Fueled By Cardboard: Kidpreneurs Kid President & Caine’s Arcade Spark Happiness & Entrepreneurship

Truth be told I’ve been waiting for the exact right moment where I could sneak in a story about an awe inspiring 9 year old from Memphis Tennessee. If you’re not familiar with Kid President, Robbie Novak, you have to be living under the proverbial rock.

Novak’s this awesome little 9 year old boy who has a brittle bone disease. He’s had over 70 breaks in his short nine years. He’s also adopted (like me) and loves to dance. Aside from the casts he’s often stuck in, you would never know that he had the disease. You wouldn’t know anything sad about him, he makes people laugh and have fun.

Just for fun Novak and his adult brother in law Bradley Montague stared making videos. They cam up with a character, Kid President, and built a set out of cardboard, and used furniture you could find at any good yard sale to create an Oval Office. Novak sits behind a desk (and sometimes on it), and offers his words of wisdom, great interviews, hilarity and sometimes just dancing.

When Novak has a guest in his videos he talks to them through a can and a string and typically gets them to dance as well. Josh Groban, MC Hammer and most recently President Barack Obama have appeared alongside Novak.

But way before the celebrities started catching wind of the 9 year old President, Rainn Wilson from NBC’s “The Office” and the creator of the YouTube channel Soul Pancake found Novak and recruited the boy wonder to release his videos on the Soul Pancake channel.

While no one knows the terms of any revenue split or profit sharing, Novak had one requirement before joining the Soul Pancake channel, and that was of course to eat pancakes. Which he did.

Kid President’s videos have been seen tens of millions of times and he’s been featured on just about every decent sized media outlet known to man. In fact the Obama administration had Kid President be their April Fool’s Day prank this year. With that every major tv network picked up Novak from behind the podium in the White House briefing room.

Montague and Novak never set out for fame or money, they just wanted people to be happy, to get along better and to dance (so far the only celebrity that Novak hasn’t asked to dance has been Obama).

Being in the content business we are sure there is some money being made, and it’s most likely all being saved up for Novak and his sister’s college funds. They offer some Kid President merchandise and since Kid President’s White House appearance for April Fool’s Day and as a grand marshall of sorts for this year’s easter egg roll, his popularity has again increased ten fold.

And it all started with a cardboard set that he and his brother in law made for fun.

Coincidentally today is the year anniversary of Caine’s arcade video going viral on the web.

Caine Monroy was also nine years old (last year) when some cardboard made him famous. For him he wasn’t looking for fame either, he was just having fun putting his entrepreneurial mind to work in his father’s used auto part store.

Over the previous summer Monroy had created an “arcade” out of used cardboard boxes from his dad’s shop. At one point a filmmaker named Nirvan Mullick walked into the shop looking for a door handle for his 96 Toyota Corolla. Curious about the boxes shaped like games, Mullick asked Monroy what he was doing and he said he made an arcade.

Some of the boxes turned into games required more imagination than skill, but some games actually had mechanical function.

It’s amazing what a lot of heart, a big imagination and a smart smiling 9 year old can do.

Monroy told the filmmaker he could pay $1 for two turns or $2 for an all day fun pass and 500 turns. Intrigued by what the 9 year old had built Mullick paid for the all day fun pass.

Caine’s Arcade from Nirvan Mullick on Vimeo.

A short while later Nirvan had returned to the auto parts store because he wanted to make a short film about the innovative cardboard arcade. He found out that day that Nirvan was Monroy’s first and only paying customer. To Monroy’s surprise Nirvan recruited a flash mob of paying customers which made Caine’s day.

The short film went viral and with that a campaign to create a college fund for Caine was born. That college fund raised $228,000 and then it was matched dollar for dollar to support the Imagination Foundation.

Find out more about Kid President here

Find out more about Caine’s Arcade here

Are VC’s Bypassing Early Stage Health Deals?

