UGBT Memphis: Don't Just Spread the Wealth, Focus It

Now that I've heaped praise on one corner of Memphis and its entrepreneur scene, time to criticize a bit. Whether corporate or private, it's clear there's a lot of money to be thrown at building a Memphis-Tech scene. But it's not always being focused in the right spots.

Two examples make the point, I think.

First is the FedEx Institute of Technology. It's an amazingly beautiful spot on the University of Memphis campus that -- as you can see from the video below-- has more corporate sponsors than a Nascar. But what is all that money really doing? Shaye Mandle, executive director, himself said it was a bit fuzzy still. He's recently come in as executive director to inject new life in the project and among his first orders of business has been setting up a technology transfer office at the University-- a "duh" move that probably should have been done a long time ago, but to be fair, a lot of schools are behind here. (Um, I'm aware I left the "d" off Generated at the end. But going back into iMovie when I have endless other footage to edit isn't particularly appealing. Let's pretend it's a nod to the illiterate corners of the South, shall we?)

FedEx Institute of Technology aka Nascar from sarah lacy on Vimeo.

This is not meant to slight Shaye at all. He's a smart guy with very relevant experience from his previous life in Chicago and seems to have a lot of the right ideas, but it feels like a waste that up until now all this money has been thrown at a project that seems to lack a mission and focus.

Meanwhile, you've got Gwin Scott of Emerge Memphis. Scott has been in and around startups from the Valley, to Atlanta, to Australia and moved back to Memphis to help foster an entrepreneur scene. He slogs day in and day out building his incubator and mentoring Memphis' hopefuls. He's got a ton of passion and enthusiasm and is an optimist, but as he explains in this video, it's not always easy. Scott has space and advice, but what he needs is a seed fund to let these entrepreneurs try and fail and try again. We talked about the challenges to raising one in Memphis, and I was struck by the millions corporations are throwing into projects like the FedEx Institute of Technology, when just hundreds of thousands could likely make a far greater difference in the hands of someone like Scott. (Video is a little long, but it's so similar to what so many cities are grappling with that I didn't trim it. Also, I embarrass Olivia at the end and that alone is worth keeping.)

Why Gwin Scott Has the Best or Worst Job in Memphis from sarah lacy on Vimeo.

I don't pretend to know the answers or details of each groups economics. And to their credit, they work together a great deal. But as an outsider, I have to question the logic of where the dollars are flowing in Memphis. Every investor will tell you seed deals always make the best return and that's not limited to financial returns. You also get more in building an entrepreneurial class who is willing to take risk and swing for the fences.