Mark your calendar’s for May 30th, 2008 for Startup Weekend
LaunchMemphis events will build up ties among entrepreneurs
LaunchMemphis was recently featured in the Commercial Appeal. Read more here.
Commercial Appeal
LaunchMemphis events will build up ties among entrepreneurs
By Daniel Connolly
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
If you’ve recently started a company in technology or biosciences — or you’re just thinking about it — you’re the target audience for LaunchMemphis, a series of networking and educational events that starts this week.
The events are meant to build up social links among tech and science entrepreneurs in the area. The key organizers are Eric Matthews and Marc Diaz, principals with Mercury Technology Labs LLC, a relatively new company that helps scientists and researchers turn their ideas into working firms.
The pair have attracted a wide range of sponsors and collaborators, including EmergeMemphis, an organization that provides office space and other support to small businesses, and the Memphis Bioworks Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes the development of science-based industry.
The highlight of the LaunchMemphis series is Startup Weekend, which comes at the end of this month.
Dozens of people are scheduled to gather at the FedEx Institute of Technology to create a real company in 54 hours.
Participants in the event will make a short pitch for their ideas before the group picks one and starts working on it.
Everyone from lawyers to Web developers will offer input as a facilitator tries to keep the process running smoothly, Diaz and Matthews said.
The organization is accepting 100 people, and 20 slots were still open as of Monday. Those interested may register online at launchmemphis.com or startupweekend.com. A $40 fee covers food and supplies.
The event will be run by Startup Weekend LLC, a new company based in Fort Wayne, Ind., that has organized similar events in cities including New York and Seattle.
The principals with Mercury say the event is meant to educate participants and forge connections among local entrepreneurs. Creating an actual company may be more difficult.
“Every business is risky, and I would be pleasantly surprised if this created a viable business,” Diaz said.
Several events will come before and after Startup Weekend. The first, a networking party, is scheduled for Thursday at the Fox & Hound restaurant in East Memphis.
The post-weekend highlight is an investor forum on June 9, where entrepreneurs will have a chance to present their work to venture capitalists and private investors.
Contact Daniel Connolly at 529-5296.
LaunchMemphis events
5 p.m.-7 p.m. Thursday: LaunchMemphis kick-off networking event. Fox & Hound, 5101 Sanderlin Ave.
11:30 a.m., May 13: Networking session and talk by the University of Memphis’ Kevin Boggs on using university research to form companies. Memphis Bioworks Foundation, 20 S. Dudley. RSVP to Courdria Pointer: cpointer@memphisbioworks.org or 448-2799. Lunch is $5.
5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. May 22: Startup Weekend participant gathering. People registered for startup weekend have a chance to meet each other in advance. FedEx Institute of Technology at the University of Memphis, 365 Innovation Drive.
May 30-31 and June 1: Startup weekend at the FedEx Institute of Technology.
June 9: Early stage investment forum. Young businesses have a chance to meet with early stage venture capital firms and private investors. FedEx Institute of Technology. Online registration required at launchmemphis.com.
June 14: One-day intensive session to turn business ideas into business plans. Mercury Launchpad at Emerge Memphis. 516 Tennessee St. To register, contact chris@mercurylaunchpad.com.
For more information, call Lori Turner at 266-2662or visit launchmemphis.com or startupweekend.com
© 2008 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online
Commercial Appeal Coffee Break Section: “Fill up on ‘TechFuel’”
The Commercial Appeal recently reported on our upcoming networking event.
Commercial Appeal — Coffee Break Section
May 1, 2008Fill up on ‘TechFuel’
“TechFuel,” an idea-sharing and networking event for businesspeople, entrepreneurs and technologists, is set for 5-7 p.m. May 8 at the Fox and Hound, 5101 Sanderlin.
The event is sponsored by LaunchMemphis, recently established by area business leaders to promote entrepreneurship. Get details at launchmemphis.com.
Memphis Business Journal: LaunchMemphis seeks to match investors with local entrepreneurs
LaunchMemphis Early Stage Investment Forum was recently featured in the Memphis Business Journal.
Friday, May 2, 2008
LaunchMemphis seeks to match investors with local entrepreneurs
Memphis Business Journal - by Einat Paz-Frankel Staff writer
There’s talent and money in Memphis, but they don’t always meet.