Healthcare startups,Venture Capital,startups,funding,seed round,series a

(image: policymed.com)

Success stories, like the one of Memphis’ medical device accelerator Zeroto510, where 80% of their first class received follow on funding, seem to be growing scarce on a national scale. In their first class of six startups at the ZeroTo510 program 5 of the startups received follow on funding, with one, Restore Medical Solutions, going straight to a $2.5 million dollar series A round.

Well national medical startup publication MedCity News, released two graphs this morning that may be alarming to early stage medical startups, who often need a lot more seed money than your social, mobile, webtech startups.

The data, published by CB Insights, shows a significant number of VCs are skipping over earlier stage “seed round” deals for healthcare startups. Conversely, the same data set shows that the “series A crunch” may not be as prevalent in healthcare startups.

As you can see clearly from the data set Series A and Series B seem to be the preferred stage for a VC firm to get into a startup business, at least over the last five quarters.

According to MedCity News VC Funding in healtcare was up over the last year, in fact reaching a “multi year high”. Also worthy to note is that the medical device category is eating up the most VC funds. That should be good for the next round of ZeroTo510, Rock Health and Health Box.

Restore Medical talks to us about their $2.5 million dollar Series A round.

Memphis Native Kimberly Bryant Named To 25 Most Influential African Americans In Technology List

Kimberly Bryant, Black Girls Code,BlackGirlsCode,startup,entrepreneur,Memphis

(photo: influencercon.com)

Business Insider published a great list this morning of the 25 most influential African American’s in technology.

We were very pleased to find that native Memphian Kimberly Bryant, the founder and creator of Black Girls Code, was ranked number 19 on such an important list.

Kimberly Bryant is an award winning social entrepreneur, technology junkie, an engineer by trade and a native Memphian. She relocated to Silicon Valley and now she’s launched a program that’s rolling out across the country. That program, Black Girls Code, promotes teaching coding and development to young African American Girls.

Bryant describes the mission for Black Girls Code on her website as:

“to introduce programming and technology to a new generation of coders, coders who will become builders of technological innovation and of their own futures.”

Like many others, Bryant believes there’s a “dearth” of African American women in science, technology, engineering and math professions. While some may say it’s because there’s a lack of interest, Bryant knows that it’s more like a lack of access and exposure to STEM topics. The Black Girls Code program is about making STEM topics accessible to African American girls and exposing them at a young age. It’s also done in such a way that it’s fun and positive.

Bryant has held programs through Black Girls Code in cities all over the country and some around the world. Black Girls Code has had events in San Francisco, Chicago, Oakland, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York and even in Johannesburg. Her most recent event was this past Saturday in Atlanta where they taught kids how to develop their own apps using Google’s App Inventor.

Black Girls Code in Memphis debuted back in January at an Open House, they also had booth space at everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference. The weekend following that huge startup event Black Girls Code Memphis held their inaugural event which was met with great success.

Here is the complete list:

1. John Thompson, CEO Virtual Instruments
2. Shellye Archambeau, CEO MetricStream
3. David Drummond, SVP, Chief Legal Officer, Google
4. Ken Coleman, Chairman MIPS Technologies Inc
5. Kirk McDonald, President PubMatic
6. Lisa Lambert, VP and Managing Director of Software & Service, Intel Capital
7. Malik Ducard, Director of Content Partnerships, YouTube
8. Ime Archibong, Manager of Strategic Partnerships, Facebook
9. Ty Ahmad-Taylor, Head of Smart TV, Samsung
10. Erik Moore, Founder and Managing Partner, Base Ventures
11. Tristan Walker, Entrepreneur In Residence, Andreessen Horowitz
12. Kanyi Maqubela, Partner, Collaborative Fund
13. Charles Hudson, Partner at SoftTech VC
14. Michael Siebel, Justin.tv & SocialCam
15. Brian Weston, Analyst, Union Square Ventures
16. Angela Benton, Founder & CEO NewMe Accelerator
17. Tony Guada, CEO and co-founder Bitcasa
18. Jon Gosier, Founder & CEO Metalayer
19. Kimberly Bryant, Founder, BlackGirlsCode
20. Wayne Sutton, Founder & CEO, PitchTo
21. Majora Carter, Founder, Sustainable South Bronx, Startup Box
22. Don Charlton, CEO, Resumator
23. Hamet Watt, Co-Founder MoviePass
24. Stacy Spikes, Co-Founder, MoviePass
25. Will Lucas, Founder & CEO Creadio

