Another Successful Investment Forum
The 2nd Annual LaunchMemphis Investment Forum was held June 19th at the FedEx Institute and attracted an impressively wide range of companies. We are proud to be able to refer to it now as an annual event, and we continue to be excited about the long-term viability of this event. Entrepreneurs brought their ideas and pitches to investors with companies ranging from concepts that were still in the early development stage to companies that have been in operation for several years. The event included representation from the retail, real estate, medical device and software industries.
Based on the feedback we have received to date, the event has once again exceeded the expectation of those that participated. Meetings are occurring with investors and the dialog that started at the event continues today. For some participants, the practice of pitching 7 times in 1.5 hours was challenging, educational, and life-changing. For others, it was a way to discover the areas that need work and to try out different pitches on an audience that asked challenging questions and pushed them to consider some interesting alternatives to their business models.
This year’s event was a more compact event, with a smaller seed track. We felt that most participants last year were just too exhausted at the end of the day to provide the feedback that the entrepreneurs deserved, and the changes we made were received well by those who participated. Whereas last year the number of companies in the seed track outnumbered venture companies 3 to 1, this year it was evenly split, with 7 companies in each track. While these numbers reflect the types of applications we received, they are also reflective of what we see as some maturation of some participants. We couldn’t be happier with the quality of the ideas we are seeing in the area.
Like any event, there are always lessons learned and things that we can do better. Our two top priorities as we look to next year’s event are engaging a broader base of investors to help grow the event and improving the pitches of those companies that participate. We recognize that in some cases, the presenters had great ideas but still had some work to do to turn the great idea into a great business. We will continue working with entrepreneurs and investors to help these great ideas become great businesses that can help take our great city to new levels. We were once again reminded by all those that presented that no city has a monopoly on innovation, and Memphis is a place that has the talent to compete with any city in the country.
If you are an investor (angel or institutional), we want to hear from you — we need to work together to ensure that this event can become a showcase for the talent that is in Memphis and that is all too often unrecognized by the media and the investment community.
For those that participated or plan to participate next year, look for updates on upcoming events to really try to help anyone interested get better at pitching their company to investors, partners, and prospects. We realize this is an area of critical need for our budding entrepreneurial community, and we want to provide events and means to help everyone improve.
We also want to thank our sponsors for the event, Tennessee Technology Development Council, TECworks, and the FedEx Institute at the University of Memphis. We could not continue this event without their support and greatly appreciate all their efforts in making this event a success.
Second Annual LaunchMemphis Investment Forum
The Second Annual LaunchMemphis Investment Forum has been set for June 19th, 2009. As an institutional or angel investor, we invite you to join us from 8:00am to 12:30pm to take the time to ask good questions, provide feedback, participate in the event, and if interested pursue follow-up with the startups for potential investment.
Location
FedEx Institute of Technology
On the Campus of the University of Memphis
Agenda
8:00 – 8:30 Welcome / Coffee
8:30 – 9:45 Seed Track
9:45 – 10:00 Break
10:00 – 11:00 Venture Track (Part I)
11:00 – 11:15 Break
11:15 – 12:15 Venture Track (Part II)
12:15 – 12:30 Closing
“How was the weekend?” “Intense and Creative!”
Here is a post I wrote for MemphisConnect.com here that I have place below: http://www.memphisconnect.com/2009/06/10/how-was-the-weekend-intense-and-creative/
Enjoy!
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On May 29th, 30th, and 31st, 2009, seventy (70) Memphians came together for one of the most intense, creative, and entrepreneurial events of their lives. In just 48 hours (6pm Friday to 6pm Sunday) these creative class members from all walks of life pitched 14 ideas, selected 5 for startup, and launched 3 beta products. In its second year of operation, LaunchMemphis brought Startup Weekend back to Memphis to support entrepreneurial action!
Why the excitement?
Last year, LaunchMemphis hosted over 100 people at EmergeMemphis and one idea was selected and born, Spynner. That concept eventually died, but one other idea pitched that weekend went on to form a team, build a product, achieve user base, and garner revenue in 2009. That company is NRange (www.nrange.com), a golf GPS app for smart phones that is cheaper but just as accurate as $300-$500 range finders golfers buy. Now that’s entrepreneurial action! This year with an enhanced entrepreneurship ecosystem and a dedicated group of 70 people, LaunchMemphis Startup Weekend delivered five new business concepts to our local economy.
Will all of these startups succeed?
According to Tulane University business Professor Lisa Amos, the average for entrepreneurs has 3.8 failures before finally succeeding. At LaunchMemphis with programs like Startup Weekend, we encourage people to form teams, build startups, and ‘fail fast’ so that they can learn and get right back into the ecosystem of entrepreneurship to start again.
You did what?
When asked, “What did you do this past weekend?” most may reply with the details of sporting events, yard work, and/or relaxing with a book. Not for this crew of Memphians. They can proudly say, “I launched a new business in 48 hours!”
What are the 5 startups?
