Geoff Livingston Creates Buzz in Memphis

Memphis was visited by its second high-profile blogger within a week’s time, and most of us are still reeling from the good vibes and exciting conversations these events created.

Monday night, Geoff Livingston, author of Now is Gone and his PR blog, “The Buzz Bin,” met for a tweetup at Quetzal cafe in downtown Memphis.  Attendees included everyone from seasoned Social Media veterans, to several fresh faces looking to see what the web has to offer their business.

Despite the excitement surrounding Geoff’s attendance, the evening took on a very relaxed tone as the crowd mixed through the room networking, finding familiar faces, and engaging the featured guest in conversations about the state of the blogosphere and the benefits of Social Media for business.

As the evening progressed, the tweetup culminated in a Geoff becoming the centerpiece of a group discussion, moderated by LunaWeb’s Dave Barger, where an eager group shared their ideas and questions about Social Media, while the Washington D.C. based PR and blogging guru addressed each topic, drawing from his own experience for examples and anecdotes.

The event was a huge success for LaunchMemphis and a great experience for all of the attendees.  Upcoming on the Social Media horizon is the Socia Media Breakfast on October 1st at the Crescent Club.  The breakfast is open to everyone!  See details on the Meetup page.

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!

LaunchMemphis Rocks Social Media in September

September is poised to be a HUGE month for the Social Media and Tech Community in Memphis!  Within the next two weeks, LaunchMemphis is putting Memphis on the map by hosting three major events featuring innovation and online celebrity.

First on the agenda will be the Sarah Lacy at our TechFuel event on September 18 (5pm).  The high-profile blogger and author of Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0 is returning to her hometown of Memphis on her User Generated Book Tour.  This will be a great night for bloggers, techies, and anyone just looking to network and learn.  Best thing is… it’s free.

On the 22nd, just four days after Sarah hits Memphis, Geoff Livingston stops by for a night with the Memphis locals.  Geoff is one of the premier “blogging gurus” on the web and the author of Now is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs.  He has also received some well deserved praise from the likes of the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post for his work in Social Media.

Last, but most assuredly not least, is the Innovators Luncheon with the Leadership Academy on September 25th at the University of Memphis Holiday Inn.  The theme is “Innovators,” and will feature a panel discussion by some of Memphis’ most established and promising entrepreneurs from EmergeMemphis, LaunchMemphis and even established innovators like Henry Turley.

You can get details and RSVP information on all these events on the Launch Memphis site.

This is also a great time to get involved in the planning process for BarCamp Memphis!  The un-conference is set to be held on November 8th, but planning meetings have already been underway.  There are chances to make your voice heard by suggesting speakers, topics, and, of course, getting your name out there by donating to the all-important swag arsenal.  Visit the Barcamp Memphis wiki to get involved!

LaunchMemphis Preps for Sarah Lacy

Sarah Lacy, is bringing her User Generated Book Tour (UGBT) to Memphis just a month from now! The Tech Fuel event is being hosted by Launch Memphis. Sarah has gained notoriety with dizzying velocity over her career, most recently, as a columnist for Business Week, host of Yahoo TechTicker, and a closely followed blogger.

She has become one of the most polarizing figures in the world of Web 2.0 with many people expressing a “love her or hate her” attitude. Sarah’s biggest fans often appreciate her deeply personal inside knowledge of many of today’s seemingly inaccessible business giants. However, detractors are quick to cite what is, perhaps, one of the most infamous public interviews of the last several years, between Lacy and Facebook mastermind, Mark Zuckerberg at last year’s SXSW conference, which sparked a great deal of online debate and criticism.

Her latest tour is to promote her new book Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0. At tour stops so far, Lacy has been discussing the ideas in her book, doing Q&A sessions with bloggers and columnists, and keeping news from the whole event posted on her blog.

Her stop on the Memphis leg of her tour will be at Emerge Memphis on Sept. 18 at 5:00 pm. Don’t forget to RSVP via the Facebook Event or via email TechFuel@LaunchMemphis.com. Be there, log on, and get ready to blog!

