Startup Overnight with 48 Hour Launch Weekend
How fast can you get your new business started up? With 48 Hour Launch, it can be a matter of hours from concept to commercial prototype, corporate ID package, website, business plan, market research, and much more. The community of dedicated participants that attend this intense and fun entrepreneurship event provide the man power to make startups a reality.
48 Hour Launch is one of the most powerful and unique entrepreneurship programs in the country. It promotes the development of local economies and the implementation of innovative ideas with new launched startups. Simply put, creative individuals from all industries unite their talent in one location to launch new enterprises in a 48 hour period.
All your food, drink, wifi, and other needs are met by organizers. All you need to do is bring your brain (and a coffee mug and/or laptop). We take care of the rest while you take care of the startups.
Bring your own idea to launch or lend your expertise to another idea. It all begins on Friday 6pm at EmergeMemphis.
Grab your ticket here: http://48hour.eventbrite.com
Contact us if you have any questions: info (at) launchmemphis dot com
Special thanks goes to our sponsors: Center City Commission, Red Bull, Rendezvous, and Mouse Foundry Media.
IBM Small and Medium Enterprise Tool Kit…
LaunchMemphis is busy tying up loose ends at the end of the year and finalizing the schedule for 2010, however, we wanted to make you aware of a great set of resources from IBM.
“The SME Toolkit, brought to you by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and IBM is designed especially for Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American and Women-owned businesses with essential business tools. Whether you have five minutes or five hours, you can find the tools, content, resources, advice, mentoring and more to serve your needs.”
There are great links to a vast array of topics, including: Accounting & Finance, Marketing & Sales, and Business Planning, to name a few.
Please follow the link here.
We hope 2009 was a great year for you and that 2010 is even better!
Thanks for helping LaunchMemphis! We are truly grateful for all your support.
Announcing the 2009 Escalator Pitch Competition
Announcing the 2009 Escalator Pitch Competition
LaunchMemphis is pleased to announce a new competition aimed at developing and perfecting your “escalator pitch” — a modern twist on the elevator pitch idea. Whether you already have a business or just have an idea for one, articulating your idea is key to gaining customers. Not only will this competition help strengthen your pitch and improve sales, but you’ll also have the chance to win a prize package valued at over $10K!To enter the competition, simply create a 30-60 second video of your escalator pitch. Post it onto You Tube. Then register for the event by clicking on the following link, where you’ll be asked to provide the URL where you posted your video. The cost for entry is $20.
Click here to register today! http://escalatorpitch.
The competition is open to all businesses with fewer than 25 employees. There will be seven finalists selected from the YOU TUBE videos submitted. Also, three at-large finanlists will be chosen from those who walk in the day of the competition. Each finalist will ride up an escalator with a judge to deliver a brief and relevant pitch about their company. The winner will be chosen by the judges.
The $10K prize package includes consulting packages from area sales and marketing specialists, as outlined below, as well as $1000 cash!
- Marketing & Research Counsel – marketing research package (10 hours of consultation)
- Second to Nunn Design – logo/identity/print design package (10 hours of design work)
- Valeo Design & Marketing – web design and internet marketing package (10 hours of web design and/or internet marketing consultation)
- Obsidian Public Relations – public relations package (10 hours of PR consultation)
- RedRover Sales & Marketing – marketing and sales coaching package (10 hours of marketing consultation and/or sales training/coaching)
- Merrick Photography – photography package
- Main Events – event planning package (10 hours of event consultation)
Nervous about competing? Here’s the entrepreneurial philosophy; whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you are absolutely right! So, take a risk and don’t miss this opportunity because you have too much to lose!
Questions? Contact Lynda Hobbs at 901-266-2662.
Startup Weekend Memphis Reunion on Thursday August 27th
This past Thursday at the Startup Weekend Reunion, at EmergeMemphis downtown, five new enterprises presented the progress they’ve made in the first 3 months since Startup Weekend. Two of these businesses have managed to achieve revenue and all five were able to report on valuable lessons learned. Furthermore, at the reunion, several members of the group were recognized for their contributions to Startup Weekend.
The Roll Play allows users to collaborate in interactive storytelling. It was awarded the title Business Most Likely to Succeed.
Other distinctions from the night were awarded to Mark Dinstuhl, Caitlin Woodward and Kevin Yancy celebrating their enthusiasm and contributions to Startup Weekend and their respective teams.
Kevin Yancy, the founder of The Roll Play, who was recognized as the Participant of the Weekend stated, “The most inspiring thing about the Startup Weekend experience is the incredible pool of local talent.” Yancy credited his team’s successes to the relationships he formed with his fellow participants.
Beyond the recognition, many of these entrepreneurs used the Reunion to share their ideas and build publicity for their growing concerns.
Mark’s Menus provides a searchable online menu database for local restaurants. They outlined their use of Twitter and Facebook to promote their enterprise. On one occasion, a single tweet scored 43 hits to their website by offering free dinner to Twitter users who came to a tweetup.
