About
On November 3, 2011 Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty announced that the Greater Memphis Accelerator Consortium would be established as one of nine new entrepreneurial projects in each Tennessee Economic Development District. The Accelerator Consortium is a unique collaborative project supported by twenty-five entrepreneurial service providers, economic development entities, institutions of higher education and government entities serving Fayette, Lauderdale, Shelby and Tipton counties in southwest Tennessee.
The Greater Memphis Accelerator Consortium assists entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs to establish and grow new business enterprises through intensive mentorship-driven programs targeting new business development in locally strong business sectors, including technology- based businesses, medical device and biotechnology businesses, and the emerging field of biobased products. Specific projects and services will include:
Seed Hatchery. A mentorship-driven early stage investment program for general innovation and information technology startups. A selected group of start-up companies will participate in an intensive 90-day program to launch their business enterprises.
ZeroTo510. A unique, medical device-focused accelerator, focused on a key regional strength of Memphis: biomedical device research and manufacturing. The goal of ZeroTo510 is to help medical device startups to achieve the Food and Drug Administration's 510(k) premarket notification filing.
Startup Mentor Network. Startups that are part of a support network have a much greater probability to succeed. To ensure that all startups in the Memphis Accelerator Region have access to world-class mentors and programming, the Consortium provides a network of qualified startup mentors. This network of mentors is centrally administered and offers a wealth of experience in various startup areas. Mentors will be available to aspiring and new entrepreneurs, and to existing startup companies.
Entrepreneurship Outreach. To support and augment the reach of the accelerator programs a concerted outreach effort will be launched to recruit suitable participants for the program. A key area of recruitment focus will be to attract minority and women-owned businesses, as well as entrepreneurs in rural communities. These efforts will ensure that these underrepresented populations are given the opportunity to participate in the proposed entrepreneurial programs.
The Greater Memphis Accelerator Consortium assists entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs to establish and grow new business enterprises through intensive mentorship-driven programs targeting new business development in locally strong business sectors, including technology- based businesses, medical device and biotechnology businesses, and the emerging field of biobased products. Specific projects and services will include:
Seed Hatchery. A mentorship-driven early stage investment program for general innovation and information technology startups. A selected group of start-up companies will participate in an intensive 90-day program to launch their business enterprises.
ZeroTo510. A unique, medical device-focused accelerator, focused on a key regional strength of Memphis: biomedical device research and manufacturing. The goal of ZeroTo510 is to help medical device startups to achieve the Food and Drug Administration's 510(k) premarket notification filing.
Startup Mentor Network. Startups that are part of a support network have a much greater probability to succeed. To ensure that all startups in the Memphis Accelerator Region have access to world-class mentors and programming, the Consortium provides a network of qualified startup mentors. This network of mentors is centrally administered and offers a wealth of experience in various startup areas. Mentors will be available to aspiring and new entrepreneurs, and to existing startup companies.
Entrepreneurship Outreach. To support and augment the reach of the accelerator programs a concerted outreach effort will be launched to recruit suitable participants for the program. A key area of recruitment focus will be to attract minority and women-owned businesses, as well as entrepreneurs in rural communities. These efforts will ensure that these underrepresented populations are given the opportunity to participate in the proposed entrepreneurial programs.