Memphis Startup Weekend Reunion: BIG SUCCESS

The reunion for Startup Weekend was a great success this past week. Launch Memphis, a conglomerate of individuals and organizations dedicated to helping entrepreneurs find the tools they need to market their ideas to the Memphis area, was the driving force behind the event that was held at the Emerge Memphis building.

The evening was centered around sharing the success stories that came out of the Startup Weekend event that was held several months ago (May 31- June 1). There were big wins across the board ranging from new ideas to help already existing businesses to the eventual launch of a new social networking application called Spynnr. The application will be designed to create an interactive online community for ultimate frisbee players.

The impact of Startup Weekend was apparent throughout the room and it looks like there are more great things to come from everyone working with Launch Memphis. Check out www.launchmemphis.com and get involved!

Announcing the Fall 2008 Season of Entrepreneurship

The LaunchMemphis founding team is pleased to announce our Fall 2008 Season of Entrepreneurship. This Fall we are putting together 4 events to develop our entrepreneurial community. Like every season we hope to organize dynamic, unique, and meaningful experiences for the community, and while all the events are important there are two highlights that fit this mold definitely.

1) Mark your calendar on September 18th, 2008 for your opportunity to interact with Sarah Lacy (http://www.sarahlacy.com/), a tech entrepreneurship reporter for BusinessWeek and Yahoo’s Tech Ticker. She is the recent author of Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0. If you are technologist, entrepreneur, new media player, blogger, or other interested party, please join us for this special party complete with food, drink, and DJ (and some book signing). You’ll meet and share ideas in a fun and open atmosphere and brush elbows with those daring to launch a new venture — plus you can meet Sarah Lacy. While the event is free, RSVP is required for attendance. Send a quick message to TechFuel@launchmemphis.com.

2) Mark your calendar for November 7th and 8th, 2008 for Memphis BarCamp. Yes LaunchMemphis is organizing the “Un-Conference” for the community. For those that haven’t heard of this program, BarCamp is an international network of user generated conferences — open, participatory workshop-events, whose content is provided by participants. More information will be announced shortly, but, like Startup Weekend, we don’t think you will want to miss this.

In addition to these two events, we’ll host a Startup Weekend Reunion on August 7th, 2008 and we are co-organizing a luncheon with the Leadership Academy. For details on these events and all our events be sure to go to this page on our website.

We hope you enjoyed your summer and invite you to join us for another series of great events to develop our entrepreneurial community.

Evaluating the Success of the Investment Forum

Recently, more than 50 people came together for the LaunchMemphis Early Stage Investment Forum. As with any event, it’s important to define the metrics for success and evaluate how the event compared to those metrics. Here are some metrics and results:

1. Community Involvement - with more than 50 people present, this was clearly met. Out of 34 applications, 20 were accepted,,so this number was intentionally limited. Of the 50 people, roughly half were investors (including institutional investors and individual investors). Almost all of the institutional investors in Memphis were there, although a few couldn’t make it at the last minute. And, of course, a summary of the event would not be complete without mentioning the involvement of the FedEx Institute of Technology, where the event was held. Lastly, the Commercial Appeal covered the event, with a reporter spending nearly an entire day at the Institute.

2. Connections - While some people clearly knew each other, most did not. Using the formula (N^2 - N) / 2, there was a potential for 1,225 connections to be made. Since many of the investors already knew each other, the actual number is probably closer to 750. A large number of these connections were more than fleeting moments, but more on that in a moment.

3. Awareness of Entrepreneurial Environment - As we spoke with investors at the forum, and as we reviewed the surveys they completed, the opinion was almost universal that they were impressed with at least some of the ideas at the forum. Many investors commented that they felt the overall quality of the entrepreneurs was superb and surpassed their expectations. The awareness that Memphis has so many people working on ideas was, and is, critical to the success of LaunchMemphis, not to mention the Memphis community at large.

4. Relationships - While some connections were fleeting ‘nice to meet you’ moments, many have become deeper connections. We are aware of at least 20 follow-on meetings that have occurred as a result of entrepreneurs and investors meeting each other at the forum (if you were there and have had follow-on meetings, please let us know!). We can’t know what these will lead to, but we do know that this was one of our most critical success factors, and we are thrilled with this result.

