technology to Memphis. He was even an early adopter of Twitter and had a zealous following. He was keen on making sure Memphis was on the map. After giving a presentation at SXSW in 2012, Dave was featured in 2012 in the Commercial Appeal, saying: “For 20 years I’ve been hearing that Memphis is behind other cities in regard to technology issues, and I’m tired of it. Now is the time to make a change.” This is truly representative of what I knew to be Dave’s life mission: raising the “tech tide” in Memphis. He was constantly willing to partner on new programs and bring them to the Memphis tech scene, which sometimes just meant rolling up his sleeves and getting the job done. Dave was never one to shy away from real work and I will never forget his true entrepreneurial spirit. Dave’s impact on our innovation ecosystem is immeasurable. He was keen on relentlessly advancing our community and did so by generously donating his time, energy and
The College Initiative works with Start Co. to increase college enrollment
(Memphis Business Journal) As the cost to attend college continues to increase and getting into college becomes more competitive, a local nonprofit is hoping to help more students from low-income families succeed. And judging by its latest success, they’re off to a good start. The College Initiative, an organization founded by Gabriel Fotsing, an alumnus of Teach For America, has joined the inaugural group of social startups participating in Start Co.’s Sky High accelerator this year. Since The College Initiative was started in 2012, the organization has worked with more than 80 students, successfully getting 100 percent of them into college while raising more than $5 million in scholarships. View the full article at Memphis Business Journal
Sparkcap creating bridges between established and startup logisitics companies
(Memphis Business Journal) With Memphis’ reputation as the logistics capital of the U.S., the city is long overdue for a small business accelerator that focuses on logistics and transportation companies. With that in mind, Start Co. is attempting to fill the void with its first cohort of Sparkgap. Sparkgap is working with three companies in its first cohort, Extra Rail, a Hotels.com-like company that focuses on using unused rail yards for rail car storage; Drone Stuff, a company that rents or sells small drones for use for aerial photographers or filmmakers; and Graph Story, which uses data compiled by logistics companies in real time to determine the best delivery routes for drivers. Read full article at Memphis Business Journal
Upstart accelerator goes global in year two
(Memphis Business Journal) In its second year, Start Co.’s Upstart accelerator has gone international. The accelerator, which focuses on women-owned startups, has attracted companies from New York and one from Hungary. Virag Reti, co-founder and CEO of Weoid, a mobile application that helps travelers find partners to help split the cost of transportation once they arrive to their destination, came to Upstart from Hungary, bypassing similar programs in Europe. Read the full article at Upstart Business Journal
Startups and BBQ – The New Memphis
(SoftLayer) BB King. Elvis. Graceland. Jerry Lee Lewis. Beale Street. Cotton. Shipping. Martin Luther King. Civil Rights on the national stage. All of these things come to mind when you think of Memphis, Tennessee. You can now add one more to that list: Startups. Yep. That’s right. Startups. Memphis has a long history of economic success. From the early days of its settlement, it was a shipping and trading hub for the early United States thanks to the Mississippi River. It progressed into one of the world’s largest cotton producers, even having a cotton exchange similar to the stock exchange on Wall Street. As our country grew, so did Memphis’ value because of geographic location. Today, more than 60 percent of the U.S. population is within a one-day drive of Memphis. It has grown into a logistics hub and houses several North American railway companies, as well as FedEx. Read the full article at SoftLayer
Seed Hatchery companies rolling into third week of accelerator push
(Memphis Business Journal) After three years of running their startup accelerators separately, Start Co. is three weeks into its experiment of running all four simultaneously. The accelerators, Seed Hatchery, Upstart, SparkGap and Sky High, all launched at the beginning of the month. For the next few weeks, MBJ will be looking at each accelerator and its participants. The original Start Co. accelerator, Seed Hatchery, focuses on technology companies. This year’s participants are Tortuga, which has developed an app to crowdsource decisions on what to wear; TrackIt, which uses analytics to determine efficiencies in every day life; OpenRPOS, a company that has developed and is beta testing point-of-sale software for restaurants and Troopto, a company that is working on technology to help small apparel brands find their customer bases quicker. Read the full article at Memphis Business Journal
Guilt-Free Pastries: “Good, Real Food”
(Memphis Flyer) A little more than a decade ago, Brandon Thomas dropped from 300 pounds to 175. More recently, he returned home to Memphis after college to take care of his father, who is on dialysis due to diabetes. And even while he was so personally involved in health issues, he never imagined he’d launch the health-conscious Guilt-Free Pastries. Thomas discovered he’s allergic to gluten in August and began experimenting with gluten-free recipes. As Thomas walked through a market with a cart full of avocados, someone got curious and asked why, eventually requesting an impromptu order of avocado brownies. Read the full article at Memphis Flyer
Memphis is one of top 10 best places to start a business
(Memphis Business Journal) If you’re looking to start a business, Memphis is your 10th best option, according to a new report. Memphis placed 10th in a recent annual ranking of the top 20 cities to start a business, largely because of its high amount of commercial and industrial loans per capita, $491.54, according to finance counseling site NerdWallet. The city also has the lowest cost-of-living index of the 50 largest cities, and resources like Emerge Memphis and Start Co. to spur business launches. Read the full article at Memphis Business Journal