Applications for all accelerator programs are now open! In the next 90 days, we are looking for up to 16 teams across programs to invest $50,000. Each accelerator will happen during the Summer of Acceleration, presented by Memphis entrepreneurial partners Epicenter, Start Co., and Memphis Bioworks Foundation. The Summer of Acceleration is a 100-day intensive, hands-on educational program that speeds the development of high-tech, high-growth startup companies, focused on four regional industries of strength: Home Services, Medical Device, Logistics, and Civic Technology. Startups receive unprecedented business and technical assistance that continues well beyond the 100 day programs. Applications close March 15th! See specifics and application links for each program below.   Home Services Technology Via the Launch Delta Program Powered by ServiceMaster Program Highlight: 80% Follow-on Capital Rate & Access to ServiceMaster Innovation Council Apply here: https://www.f6s.com/launchdelta/apply The world’s first and only home services technology startup investment platform is powered by ServiceMaster.  Launch Delta targets technology-based startup companies working to disrupt or replace existing home services. We are actively seeking new home services technology startups including on-demand services, smart home tech, IoT, sensors, new service and delivery mechanisms, smart pest control, drone technology and all other innovations that relates to managing and operating a home.   Smart City Technology Via the Sky High Program Powered by the City of Memphis Program Highlight: Innovation Teams of Both City and County Governments Engaged Apply here: https://www.f6s.com/skyhighcivictechnologyaccelerator/apply We seek startups that use data and technology to create efficiencies, improve sustainability, create economic development,

Christopher Lee brings a diverse background in the logistics, manufacturing, servicing, and marketing arenas based on businesses he has launched or has been a part of the founding team seeing successful exits.  This has been the foundation for giving back to existing or aspiring minority firms in the form of guidance and mentorship. Start Co. saw his 30 years of experience as an asset to the many of the minority firms that are being served via the Propel Accelerator program and The 800 Initiative in general. I sat down with Chris to talk about his experiences and how he’s prepared to provide another layer of support for minority owned businesses and The 800 Initiative.   The Propel Accelerator program is offered for existing minority businesses. How are you positioned to help existing firms and why do existing businesses need these resources?   “During the last 30 years, I’ve had successful ventures in a few areas. I think sometimes when you look at programs like this there are a lot of advisors and mentors coming to the table with different perspectives and sometimes they have not truly immersed themselves in the launching and running of a business. So I think having the perspective I have allows me to truly help business owners because I can meet them where they are. The thing I can do most to help them is not only to help the person but to also help the people who are working with entrepreneurs to understand that minority

Each year we release our applications for our highly competitive accelerator programs. We want to share some ways in which you can stand out over others during application screening. Here are 5 tips for standing out in your application to our accelerator programs at Start Co. Be sure to apply and learn more here: Apply to Sky High  Apply to Launch Delta Apply to Logistics   Teamwork makes the dream work. The #1 factor of success for a startup company is the team. 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? Ideally, we would like to see a technical founder: a person who knows the industry, blended with someone who knows how to build. Do you have a history of working together? Great. Tell us about your dynamic. If you don’t, at least tell us how you know each other. Founding a company is not easy and you need great teammates. Demonstrate how you are different. We receive 100s of applications, and going through them takes awhile! Make yourself stand out; make it easy for us to notice you among the masses. For example, if you have other methods besides slides that demonstrate your progress, include them. Short videos, blogs, creatively designed timelines, etc. Show us why we should offer you a spot in our next cohort. We