Now see 3 things every new startup should do.

Memphis’ Biggest Entrepreneurial Success Story Turns 40

FedEx,Fred Smith,Entrepreneur,Memphis,Memphis startup

(photo: FedEx Facebook)

In 1970 Frederick Wallace Smith embarked on a journey that would change the way that people do business. Smith purchased controlling interest in an aircraft maintenance company called Ark Aviation Sales. In 1971 he started trading used jets and on June 18, 1971 he founded Federal Express. He used a $4 million dollar inheritance (about $25 million today) and raised $91 million dollars in venture capital.

Along the way Smith was criticized because many though his idea about merging ground transportation and aviation to deliver packages overnight was well, crazy. Of course many present day entrepreneurs have been in the same boat.

In 1973 (40 years ago), he began offering overnight delivery services in 25 cities using a fleet of 14 Falcon 20 (DA-20) jets. The foundation for the way FedEx operates today began in 1973 in a model similar to bank clearinghouses. Packages would be brought to Memphis Tennessee and then re-routed out to their destination.

Today, FedEx Express serves 220 countries and territories around the world, and their main hub is still in Memphis Tennessee.

At age 69 Smith is still alive and well and is still at the helm of FedEx which is innovating in several other logistical spaces, while dealing with the disruption in even overnight delivery caused by new ways of communicating (the internet). Sensor products, cloud based services and even taking over the merged FedEx Kinko’s which are now just FedEx Office stores, are helping FedEx continue to deliver on the bottom line.

In his spare time what does Smith do? He serves on boards, like Startup America. Smith is a great friend to entrepreneurs and startup ecosystems at home and across the country.

FedEx is just beginning to celebrate getting “over the hill” and of course they’re doing it with jet power.

Happy Birthday.

Jonesin for more high growth tech news from the South, Click here.

Myth Busters: Money Does Not Grow On Trees In Silicon Valley [video]

Neil Parikh,Communly,Silicon Valley,startup,startup tips,launchyourcity

Communly co-founder Neil Parikh talks with Memphis based entrepreneur Ryan Ramkhelawan at the LaunchLounge on location in Silicon Valley (photo: NMI 2013)

We just wrapped up the LaunchYourCity, nibletz.com mission to Silicon Valley. On that trip we spent lots of time connecting to investors, accelerators, incubators, entrepreneurs and startup founders from San Francisco to Mountain View and everywhere in between.

As the voice of startups everywhere else, we kept our minds open throughout the trip and soaked up every nook and cranny of information that we could.

In working with hundreds of startups across the country, and around the world (everywhere else), we have found that a lot of people think money grows on trees in the valley.

In talking with a variety of Silicon Valley based startups in various stages we found that, that’s not the case. In some cases it’s actually harder to raise money in the valley because there’s much more competition.

Silicon Valley is like the Hollywood of statups. Founders move to Silicon Valley in droves in hopes of getting their big idea discovered. It certainly isn’t that easy.

You have to figure for every idea out there, there are three more people working on that same thing. Sure the biggest VC’s are based in Silicon Valley but they’re getting pitched every minute of everyday. One VC we spoke with said he, like Mark Cuban, routinely gets pitched in the bathroom.

Sure all startups are looking for their big funding break and all VC’s are looking for the next Facebook or Instagram, but the chances that the two will connect are very difficult.