CheezyWeezy, a photo-sharing site that allows users to upload and rate pictures of cute kids, discussed their plans for recruiting users at local festivals this fall, like Cooper-Young Fest, Germantown Arts Festival and the River Arts Festival. Nnaemeka “Meka” Egwuekwe of CheezyWeezy offered free advertising on CheezyWeezy to all Startup Weekend projects.
Kevin Yancy of The Roll Play has been using Startup Weekend participants and their families as boosters and beta testers. He noted that they will be introducing premium features in September with their 2.0 version. “It’s great to see families around the community come together and support one another’s entrepreneurship.”
Events like Startup Weekend are popping up all over Tennessee. Chattanooga will host a 48 Hour Launch in November, and Memphis will host a 48 Hour Launch in the spring. Interest in entrepreneurship continues to grow in the Mid-South and these events promise to bring phenomenal participants and teams together for collaboration – and, of course, cold Red Bull for participants also helps.
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.
AgBio Conference
Memphis Bioworks is hosting an event on November 12 at Fogelman Executive Center from 6:00 - 8:30 p.m. for those interested in learning more about companies involved in agricultural biotechnology, renewable raw materials, and reduction of environmental pressures. This event is titled: “AgBio Partnering and Opportunities Forum” and is being hosted as part of a two-day conference. This is an invitation only event, so if you are interested in attending the forum, contact Peter Nelson at (901) 448-1724 or pnelson@biobased.org. If you’re interested in this growing industry or are an investor looking for unique opportunities, then this may be the event for you. The forum will include presentation from five innovative companies and a Q&A session. This event is sponsored by BioDimensions, Infinite Enzymes, Innova, Memphis Bioworks Foundation and Verdant Partners LLC.
Sarah Lacy Brings UGBT to Memphis
Last night’s TechFuel event with Sarah Lacy was one to remember! The latest stop on Sarah’s User Generated Book Tour, which brought her back to her hometown, started at 5:00 at the EmergeMemphis building downtown and didn’t end until the last of the crowd dispersed at 10:00.
After some initial meet-and-greet time, the evening started off with some quality time with the internet celebrity. Sarah spent about 20 minutes talking about her experience in Silicon Valley, sharing moments from her book, Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0, and answering questions from an eager assembly. After that… the party started.
The group dispersed to the next room over to mingle over drinks and food, while Sarah signed books and gave advice to some very eager Memphis Entrepreneurs. For 3 straight hours, with the support a single Heineken, Sarah spoke to every single person who approached her at the event. Some of these conversations were simply humorous anecdotes of Silicon Valley personalities, while others were filled with unflinchingly delivered, hard, straight-shooting advice to entrepreneurs who willingly took the kind-hearted criticism she delivered.
The next LaunchMemphis event will be with PR guru Geoff Livingston at the Quetzal coffee shop on Monday the 22nd from 7-9 p.m. Geoff is the author of Now is Gone and high-profile blog writer. Join the Facebook event for more details!
Commercial Appeal: One idea, 54 hours: Startup Weekenders build real company
Memphis Startup Weekend was recently featured in the Commercial Appeal . . .
One idea, 54 hours: Startup Weekenders build real company
By Daniel Connolly
Commercial Appeal
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Michael Synk was crying quietly as people left the Emerge Memphis building Sunday night.
Two days earlier, he had stood in front of an audience and pitched a vague idea for company based on Ultimate Frisbee, a sport like touch football but played with a flying disk.
His peers chose his idea over alternatives, and made it the focus for Startup Weekend, an exercise in which entrepreneurs try to build a real company in 54 hours.
Over the next few days, some were so consumed with the project that they spent the nights in the converted warehouse near the river. He said he was overwhelmed by their cooperation.
“It’s just a whole bunch of people took an idea and created something out of nothing,” said Synk, a 51-year-old business coach. “And it’s inspirational.”
It’s too early to say if the fledgling company will survive, but the event and the social events that led up to it appeared to have met organizers’ main goal of strengthening links among local entrepreneurs.
“I met a lot of people I didn’t think existed in my area,” said Jonathan McCarver, a 25-year-old Web developer for Signature Advertising.
Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Startup Weekend LLC holds the events in cities around the country, and the Memphis event had the backing of several local organizations that promote entrepreneurship.
It attracted 100 participants from as far away as Madison, Wis. They paid $40, which covered supplies, food and beverages, including beer, and used the offices of Emerge Memphis, an organization that provides services to startups.
The participants included attorneys, entrepreneurs and tech experts. They were mostly men and mostly white, though there were also many black participants.
The first task Friday night was selecting an idea for the company. Participants presented more than 20 concepts, including several for computer games and one for a solar energy products distributorship.
Speakers who ran over two minutes were cut off by consultant Spencer Dillard, who shouted an unprintable word that means “nonsense.” The practice reportedly comes from a CEO who uses the technique to keep meetings in check.
A preliminary round of voting led to three finalists. Dan Marks pitched a program that would use handheld devices to help golfers measure the distance from the tee to the green.
