Help us welcome core members of the WordPress and Audrey Capital teams to Memphis and the Launchpad on Tuesday, May 15! WordPress is a free and open source blogging tool and content management system, created in 2003 to fulfill “a desire for an elegant, well-architectured personal publishing system built on PHP and MySQL.” Due largely to its ease of use and incredibly robust functionality it has grown to become the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world. In fact, our own LaunchMemphis, Seed Hatchery and LaunchYourCity sites are powered by WP, as are local favorites I Love Memphis, Startup Memphis, Smart City Memphis and MemphisConnect. Even Mayor AC Wharton uses WP for From the Mayor’s Desk! Audrey Capital is an angel investment and research company launched by WP’s own co-creator Matt Mullenweg to “help innovative ideas grow.” And the Audrey team loves Memphis- and our BBQ! While they’re in town for Memphis in May BBQ Fest they have graciously agreed to come to the Launchpad for a WP Community Meetup and rooftop party! You definitely won’t want to miss this opportunity- bring your questions, and get ready to raise a glass (cup?) of Ghost River!   What: WordPress party, (Launch)Memphis-style Who: Matt Mullenweg, founder of Audrey Capital, co-creator of WordPress and founder of Automattic Andrew Nacin, tech ninja at Audrey Capital and core developer at WordPress Scott Reilly, tech ninja at Audrey Capital and core developer at WordPress Samuel “Otto” Wood, tech ninja at Audrey Capital and core developer at WordPress When

We are proud to announce that Huey’s is our first official restaurant partner! Home of “blues, brews and burgers since 1970,” Huey’s boasts seven locations in the greater Memphis area and is no stranger to local polls such as “Best Burger” and “Best Late Night Dining.” But the food is only one element of what makes Huey’s such a Memphis tradition. Live music, a ceiling full of toothpicks, and sustainability efforts add to the reasons we love the place. So is their dedication to community support and partnership. Giving back to the community has always been important to Huey’s and its employees. Founder Thomas Boggs always had a knack for the hospitality industry, starting when he was 14 years old working at Rexall Drugstore as a soda jerk. In 1975 he became a bartender at Huey’s Midtown, which at that time was just a bar. After only two years Boggs became partner and set out to turn Huey’s into a great restaurant. Like all great entrepreneurs, Boggs found a gap in the marketplace and turned it into an opportunity. Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Boggs was an active member of many boards and committees in Memphis and was always dedicated to civic and social causes. He received numerous awards including the Jefferson Award in 2002, which is given by the American Institute for Public Service, 2002 College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Alumnus Award from the University of Memphis, 2005, the Memphis Restaurant Association’s Civic and Community Leadership Award in 2007,

St. George’s Independent School announces the second in a series of educational symposiums titled “Entrepreneurial Citizenship: Responsibility, Civic Awareness, Engagement” and scheduled for April 14, 2012. Organized by St. George’s Independent School, and co-sponsored by LaunchYourCity and Memphis Bioworks Foundation, the symposium will feature dialogue and ideas about the importance of entrepreneurial citizenship in the 21st century, with local business, government, education, and environmental leaders as panelists. The symposium is free and open to the public; online registration may be found at www.SGIS.org The schedule and panelists are as follows: REGISTRATION & CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST 8:30 AM OPENING SESSION – 9:30-10:00 AM Speaker TBA SESSION 1 – 10:10-11:10 AM Business/Entrepreneurship Panel Panelists: Steven J. Bares, President & Executive Director, Memphis Bioworks Foundation; Demarcus Love, Co- Founder & President, ChooMoGo; Cameron Mann, Director, Memphis Music Resource Center; Gayle S. Rose, Principal Owner & CEO, Electronic Vaulting Services SESSION 2 – 11:20 AM-12:20 PM Eco-preneurship/Environmental Panel Panelists: Josh Bell, Founder & President, IntoOutdoors Magazine; Matt Farr, Founder, EcoLaborate; Amelia Mayahi, Sustainability Coordinator, University of Memphis; Peter Schutt, Founder, Tennesee Wildlife Federation’s Great Outdoors University and National Wildlife Federation Volunteer of The Year LUNCH Pre-purchased box lunches available SESSION 3 – 1:15-2:15 PM Edu-preneurship/Education Panel Panelists: Tomeka Hart, President & CEO, Memphis Urban League; Jamal McCall, Executive Director, KIPP Memphis Collegiate Schools; Ken Steorts, President, Visible Music College; Bill Taylor, President, St. George’s Independent School   SESSION 4 – 2:25-3:25 PM Civic Entrepreneurship/Political Panel Panelists: Andre K. Fowlkes, Co-President, LaunchYourCity Inc.; Kerry J. Hayes,

Ignite Memphis- the evening of rapid fire community presentations with a twist hosted by LaunchMemphis and MemphisConnect since 2009- has inspired a whole new event with an eco-friendly focus:  

Word of Memphis’ dynamic entrepreneurial community is spreading fast. We are beyond excited to announce that both Boxee and Trep Trip are stopping through Memphis on their way to South by Southwest Interactive- and we invite you to join us as we host them at Emerge! We’ll fill in more details as they arise, but here’s what you need to know: Boxee Meetup and Mixer Wednesday, March 7 6:00pm Sponsored by ChooMoGo Boxee is heading to South by Southwest Interactive, with a few stops along the way. On March 7 they’ll be in Memphis and we’re hosting a Meetup and Mixer at 6:00pm on the Emerge rooftop! Join us for the unique opportunity to meet the team behind this hot young company- they’re looking for entrepreneurs, developers, and tech enthusiasts who want to chat about movies, TV, art, beer, or startup culture. And Boxee. Did we mention that there will be demos? And a Ghost River keg? And a giveaway of a Boxee Slingshot HD?! **Note that this is a revised schedule. Boxee was originally scheduled to be at the Fox & Hound at 7pm but have moved the event downtown with us at Emerge. But please still RSVP here. Boxee is the one box your TV needs to watch web content- once you pay for the box, you have access to thousands of TV episodes, a massive movie rental library, apps to access your services like Netflix or Hulu, and the capability to display anything else your computer can

We’ve been proudly fueling Memphis entrepreneurship for five years. Now we hope you’ll fuel our efforts through our $5 for 5 fundraising campaign.  LaunchMemphis celebrates our fifth year of providing support to early stage entrepreneurs, and growing Memphis’ innovation economy. A few of our favorite highlights: Our highly interactive, hands-on programming includes 48 Hour Launch, Business BOOSTcamp, BarCamp Memphis, Ignite Memphis and MemTech events The Launchpad is Memphis’ first entrepreneurial co-working space Through programming and ad hoc mentoring we’ve groomed 130+ entrepreneurs We’ve delivered 1800+ connections to our entrepreneurial community We’re a member of MemphisED/Shelby Growth Alliance, and Startup Tennessee We were a local stakeholder in CEOs for Cities’ Opportunity Challenge Our principles have been applied in the development of EcoLaborate, Fuel Film, 48 Hour Music Launch, and the U of M’s new Entrepreneurial Journalism course Now we ask that you help us further develop Memphis’ entrepreneurial community by contributing to our new $5 for 5 campaign: by clicking below, you can set up a recurring monthly donation of only $5 for the next 12 months. As a registered 501(c)(3), your support goes a long way in helping us to empower entrepreneurial action. We thank you in advance, and look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!