Accelerator Operations Manager Memphis, TN   Brief on Start Co. Start Co. a nationally recognized nonprofit 501(c)(3) venture development organization based in Memphis, Tennessee, that relentlessly builds founders and companies, promoting entrepreneurship for everyone with a focus on digital startups. Start Co. is a member of the Global Accelerator Network and aims to advance Memphis’ economic growth through entrepreneurship and innovation. Job Summary: Start Co. seeks an Accelerator Operations Manager who can assist with daily organizational activities and the management of accelerator programs. This manager is responsible for administrative duties, facility management, inventory and supply management, food and beverage management, event support, and mentor/partner/speaker coordination and scheduling.  Further a major portion of this role will be recruiting new startups to accelerator programs and managing the recruitment process. Experience with office logistics, direct customer relationship management, and event planning are required. Familiarity with early stage technology startup companies is preferred. The manager will have responsibilities/objectives to work cross functionally with the entire Start Co. team on projects, attend events, and other office management task beyond the accelerator programs. A willingness to learn and comfortable tackling new problems is a must. This position requires the manager to be located in or willing to relocate to Memphis, TN.    Compensation Type: This job is Full-Time and Salaried with a Healthcare Benefit.   Duties and Responsibilities: Own the overall logistics and scheduling of the accelerator programs, including calendar management (mentors, speakers, and events). Engage with founders, mentors, investors and partners to ensure the successful

Today we spoke with Dark Horse Technology engineer Babak Jahani. Dark Horse is a medical device company that is changing the way doctors will perform total ankle replacement (TAR) surgeries. With an inverted design, their device will allow patients to experience more comfortability and usability in the replaced ankle than the standard fusion method currently in practice.   Q: How did you get involved with Dark Horse Technologies? Babak: One of our founders is my advisor for my PhD at North Dakota State University. He is involved with many projects, some of which are with medical devices. I have had to do many projects as part of my research, but he got me involved with this current one in working for Dark Horse.   Q: Why is your team passionate about solving the issues with total ankle replacement? Babak: Our product will make the lives of patients who receive total ankle replacements much easier. It is also directly related to the research background of my PhD. I have done previous work on improving the surfaces of implants and prostheses, so I saw this as a great opportunity. I also realized I had the chance to come to Memphis and I didn’t want to pass up that opportunity. I definitely wanted to come here seeing as Memphis is one of the main hubs for orthopedics.   Q: What other types of projects have you worked on for your PhD? Babak: For my master’s thesis, I worked on how to make the

For this edition of Founder Spotlight, intern Jonah Baer had a chance to sit down with Jeff Chininis, the founder and CEO of Fairway Biomed. Jeff and his company are a part of the ZeroTo510 Accelerator this summer on the road to FDA clearance.   Fairway Biomed is a medical device company improving surgical oncology. Cofounders, Jeff Chininis and Chet Hammill, both share a passion for creating innovative surgical technologies. Chet brings experience in surgery with over 15 years as a hepatobiliary surgeon at various prestigious cancer treatment centers across the country, while Jeff brings a background in medical technology, engineering, and entrepreneurship. Together, the two have invented the LIVO device, a patent pending technology that better controls bleeding in resection surgeries to remove cancer in the liver, kidney, and lungs. By controlling bleeding in a safer and more targeted way, vital organ tissue will be preserved improving patient outcomes and increasing the number of patients eligible to have surgery.   Jonah: How did you first get interested in the engineering and medical innovation space? Jeff: Starting out, I always knew I wanted to go into engineering for a couple reasons. I was always great at math and science. Also, on my mom’s side, two of my uncles and grandfather were all engineers. I always looked up to them as they had successful careers. For me, it seemed like a natural field to go into.   I had no idea what type of engineering I liked and in my freshman

For this edition of Founder Spotlight, we had a chance to sit down with Joe Shiraz, the Founder and CEO of ServiceBot. ServiceBot is currently participating in the Launch Delta Home Services accelerator program. Because of his experience in launching multiple startup companies, he gives us a fresh outlook on how failing is ultimately what turned him into the entrepreneur that he is today.   ServiceBot uses text bots, machine learning, and proprietary algorithms to automate most of what it takes to run a home services company. Running a home services company is extremely difficult; business owners must schedule and ensure the quality of a highly distributed workforce, handle a constant bombardment of customer calls and requests, and deal with the administrative burden of payroll and billing.   ServiceBot takes that time back. They combine field service management, CRM, scheduling, back office functionality and much more into a complete home services management platform. What makes them unique is the way they approach automation, especially with customer communication.   Here is my far-ranging conversation with Joe Shiraz:   Q: Tell me more about ServiceBot. Joe: ServiceBot is a SaaS platform to manage everything it takes to run a home service company. We manage everything from customer relations management, field service management, scheduling, billing, and even payroll — essentially all of the nuts and bolts of a company. What particularly makes it special is that we’re using text message bots and machine learning to automate a lot of the tasks that a