More than one startup founder told us that they had raised money at home, and thought that was the signal that they were ready to raise in Silicon Valley and now they’ve moved onto another startup.

There are several factors that could account for this happening. One is that when you grow your startup in your hometown and can pick up any bit of local traction, your local investors know you. They’ve seen you grow and seen your failures and victories. When you venture out to Silicon Valley you quickly become just another startup.

There’s also a much better chance that an angel or VC in Silicon Valley has heard your particular idea hundreds of times, where your local investors have only heard it once, from you.

Does this mean that you shouldn’t move to Silicon Valley? Not necessarily there are advantages too that we’ll be posting about later. This is definitely some nourishing food for thought though.

We got a chance to talk to 21 year old serial entrepreneur Neil Parikh of Communly about the myth that money grows on trees in Silicon Valley. Check out the video below and check out communly here.

Find a lot more great startup tips here at nibletz.com

Everywhereelse.co 2014 Early Bird Tickets Down To 12, Village Booths 5

After the huge success of everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference last month in Memphis Tennessee, we immediately went to work on 2014.

Dell, American Airlines, Amazon, .co, Baker Donelson, and Archer Malmo have signed on to support the 2014 event of the year and we’ve got more programming, more workshops, FOOD and more for 2014.

Everywhereelse.co 2013 the startup conference featured three days of programming, three startup pitching contests with $60,000 in cash given away, three amazing after parties and every attendee (1280) went to the Memphis Grizzlies NBA game that sunday night.

Everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference is the event for startups “Everywhere Else” we saw attendees from 41 different states and 7 countries with 72 startups from across the country. It’s the largest single venue startup conference in the country and the largest startup conference in the world dedicated to startups everywhere else.

If you’re interested in sponsoring email info@everywhereelse.co

1280 people packed in the ballroom for everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference 2013

Some of our speakers in 2013 included: Scott Case (CEO of Startup America and Co-Founder of Priceline), Ingrid Vanderveldt, Rohit Bhargava, Danny Boice, Brant Cooper, Pat Vlaskovitz, Gabe Lozano, 500 startups graduate Sara Ware and more.

2014 we add more content, a hackathon with Amazon Web Services, Free breakfast and lunch and more.

We introduced the 2014 tickets at 2013 prices, ending on March 27th when our first price increase kicks in. We set aside 400 attendee tickets at the early bird rate and 50 startup village booths. As you can see below we’re down to 12 attendee tickets and 5 startup booths (at least at the time this was written)

Event Registration Online for Everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference 2014 powered by Eventbrite

For more on the conference check out these stories at nibletz

5 Rules For Naming Your Startup: Memphis Firm Offers Advice In SXSW Panel [sxsw]

60 year old Memphis advertising and PR firm archer>malmo presented their panel “When Bad Names Happen To Good Startups” last Monday at SXSW Interactive. Over 100 people attended the panel discussion and stayed throughout the entire hour long session.

archer>malmo Chief Creative Officer Gary Backaus and Senior Copy Writer Justin Dobbs presented the entertaining hour long session for startups curious about naming. The duo of advertising executives mixed humor with the session which made it quite entertaining.

Despite having a client roster that includes names like Pfizer, Verizon and RJ Reynolds, Dobbs broke the ice and established credibility by making light of the fact that the firm is located in Memphis. He showed a few slides of new technologies that archer>malmo currently employs including; email, and intranet. He also showed a slide of a rack card rack that you would find at a hotel, saying they were creating something new called the “Take One”.

When it came down to content though, Dobbs and Backaus gave out some great tips in their “5 Rules for Naming Your Startup”.

1) you’re not naming a startup you’re naming a brand.

2) Create a first impression that’s positive, intriguing and clear

3) Don’t create conceptual or technical hurdles

4) When necessary be descriptive, whoa whoa not that descriptive

5) If it ain’t broke.