Here I provide a very brief summary of the 5 ideas that moved forward. Stay tuned to learn about how these startups evolve. We will have a Startup Weekend Reunion on August 27th, 2009 to hear about how these businesses have progressed and if any of the other ideas not-selected moved forward, like NRange (www.nrange.com) did last year. Learn more about Memphis Startup Weekend at www.LaunchMemphis.com.
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The Roll Play (www.therollplay.com) is a new web system to allow students, writers, and others to build stories collectively with other members by assuming the role of a character of their own making. The members in effect make a “rolling” play or even a debate. The site is up and running with new differentiating functionality coming out weekly.
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Mister Menus (http://mistermenus.com/) is a site that allows a user to upload menus of their favorite restaurants and to rate menu items. This enables other users to search where to eat using criteria like dish ingredients and menu items. This way if you need to find the best vegan dishes in the city you can easily locate them and know where to go.
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CheezyWeezy (www.CheezyWeezy.com), another project that built a beta launch product and business plan in 48 hours, encourages the world to “Take a Smile Break” by heading to their site to view and rate photos of cute kids. Grandparents unite and rate your grandchildren to the top!
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Rezzie focused on designing an innovative business model for the real estate and print news industry. By providing previously unavailable data to consumers on agents and brokers on print news web sites, all parties can benefit withrevenue and savings. This idea easily could provide large returns to investors and the team is moving forward with technical specs.
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GameWavMedia focused on providing a new cross functional gaming platform to change the way games are designed, distributed and played. At the center of the idea is object oriented gaming independent of game functionality. Sound complicated — it is — but the idea has some merit, especially since the average age of a gamer is over 35.
Memphis Startup Weekend Version 2.0 May 29th-May 31st
We are only two and a half weeks out for start up weekend (May 29-31). We will start at 6 PM on Friday and end Sunday evening. There are still some tickets left and you can get yours here: http://memphis2startupweekend.eventbrite.com/.
This year we will have a pre-event gathering to present ideas. We will video record them and post them to a face book group page. Don’t worry, if you can’t make that you can still present your idea on the first day of the event. No decisions will be made until Friday, May 29th.
Announcing the 2009 Investment Forum
Have a fledgling enterprise that needs an infusion of capital? Have an idea and just want feedback from experienced institutional and angel investors? Or, do you operate a company that is successful but needs capital to take the business to the next step?
If you answered yes to any of the above, then read on. The Second Annual LaunchMemphis Investment Forum has been set for June 19th, 2009. We’ve made a few changes for this year based on the feedback we received from everyone last year. We are excited about the event and look forward to seeing more great ideas this year.
Investors
If you are an institutional or angel investor, please contact us at forum@launchmemphis.com. We also welcome anyone that has experience running a company and that is willing to take the time to ask good questions, provide feedback, and participate in the event.
Entrepreneurs
If you are an entrepreneur, please review the following timeline:
- May 19th: Deadline for application
- May 31 - June 6: Notification of application decision
- June 15: Optional (but recommended) prep session
- June 19th: Investment Forum
The Investment Forum is an all-day event, and the schedule for the day is being finalized. The approximate schedule for the day is:
- Seed Forum: Morning (9am to 12pm)
- Lunch: Mid-Day (12pm to 1pm)
- Venture Forum: Afternoon (1pm to 3pm)
- Investor Panel: Late Afternoon (3pm to 4pm)
Applications can be submitted online. A major change this year is that we will be using AngelSoft.net to manage the application process. We believe that this will give entrepreneurs more control over the information that is communicated to investors, while making the required information more consistent and improving our ability to evaluate applicants. The application can be found at http://angelsoft.net/apply/launchmemphis
If you are unsure whether you should apply, please call or email us.
April 23rd . . . Count it down
Mark your calendars on April 23rd, 2009
for
Mastering the New Modes:
Insights and Innovations from the Blending Worlds of Technology, Marketing, and Culture
Featuring the World-Renowned Thought Leaders
Adrian Ho from Zeus Jones and C.C. Chapman from The Advanced Guard
LaunchMemphis and the Southern Growth Studio band together to bring an event like no other to Memphis. Two leaders from the world of innovation, interactive marketing, and user experience will give both a private workshop and a panel conversation that is open to the public.
Details
When: April 23rd
Where: Emerge Memphis, 516 Tennessee Street, Memphis, TN 38103
What: Both a Private Workshop and a Public Panel
Hashtag: #newmode
Private Workshop:
1:30pm to 4:00pm
Limited Seating, So Reserve Your Spot Now
http://modes.eventbrite.com
$150.00
Open Panel and Reception:
5:30pm to 7:30pm
Free and Open to the Public
Refreshment will be provided
About the Speakers
Adrian Ho, Founding Partner, Zeus Jones (Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area)
Adrian Ho is a founding partner at Zeus Jones. At Zeus Jones we believe actions speak louder than words, that modern brands are defined by what they do not what they say. We built our company around these beliefs. A company where strategy, creativity, design, digital expertise and user-experience flow directly into each other to solve business problems. Adrian was formerly director of strategic planning at Fallon in Minneapolis. Prior to that, Adrian worked at Goodby, Silverstein & Partners and at Anderson & Lembke both in San Francisco. Adrian’s thinking has been recognized by the IPA and EFFIEs. He is a former AAAA account planning committee member and co-chair of the national planning awards program. Adrian is a regular speaker and writes about the evolution in brands and branding along with developments in technology at http://zeusjones.com/blog.
