Epicenter launches program to help small businesses and startups | Mane Street Memphis
Neil Strebig, Memphis Commercial Appeal, Published 5:00am on Jan 28, 2025
One of Memphis' most recognizable entrepreneurial hubs is launching a new two-year program for small businesses and startups that has been four years in the making.
On Tuesday, Memphis-based Epicenter announced its Innovate Xcelerate program. The program aims to build a pipeline for Memphis entrepreneurs and startups to help with sustained growth. The program is funded, in part, by a $380,000 grant from MassMutual Foundation.
The program, which begins Feb. 7, will be open to all residents ages 18 and older. The initial step is a design-thinking workshop at Epicenter followed by a "Hackathon." The "Hackathon" will be led by Memphis-based CodeCrew March 7-9. The 10 finalists from the CodeCrew event will receive funding to develop prototypes for their products and will have access to a year-long accelerator to help with technical, legal and marketing assistance as they build out their business concepts. Access to corporate buyers and investors will also be made available at this stage in the process, according to the news release.
At the end of the program, three finalists will receive an additional $25,000 in capital investments with future funding opportunities.
"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,” Epicenter entrepreneurial programs specialist Choya Johnson said in a statement. "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.”
Johnson began working with MassMutual Foundation in 2020 to bring additional resources to the Frayser Connect program. The initial partnership and collaboration with the foundation created the groundwork for the Innovate Xcelerate program.