It was during the fifth rule where Backaus discussed the work that the firm is doing with nibletz.com The Voice Of Startups Everywhere Else. (disclaimer: nibletz is a portfolio company for archer>malmo a>m ventures arm).

One of the biggest takeaways we got from the panel wasn’t an actual rule “You don’t need a big idea for your name you just need a name for your big idea” Backaus told the audience.

Find out more about archer>malmo here and a>m ventures here.

Here’s more of our great startup coverage from SXSW 2013

American Airlines Takes Notice Of Tennessee’s 9 Accelerator Regions

American Airlines is truly committed to startups and innovation. They are a corporate sponsor of Startup America and offer a huge benefit to Startup America members who sign up for their free Business ExtrAA rewards plan.

American has relationships with several startup organizations and entrepreneurs across the country have noticed there efforts. In 2012 American entered into a partnership with startup and technology blog and events company TechCocktail. They’ve provided sponsored transportation for several startup related events across the country including flights to DEMO in Santa Clara and last year’s SXSW. They know what it’s like for boot strapped entrepreneurs and startups.

Over the summer American Airlines partnered with Startup America for a huge contest. The video contest asked that startups and entrepreneurs tell a story about how travel connection has helped their business. They gave over half a million Business ExtrAA points away with the grand prize winner getting 100,000 points which was good for 50 round trip tickets. That’s a lot of conferences and investor meetings.

American Airlines has now taken notice of Tennessee’s nine startup accelerator regions and Startup Tennessee, the second Startup America Region. Launch Tennessee the public/private partnership that oversees the 9 accelerator region has entered into a relationship with American Airlines.

The company has also entered into a relationship with LaunchYourCity (LaunchMemphis), nibletz.com and everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference. American is helping an initiative for LaunchMemphis that will see local Memphis entrepreneurs venture out to Silicon Valley for a four day outreach trip.

Through nibletz.com and everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference American will be sponsoring the 2014 conference including offering a considerable discount to those traveling on American to the conference (February 17-19th 2014 in Memphis). To take full advantage of the discount attendees should sign up for the free Business ExtrAA program. The discount will be announced in the coming days (and it’s a good one).

While every traveller doesn’t always have the experience they want no matter what airline they travel on, we are always hearing stories about how American Airlines has come through for our fellow entrepreneurs. On stage at everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference, Lean Entrepreneur co-author Brant Cooper talked about a string of delays in getting to the conference. Rather than waiting for Cooper to complain, he reported on stage that American Airlines went proactive and gave him a number of extra Business ExtrAA points for the trouble.

For more information on the benefits American Airlines offers Startup America members sign up for Startup America at s.co and look under the member benefit section.

SXSW 13 Preview: When Bad Names Happen To Good Startups

South By Southwest Interactive 2013 is less than two weeks away and for those of us who are actually going to attend the great panel sessions, keynotes and workshops held throughout downton Austin there’s a great one, no startup wants to miss.

archer>malmo our creative agency and an equity holder in nibletz media, through their am>ventures arm, is holding a panel discussion at the Four Seasons entitled “When Bad Names Happen To Good Startups”

Last August when the SXSWi committee took suggestions for panels archer>malmo submitted this panel that is a must attend for all startups.

archer>malmo has been around over 60 years, and is one of the largest and most widely respected firms located off Madison Avenue. They’ve worked with Fortune 100 companies and some of the top brands in the world including Verizon, Pfizer and RJ Reynolds.

archer>malmo has taken an interest and startups and created an investment arm called am>ventures, for which nibletz is a portfolio company. This experience, working with new entrepreneurs and companies, prompted the creative minds at archer>malmo to start talking about names.

Sometimes entrepreneurs and startup founders don’t fully consider the ramifications of their new name. Many startup founders go for a name based on a creative URL while others use a name ripe for great SEO. Still others have other reasons for a name, like nibletz.

