If you have done much research on investors, you realize that they don’t bet on ideas; they bet on teams. What’s true for venture capitalists is doubly true for accelerators, where the likelihood for significant changes, including a wholesale reboot to another idea, is highly likely for all entering teams. With this in mind, the selection criteria for all early stage investments is heavily weighted to the team dimension. In fact, we estimate that 90% of the decision for acceptance into Start Co. accelerators is based on the team. Our application questions and our interview process help us uncover these traits. Within the team, we look for the three Fs: 1) Fierce: Willing to face a lot of rejection as well as hard knocks. 2) Flexible: Coachable and willing to change when faced with feedback and data that indicates a change is needed. 3) Functioning: execution oriented, rather than getting stuck in the idea and thinking phase. The other 10% of the investment decisions are more like table stakes items that can get a team disqualified fast. These include: 1) Communication: Being able to clearly articulate verbally and in written language your business concepts, etc. 2) Idea: Must be high growth potential and leverage a significant innovation. In almost all cases, they must also leverage a technology. Finally, there is one other important aspect that we consider in a team: number of founders. Being a solo founder is a negative selection criteria. While it won’t totally disqualify you, it will

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Memphis, Tenn. (Jan. 30, 2014) – Start Co., a venture development organization that focuses on building startup companies and their founders, today announced more than $700,000 in angel investments for three Memphis-based Seed Hatchery graduate startups from the 2013 cohort. These investments, made by the Start Co. Angels, represent the largest percentage of a cohort that has received post-accelerator validation funding. “This is a significant milestone for startups in the Memphis community and we’re proud of the graduates and our role in building out an angel fund and network in Memphis, something the community has not seen in nearly a decade,” said Eric Mathews, founder and CEO of Start Co. “We see these funding rounds as a tipping point for our current programs, where later-stage investment will be less of an exception and more of an opportunity for the teams that move through our programs and utilize our resources.” The three Memphis-based startups receiving funding are: MentorMe ($175,000): MentorMe is an online mentoring platform that matches mentors with mentees and provides management and measurement tools throughout the program. Founder Brit Fitzpatrick began utilizing Start Co. resources at the idea stage and participated in the first Women’s 48-Hour Launch program in the fall of 2012.  She is also a graduate of the NewMe accelerator program in San Francisco. Musistic ($200,000): Musistic is an innovative music networking plug-in that defeats the limitations of geography and technology, allowing musicians to collaborate with anyone, anywhere, on virtually any digital audio workstation.

In December of 2012, I joined the Memphis startup ecosystem as a first-time founder. I pitched my startup idea, “an eHarmony for mentoring,” at Upstart’s 48 Hour Launch in a room full of strangers with nothing but a bundle of nerves and an idea written on a sheet of paper. This was a huge step for me. Up until that point, I had suffered from a horrible case of “ugly baby syndrome” – the fear of sharing one’s idea with others at the risk of rejection that keeps many individuals from taking the risk necessary to succeed in entrepreneurship. For me, taking that risk has provided me with priceless experiences – most of all strong connections to mentors who have undoubtedly been my most valuable asset in navigating the challenges of building a startup. Having a culture of mentorship is important for any startup ecosystem, and in Memphis, the strong mentorship that exists is certainly a reflection of the larger “lift as you climb” culture. Full disclosure, as someone who is building technology to manage mentoring programs, I did have a pre-existing affinity for mentorship prior to founding my startup. I am a product of mentoring programs, such as the Boys & Girls Club, and I truly would not be where I am today had I not had great mentors throughout my life. However, my belief in the power of mentorship has only grown as I have embarked on the entrepreneur’s journey. The journey of building a startup can feel