Innovate Xcelerate: Program to boost Memphis entrepreneurs | The Daily Memphian
By Aisling Mäki, Daily MemphianUpdated: January 28, 2025 6:47 PM CT | Published: January 28, 2025 6:25 PM CT
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A new two-year program called Innovate Xcelerate will work to build a more diverse pipeline of entrepreneurs in Memphis.
Led by Epicenter, a nonprofit that helps Memphis-area entrepreneurs develop, launch and grow their ventures, the program is funded in part by a $380,000 grant from the MassMutual Foundation.
In 2020, the foundation invested $1.3 million in Frayser Connect, a collaboration led by the Frayser Community Development Corp. in partnership with Epicenter and the RISE Foundation. The program brought training and resources to small businesses in the Frayser neighborhood.
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Through that program, Epicenter officials learned that small capital infusions alone are insufficient to build a business, which gave rise to the creation of Innovate Xcelerate.
“Through my time working with entrepreneurs and small businesses at Frayser Connect, I saw firsthand the value additional resources like capital and training courses can have,” said Choya Johnson, Epicenter’s entrepreneurial programs specialist.
“With the support of the MassMutual Foundation, we’re able to take the work we’ve done in Frayser and provide targeted resources to innovative entrepreneurs who have been overlooked in the past,” she said.
A two-year program, Innovate Xcelerate is open to all Memphis residents aged 18 and older. Interested participants can register online.
The program will kick off Feb. 7, with a design-thinking workshop at Epicenter’s Downtown headquarters. Then, participants will attend a “hackathon” on March 7 through March 9 led by CodeCrew, a nonprofit that mentors underrepresented youth through computer-science programming.
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Ten teams will receive initial funding to develop prototypes of their products. They will also participate in a yearlong accelerator where they’ll receive technical assistance, legal and accounting support, marketing guidance and access to corporate buyers.
At the program’s culmination, at least three finalists will receive up to $25,000 in capital investments, with additional funding opportunities available.
Innovate Xcelerate is the latest addition to Epicenter’s roster of programs, which also includes the Logistics Opportunity Challenge, Patents2Products, the Capital Readiness Accelerator and ZeroTo510, its flagship medtech accelerator.
Founded in 2015, Epicenter, since 2021, has operated out of the 20,000-square-foot space previously occupied by ServiceMaster at Peabody Place.