LaunchMemphis, a group of local technology leaders, aims to change that by connecting investors to startup companies and Memphis entrepreneurs. The group says many local venture capitalists invest in companies outside Memphis, which is part of the reason why many brilliant ideas born in Memphis never make it to market.
In a series of events starting May 8, LaunchMemphis will attempt to engage both entrepreneurs and investors in advancing technology locally.
“When growing a successful science or a technology-based company, you can find the right ingredients within the grassroots infrastructure of LaunchMemphis,” says venture capitalist Eric Mathews, principal of Mercury Technology Labs LLC, who co-created LaunchMemphis with attorney Harry Brown. “From finding a new management team member to tracking down funding, the events organized can help entrepreneurs take their idea from the back of a napkin to the next level.”
The most significant event for those entrepreneurs seeking funding, the LaunchMemphis Early Stage Investment Forum, will take place June 9 at the University of Memphis FedEx Institute of Technology. Applications for funding — or, rather, for the opportunity to pitch your idea to investors at the forum — will be accepted through May 16.
Lori Turner, managing partner at The RedRover Co. and one of the founders of LaunchMemphis, says there are two types of applications: One is for seed funding of under $100,000, intended for entrepreneurs who “literally have an idea on a napkin or a very sketchy idea”; the second track will focus on more advanced ventures of more than $500,000 and is intended for companies with a solid prototype.
About 12 investors have already signed up for the forum.
“It’s not for all entrepreneurs, it’s not for the beauty salon down the street,” she says. “While Memphis needs all kinds of entrepreneurs, our niche is science and technology startups.”LaunchMemphis
Entrepreneurial consortium
Address: 516 Tennessee, Suite 133
Web site: www.launchmemphis.com
ep@bizjournals.com | 259-1764
All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
LaunchLunch on May 13th, 2008: Innova Lunch-n-Learn with LaunchMemphis
Innova Lunch-n-Learn with LaunchMemphis — The LaunchLunch
May 13th, 2008 — 11:30am- 1:00pm
Location: Bioworks Additorium on the 1st Floor
Speaker: Kevin Boggs, Director of Technology Transfer, University of Memphis
Topic: “Technology Transfer: Working with researchers and industry to develop innovative products, while supporting local economic development and making our world a better place.”
RSVP if Attending to Courdria Pointer — cpointer@memphisbioworks.org
Description of Talk
Our standard of living improves when the productivity of our industries increases and the goods and services they produce are better and more efficient. These improvements depend on innovative research. Universities and research institutes are the dominant source of basic science in the U.S, while industry has the capability to develop products and services based on that science. Kevin Boggs, Director of Technology Transfer at the University of Memphis, will discuss ways that academic technology transfer helps bring science and industry together to provide the next generation of innovative products, support small business formation and foster local economic development.
About Kevin Boggs
Kevin Boggs was most recently Director of Business Development at Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC), a biotechnology company spun-out from the University of Florida. AGTC received over $30MM in funding from leading national venture capital firms and its lead product is in Phase I clinical trials. As a member of the Executive Management Team at AGTC, Dr. Boggs was responsible for identifying and evaluating new product development opportunities and negotiating IP licenses required to secure market exclusivity. Before joining AGTC, Kevin was Assistant Director of Life Sciences at the University of Florida’s Office of Technology Licensing. In that position, he negotiated over forty licenses and numerous sponsored research agreements while managing a large portfolio of U.S. and international patents. Dr. Boggs received his Masters in Business Administration from the Fogelman College of Business and Economics at the University of Memphis, performed post-doctoral research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and earned his Ph.D. at the Medical University of South Carolina. He is an active member of the Association of University Technology Managers and the Licensing Executives Society.
TechFuel: Networking Event, May 8th, 2008 - 5:00pm-7:00pm, Fox & Hound (Sanderlin)
Mark your calendar’s for May 8th, 2008 for the first TechFuel Event which will also serve as the Kick-off of LaunchMemphis activities.
Inspired by other networking events occurring across the country like Tech Cocktail, TechFuel is designed for technologists, entrepreneurs, media (bloggers), and other business professionals to meet, and share ideas in a fun and open atmosphere.
With the first TechFuel event we will also Kick-off LaunchMemphis activities formally. It is our hope to continue these events to grow the Memphis tech community and better connect members. The event is open to the public, and will be held at the Fox and Hound on Sanderlin.