Meka Egwuekwe, a 34-year-old senior software architect for the marketing and branding firm Lokion, suggested using in-home cameras to transmit images of intruders to customers’ handheld devices.
Synk suggested making gear such as shoes and uniforms for Ultimate Frisbee players. He said the suggestion came from his 16-year-old son, Peter, who plays the game, and later said he had decided to make the pitch only at the last minute.
There was a show of hands, and the Frisbee idea won in a close vote. After more discussion, the groups set up groups to handle everything from legal matters to marketing.
Some people left early, but others threw themselves into the project.
McCarver said he stayed until 1:30 a.m. Saturday, and returned in a few hours and stayed up almost all the next night. He left around 5 a.m. Sunday, slept a few hours and returned to find two partners in the same spot, one programming and the other asleep.
“Everybody was passionate,” he said. “Even people who would obviously be unhappy about the project they had to work on still took a passionate approach to it and did everything they could to make it work.”
He and other participants made heavy use of Internet technology to communicate.
David Barger, president of Internet consulting firm LunaWeb Inc., walked around the room with a laptop computer, using its built-in Web camera to transmit the proceedings live via Internet.
By Sunday, the Frisbee concept had changed radically. It now had a name, Spynnr, pronounced “spinner.” Instead of making gear, its primary focus was creating a software tool for use on Facebook.com, a social networking site that lets people post information about themselves and find people with similar interests.
The software tool would allow players to find local games and rate one another’s skill levels. It could also be applied to other sports and could make money through advertising, Synk said.
By Sunday, participants had created the Web site, Spynnr.com, and a motto: “Is your game on?”
They had even printed up T-shirts with a company logo and brought in local Ultimate Frisbee players for market research.
They had chosen people to turn Spynnr into a reality, though they hadn’t yet incorporated the company or set up a formal leadership structure.
Entrepreneur Don Samulack, 49, who holds a doctorate in neuroscience, will work with McCarver to lead the effort in the short term. They said the company is likely to change in the next few days.
“You can only do so much in 54 hours,” Samulack said.
Contact Daniel Connolly at 529-5296.
Moving forward
Startup Weekend is over, but organizers hope to keep the momentum going for LaunchMemphis, a larger series of events.
Participants are forming interest groups around several concepts that didn’t make the final cut.
An event where startup firms will meet with venture capitalists and other investors is scheduled for June 9 at the FedEx Institute of Technology on the University of Memphis campus.
A “boot camp” to help entrepreneurs turn ideas into plans is scheduled for June 14 at the Emerge Memphis building Downtown. It will be held in the offices of Mercury Technology Labs LLC, an organizer of the LaunchMemphis events.
A reunion for Startup Weekend participants is scheduled for Aug. 7 in the same space.
For more information, call Lori Turner at 266-2662, or visit launchmemphis.com or startupweekend.com.
To hear the sounds of Startup Weekend for yourself, listen to an audio presentation at commercialappeal.com.
© 2008 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online
Memphis Business Journal: Memphis Startup Weekend a go for May 30
Memphis Startup Weekend was recently covered by the Memphis Business Journal
Memphis Business Journal
Thursday, May 22, 2008
100 technology entrepreneurs will meet in Memphis May 30-June 1 for the city’s first Startup Weekend, during which they will create a start-up company from scratch.
Startup Weekend will take place at business incubator EmergeMemphis for 54 hours and will host developers, business managers, start-up enthusiasts, marketing professionals and graphic artists.
By the end of the weekend, a viable business will be built, a management team will be appointed and each participant will own a piece of the company, according to organizing group LaunchMemphis.
Startup Weekend is the brainchild of Andrew Hyde, who kicked it off in Boulder, Colo., last year. The program has run in several cities in North America and Europe.
600 people were involved in bringing Startup Weekend to Memphis.
“We are really inspired by the amount of support Startup Weekend has received from local entrepreneurs, startups and established businesses,” said Gwin Scott, president of EmergeMemphis, in a statement. “This support really says something about Memphis as a hub of innovation, entrepreneurship and technology advancement.”
Copyright(c) American City Business Journals Inc. All rights reserved.
Commercial Appeal Coffee Break Section: “Looking for Entrepreneurs”
The LaunchMemphis Early Stage Investment Forum was recently featured in the Commercial Appeal.
Commercial Appeal — Coffee Break Section
May 17, 2008
Looking for Entrepreneurs
Got the entrepreneurial spirit? Or maybe need a little help taking your business to the next level?
If so, LaunchMemphis is looking for you.
The recently formed organization of Memphis business leaders is dedicated to growing the entrepreneurial community. To forward that mission, the group will host a forum on June 9 at the University of Memphis that will pair entrepreneurs and small business owners with potential investors.
The program is geared toward entrepreneurs who need funding assistance and small firms with high growth potential. Investors include Innova Memphis and the Mercury Alpha Fund by Mercury Technology Labs.
The forum is free, but application deadline is Tuesday. For more information, visit online at launchmemphis.com