Web: http://www.zeusjones.com
Video: http://www.vimeo.com/384568
Blog: http://zeusjones.blogspot.com/
C.C. Chapman, Co-founder and Managing Partner, The Advanced Guard (Greater Boston Area)
C.C. Chapman is a new media maven and digital dad living in the Metro Boston area who loves public speaking and working with people to understand the future of media. He is the Co-Founder and a Managing Partner of The Advance Guard. Formed in October 2007, The Advance Guard is a new media consultancy that creates radical marketing programs using emerging technology and community platforms. With offices in New York and Boston, their clients include American Eagle Outfitters, Coca-Cola, HBO, Verizon FiOS, Warner Bros and St. Martin¹s Press.
Web: Advanced Guard: http://www.theadvanceguard.com/
Blog and Podcast: Managing the Gray Blog: http://www.managingthegray.com/
Whitepaper on New Facebook: http://www.theadvanceguard.com/about_face_white_paper/
LaunchMemphis Featured at URBANEXUS
LaunchMemphis will be featured at Next American City’s URBANEXUS series. URBANEXUS brings together great minds in lectures and salon-style discussion centered on the future of the urban life in great cities across the country. In Memphis the salon-style event will feature a collaboration between eight local organizations discussing the role of civic engagement in moving Memphis forward including LaunchMemphis. Admission is free for all attendees.
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URBANEXUS
the Salon: The New Face of Civic Engagement
Thursday, March 19th 2009 6:00pm
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
926 McLemore Avenue, Memphis
Want to learn about the latest in Social Media?
Then you should attend SocialCamp Memphis . . .
Evening of March 6th and the day of March 7th, 2009
Location: Memphis College of Art, 1930 Poplar Ave, Memphis, TN 38104
Information: http://www.socialcampmemphis.com/
Tickets: http://socialmem.eventbrite.com/
SocialDevCamp, like BarCamp, is an un-conference; An open format event where programmers, designers and business owners can network and learn. A SocialDevCamp conference is unlike any other technology conference. Rather than being planned by a committee in advance, each community works together to create its own event. A SocialDevCamp generally has an underlying theme, but the individual topics and sessions are organized shortly before or even at the event. This enables SocialDevCamp to be much more than targeted to the needs of the community.
TechFuel Thursday 5:30pm at the Tower Room
Mark your calendar for TechFuel this Thursday, February 19th from 5:30pm-7:30pm. We’ll be at the Tower Room in Clark Tower (33rd Floor — 5100 Poplar Ave).
TechFuel is focused on bringing technologists, entrepreneurs, media, bloggers, and other business professionals together to share ideas in a dynamic atmosphere. With the LaunchMemphis TechFuel we hope to see the Memphis tech community better connected and focused on commercialization.
The event is open to the public and no ticket is required to attend.
We’ll provide the hors d’oeuvres. Bring some cash for the drinks.
Come and enjoy the company and the views of our fine city.
LaunchMemphis Coaches Businesses at Boot Camp
The 2009 edition of LaunchMemphis’ Boot Camp found itself bringing in a large crowd of burgeoning business developers, and filling every seat in the house. A group of 35 Memphis entrepreneurs came together at Emerge Memphis, in downtown, to get expert advice and training on how to initiate or improve their new business.
Boot Camp is an intense, two-session course in entrepreneurship, in which professionals offer advice on all aspects of starting, successfully running, and gaining funding for a new venture. LaunchMemphis put on their first BootCamp in 2008, and brought it back early this year due to popular demand, and thanks to a sponsorship by First Tennessee Bank.
This first session, entitled Building Your Business Plan, focused heavily on the crucial basics of starting and running a business. The morning of presentations featured hard-hitting advice from independent business consultant, Andrea Valenzuela, and Mercury Technologies Co-Founder Marc Diaz. These were followed by sessions in which attendees were able to receive custom tailored feedback, that addressed the issues most vital to their success.
The next session, a week later, was an advanced course that featured more focused advice from experts in business related fields. Enriching Your Business Plan, allowed entrepreneurs to hone their ideas and methods, and receive strong guidance on how to fine tune their approach, and maximize their potential.
Presenters for the second session included:
Chris Allen, Director of Marketing, Mercury Launchpad
Dave Barger, President, LunaWeb
Shelly J. Parkinson, Edward M. Neal, CPA & Associates
Harry Brown, Attorney at Law
Spencer Dillard, Spencer Dillard Consulting
Eric Mathews, Co-Founder Mercury Technology Labs, LLC
Lori Turner, founder of Red Rover, a Sales and Marketing Strategy Firm
Visit LaunchMemphis for updates on future events.
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