5. Feedback - All of the entrepreneurs received invaluable feedback from the investors. Each entrepreneur received a report of how they were rated by the investors in six categories and received a list of investors that wanted to have follow-up conversations. Metric met.

6. Plan for Moving Forward - One of the key aspects of the forum was providing a platform for everyone involved (investors, entrepreneurs, and LaunchMemphis organizers) to discuss how to improve the current environment. We held an open meeting/roundtable discussion on what investors were looking for, what entrepreneurs needed, and how to engage individual, “Angel,” investors. We believe that this engaging conversation needs to continue, but we were thrilled to have so many people engaged in the conversation, and getting everyone talking was the first step.

7. Direct Investment - For investment forums with a long history, this is the success metric that matters most. However, as organizers, we said from the beginning that it was not our metric of choice for the first year. It is too early to determine whether the connections made will lead to investment. We do know that dialog is underway that could lead to eventual investment and that at least is very positive (again, if you are one of the people who was there, please keep us posted). In speaking with some people who were less familiar with the process of investing in startups, we found a potential misconception around the notion that an entrepreneur might walk away with a check. This was never expected and almost never happens at any investment forum. What does happen is that a conversation follows that can lead to such a transaction. Don’t get us wrong–we do hope that someone gets funded, and that is a goal. However, not having a company funded does not mean the event was not a success.

We want to thank everyone that attended, and to especially thank our sponsors, the Tennessee Technology Development Council, Innova, and FedEx Institute of Technology.

We are still hearing about meetings that are going on and many entrepreneurs are hard at work to get their ideas further along. We firmly believe that great things will come from this event, and, as we plan for more in the future, we look forward to providing a solid foundation for entrepreneurs and investors to connect.

LaunchMemphis Inaugural Boot Camp

On Saturday, June 14th, LaunchMemphis held its inaugural Boot Camp for entrepreneurs. Nearly 20 passionate entrepreneurs attended the day-long event held at EmergeMemphis. They saw presentations on various areas of starting a business such as: Business Plan Development, Marketing, Technology in Small Business, Finance/Accounting, Legal Considerations When Starting a Business, and Moving Forward. 

An extended lunch provided an opportunity for attendees to meet with presenters and gain valuable feedback on their business ideas. Participant response for this “fantastic opportunity” was great and ranged from calling the $25 registration fee a “steal” to unanimous agreement that they would definately recommend the LaunchMemphis Boot Camp to other entrepreneurs.

Currently there are plans to hold another boot camp in 4-6 months, but no final date has been selected yet. Please stay tuned to this space or contact Chris Allen at chris@mercurylaunchpad.com for more information. 

LaunchMemphis would like to thank all the presenters: 

• Andrea Valenzuela (Business Plan Development)
• Lori Turner (Marketing)
• Sridhar Sunkara (Technology in Small Business) 
• Jason Brink (Finance/Accounting)
• Harry Brown (Legal)
• Eric Mathews (Moving Forward)

as well as the attendees for making this event such a success! . 

Finally, to show our commitment to the entrepreneurial community here in Memphis, LaunchMemphis is providing all the presentations, free of charge, via download (5.32 mb .rar).

Download LaunchMemphis Boot Camp Materials here.

Boot Camp: June 14th, Take Business Ideas into Business Plans

Boot Camp: Intensive Session to Take Business Ideas into Business Plans
June 14th, 2008
Location: EmergeMemphis
Time: 9am-4pm
Sponsors: Mercury Technology Labs, EmergeMemphis
Cost: $25 per person for food and materials
To catalyze entrepreneurship, an intensive “boot camp” session will be offered for startup teams and individuals looking to gather the knowledge and skills that will help take business ideas and articulate them in business plans. This one day session covers many important start-up issues and provides prospective entrepreneurs detailed feedback on their ideas and planning. Furthermore, participating entrepreneurs benefit from networking with other like-minded individuals going through similar experiences. These sessions genuinely help entrepreneurs move forward with solid feedback and real plans for their business.  To sign up and learn more contact Chris at chris@mercurylaunchpad.com.

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