Entrepreneurship

Leslie Lynn Smith, Epicenter president and CEO.

$15 million loan fund focuses on growing minority and women-owned businesses in Memphis

In an effort to chip away lending disparities, Epicenter, a local nonprofit entrepreneurial engine, has partnered with Pathway Lending, a regional nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, to launch the Memphis Small Business Opportunity Loan Fund.

Latest in Entrepreneurship
Mixed-use housing development seeks to attract a grocery store to Downtown

Developer Hamilton & Holliman LLC is finalizing designs for its first ground-up, mixed-use project downtown, with plans for another larger project if the multifamily market stays strong over the next couple of years.

Stephanie Cummings, Please Assist Me CEO and co-founder, center, along with two Please Assist Me assistants, help users with tasks they might be too busy for like cleaning the house or doing laundry, as part of a newly launched startup accelerator.
Newly launched startup accelerator expands innovation economy in Memphis

ServiceMaster continues its investment back into Memphis that started with bringing its headquarters Downtown, building out an innovation center and now helping launch a startup accelerator.

Kenneth Worles solidified the focus of his business while working in Washington for several years.
Three(i) sets sights on 1st Memphis office by July

Upstart communications consulting firm Three(i) Creative Communications founded by Kenneth Worles Jr. is setting its sights on its first brick-and-mortar location by mid-summer. The firm, run by young Millennials of color, is building its reputation by carving out space in specific niches of its industry.

Global Cafe Founder Sabine Langer and General Manager Juan Viramontes with local food entrepreneurs from Sudan, Nepal and Syria. Left to right, Ibti, Sabine Langer, Juan Viramontes, Fayha, and Indra. (Yasmine Omari)
Global café brings international cuisine & immigrant empowerment to Crosstown Concourse

A cafe supported by natives of Syria, Sudan and Nepal will soon launch in Crosstown Concourse. 

New trampoline park proposed for Whitehaven

New family entertainment could be on the way to Whitehaven, as developer JD USA Shopping Center plans the Whitehaven Landing trampoline park-centered retail center at 1232 East Shelby Drive at the south end of Southbrook Mall.

A Memphis resident speaks to J.D. Vance, John Hope Bryant and Steve Case at the May 8 Rise of the Rest pitch competition. (Madeline Faber)
Soundways earns $100k investment and leads Memphis in the ‘rise of the rest’

Memphis gets a stamp of approval from some of the nation's top entrepreneurs and investors. 

Madison and Mallory Iyadunni appeared on the show Shark Tank in 2016 to pitch their skin care line Angels and Tomboys. (Submitted)
All in the family: Sisters open side-by-side shops on Summer Avenue

Headed to Summer Avenue are a popcorn and tea lounge and a tween-targeted skincare store where young girls can mix their own lotions and lipglosses. 

Maggie Louie, founder of DEV/CON DETECT.
Memphis-based tech startup takes hackers to court

Fake ads can reroute online traffic into a digital tunnel of money laundering. One Memphis-based company is stamping out this new type of criminal activity with innovative tech-based security.

Natalie Schuh, a digital marketing manager in Memphis, says she is taking this class because, "I want to step away from what I've been doing and narrow down what I'm offering and who I'm working with." (Brandon Dahlberg)
New Memphis College of Art offering helps makers think inside the box

First-of-its-kind coursework focuses on branding and packaging for the city’s growing class of entrepreneurs.

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