Memphis Business Journal: Next great company could be in Memphis
Memphis Startup Weekend was recently featured in the Memphis Business Journal. Check it out here . . .
Memphis Business Journal
Friday, February 22, 2008
Next great company could be in Memphis
After beating out such cities as San Diego and Indianapolis, the city of Memphis was selected to be the next site for Startup Weekend — an event that aims to bring together local entrepreneurs with the goal of creating a real company in just 54 hours.
Memphis will join cities such as San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., which have all hosted Startup Weekend events.
“Over 600 people in Memphis have said we want Startup Weekend here,” says Eric Matthews, Mercury Technology Labs founder, who is helping organize the event. “It is a real testimony to what people want here as far as building an entrepreneurial community.”
Matthews says Memphis Startup Weekend will be held May 30-June 1 and will be hosted at EmergeMemphis at 516 Tennessee St.
EmergeMemphis is helping organize the event along with Matthews and Harry Brown, a local entrepreneur.
At the event, participants will decide on an idea for a company the first night.
After a decision has been made on a company, participants will split up and work on all the issues that come with starting a company — from branding to public relations.
Participants will be rewarded with shares of the company, which ideally could become operational in the future. Matthews says five of the original Startup Weekend businesses are still around and 10 more don’t have the funding, but could be viable businesses.
From staff reports
All contents of this site © American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
Daily News: Biz Startup Event Slated for Late May
Memphis Startup Weekend was recently featured in the Daily News. Check it out here . . .
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Biz Startup Event Slated for Late May
ROSALIND GUY | The Daily News |The possibilities are endless.
With a group of 100 people, experts in various fields and many different visions, there’s no telling what ideas will come out of the weekend event that br….
Startup Weekend Comes to Memphis: May 30th - June 1st, 2008
Startup Weekend has select Memphis, TN as it’s latest city to visit — basically, 100 community members (those that register to participate, even you), come together over the course of a weekend to found a new technology startup company in Memphis — yes, you can walk away with founding level equity for your effort.
More Details . . .
Startup Weekend brings motivated individuals from the community together as company founders to decide what to make and earn an equal share of stock in the developed business. Attendees are responsible for bringing the ideas, desire, and passion to the project and walk out of the room with a brand new business by Sunday night. In this short 52 hour period, there will be entrepreneurs, lawyers, marketers, business developers, designers, technology developers, and many other individuals all working together to build a business from scratch. Think about it: 100 people times 52 hours is about 1-2 years of a small startup crew working full time. The outcomes are great, building not only a company in a weekend, but also further binding our entrepreneurial community together. We need all sorts of skills and we want you on board.
Memphis Startup Weekend will be held from May 30th at 6pm through June 1st at midnight. Hosted by EmergeMemphis and the Mercury Launchpad you will need to register in advance at http://memphis.startupweekend
Jump starting your mind for Startup Weekend
Someone recently recommended the show Startup Junkies as a good show about the startup life. If you have never seen it, I have to highly recommend it. Having been through one funded startup and having started 2 other companies, I have to say that it brought back memories (some of which I wish had stayed forgotten). This show can really give you a feel for what goes on in terms of the pressure to execute, get funding, sell, etc. as well as the constant awareness of the cost of failure to achieve goals. If you’re joining us for the weekend, I highly recommend watching at least a few episodes of this show–it’s on Comcast HD in Memphis (851 for you lazy people out there), but you can watch some episodes online, too.
There’s also a good show on the same channel called Bobby G: Adventure Capitalist, but that’s a little less up my alley, personally. Still, it’s a good way to see some ideas that get shot down and more of a turnaround story, but mainly you get to see another point of view. Enjoy and looking forward to seeing and meeting everyone.
LaunchMemphis Getting Going
LaunchMemphis was recently established by Memphis area leaders to grow an entrepreneurial community. By undertaking a series of events throughout the year all designed to bring focus to entrepreneurial activities in Memphis, TN, we hope to deliver new technology business startups to our economy.
While we will be working to expand LaunchMemphis activities to be year round, our present focus is on a series of activities to occur in late Spring and early Summer of 2008. We will kick off the activities with a networking event focused on technology and startups and end with an investor forum where startup companies at the seed or venture stage can pitch for funding to move forward. This year, we have the privilege of hosting Startup Weekend in Memphis, a national program in which a new startup business is created in 52 hours by Memphians. For more information visit our Events Page.
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