For this week’s Founder Spotlight, we spoke with LawnTap founder and CEO, Wilkinson Egwu. LawnTap was founded about a year ago and is focused on automating the entire lawn care process. By combining an on-demand platform with a smart lawn sensor, LawnTap allows its users to take care of their lawn completely hands-free.   Q: What inspired you to become an entrepreneur? Will: I wanted to work for myself and not have a 9-5 job. There’s monotony to going in every day and reporting to someone who I felt I was more qualified than. The frustration with that was building every single day. More importantly, I wanted to make my own rules and set my own hours. I know it sounds crazy, but I wanted to change the world.   Q: What were you doing before LawnTap? Will: Before LawnTap, I was a banker. I managed a financial center for Suntrust. Before that, I worked for Prudential as a financial advisor. Even before that, I actually worked for an airline company. For Suntrust, I was managing a financial center that had assets worth around twenty million plus. I was doing basic retail banking work like checking and savings accounts, IRA’s, and money markets.   Q: What got you into the lawn care business? Will: After co-founding my previous company, Showclix, I was trying to figure out what the next thing would be. What could I do next that would have an impact on an industry that’s huge? I was driving

On a Monday evening in April 2003, Jay Myers read an article in INC. magazine titled “A Thief Within.” The article told the story of a pair of brothers who owned a business in Chicago and eventually discovered that one of their most trusted employees was stealing from them for years.   Myers, the founder and CEO of Interactive Solutions, Inc. (ISI), could not get this story off his mind when he was coming into work the next day. “What happened next was divine intervention,” Myers said as he spoke at Start Co.’s Founders’ Dinner. “I kept thinking, how could someone steal from ISI? Then, I remembered I had not checked our payroll in a long time.”   As noted in his book Keep Swinging – An Entrepreneur’s Story of Overcoming Adversity and Achieving Small Business Success, Myers discovered that one of his employees had been stealing from him since initially hiring her. He brought in a Certified Fraud Examiner who revealed that the employee had stolen more than $240,000 over the course of her career with ISI. During his talk to the founders, Myers stressed the importance of keeping a keen eye on all employees.   “As you’re getting your company off the ground, you cannot be too careful with your money. You cannot go to sleep on it,” Myers said.   Founded in 1996 by Myers, ISI is a Memphis based firm that specializes in video conferencing, distance learning, telemedicine and audiovisual systems sales and support. Myers has

Today we had the chance to sit down with Please Assist Me CEO, Stephanie Cummings. Stephanie is from Nashville, TN and received her Masters in Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University. She previously worked for HCA (Hospital Corporation of America) Healthcare and Cerner in healthcare IT and has a background in IT and product development. She is the founder and CEO of Please Assist Me Inc and focuses on creating work-life balance for busy professionals. Q: What was the inspiration behind Please Assist Me? Stephanie: Please Assist Me came from a personal problem. I used to work for a tech startup company that required a lot of hard work and travel. I would come home after a long business day and feel defeated. Although I was succeeding at work, my home life was falling apart. There were no groceries in the refrigerator. My sink was overflowing with dirty dishes. My laundry hadn’t been washed. I started seeing a trend where a lot of female colleagues were leaving the workforce, not because they wanted to, but because they felt like they couldn’t balance the high-demanding job with their home responsibilities. At first, I just wanted to provide a solution for busy females. However, after doing more market research, we discovered it was a phenomena for both males and females. So I began to work on a solution to help people manage work-life balance, and that’s how Please Assist Me was born. Q: How has your background helped shape your company?