When we originally created nibletz it was a companion site to thedroidguy.com and the original idea was to deliver capsulated tech and startup news. The tag line came first when I thought of the name. “Small Crunchy Bytes From The Tech & Startup Scene” was the line I had come up with. I took it to our massive “Thedroidguy” Twitter following at the time and more than 100 followers suggested the word niblets.

We found that niblets meant corn so we changed the S to a Z. At that time we didn’t look at the Urban Dictionary of the word. In fact it wasn’t until we cleared the 50,000 mark on social followers (we’re now at 130,000) that I bothered to look at the Urban Dictionary meaning (go check for yourself).

Another great story about names came by way of a demo day graduation at Chattanooga’s Gig Tank over the summer. The startup was called Corpora. I was writing a story during their live pitch and while one of our staffers was editing video I began to write but I needed a graphic. So I did what anyone would do and went to Google Images. (now go do it for yourself), pretty bad huh.

These things happen all the time and we don’t want to spoil any of the panel so you should check it out and then decide if you’re too invested to create a better name.

The panel will be hosted by archer>malmo’s Chief Creative Officer Gary Backaus and Senior Copy Writer Justin Dobbs.

Check out our interview with Dobbs about the panel below to get more insight:

archer>malmo was a sponsor of everywhereelse.co 2013 and a presenting corporate sponsor for everywhereelse.co 2014 get your tickets here.

Memphis’ ZeroTo510 Accelerator Opens Applications For 2013

Restore Medical Solutions, Urova, Bioworks, ZeroTo510,Seed Hatchery, Allan Daisley

Shawn Flynn, co-founder of Restore Medical Solutions, pitches at ZeroTo510 investor day, a pitch that led to $2.5 Million dollars in follow on funding (photo: NMI)

Last year, the inaugural Zeroto510 medical device accelerator was met with phenomenal success. Five out of the six participating teams received follow on funding. Four of the teams received $100,000 dollars. The fifth team, Restore Medical Solutions, went straight to raising a Series A round at $2.5 million.

With results like those, medical device startups across the country are feverishly preparing to submit their applications for the next cohort. One of the secrets to the success of the Zeroto510 program is that it is a joint venture between Launch Your City’s Seed Hatchery accelerator and Memphis Bioworks. Bioworks supplies the lab space, and the deep rooted scientific and engineering mentorship. Launch Your City comes in with the curriculum to prepare the startups for pitching and success on the business side of the world.

When compared to other medical based accelerator and incubation programs, Zeroto510, through their unique partnership, is able to get their startup founders to communicate and pitch at a level understandable to the traditional investor, media and public. In a medically based program, founders and entrepreneurs with scientific and engineering backgrounds tend to get the science, and not necessarily the business.

Bioworks is able to offer a bridge from the surrounding medical community including St. Jude’s, Methodist, Vanderbilt University, the University of Memphis and other high ranking leaders in science and medicine, to offer hands on mentorship to refine these great ideas.

Zeroto510 gets it’s name from the FDA’s 510(k) pre-market notification filing. In laymen’s terms this filing allows medical device companies, with similar technology to something that has gone through FDA approval, to fast track a process which can sometimes take 3-5 years.

Six companies will be selected for the 2013 program. Each company will receive $50,000 in initial seed capital and be part of an intensive, mentorship driven 12 week program of instruction and hands on activities to guide the entrepreneurs through the process.

One of the other factors that makes Zeroto510 successful is the cohort size. By having a smaller group, the same size as the tech accelerator Seed Hatchery, the teams get to know each other better and collaborate more meaningfully. Last years program only featured one Memphis based startup. The other five startups relocated to Memphis for the program and are still, growing their companies in Memphis.

“We received applications from across the United States, carefully selected our six
participants and were very pleased with the quality of their ideas, the spirit of comradery that developed, the levels of learning, and, in the end, with the final presentations that resulted in additional funding. We expect even higher quality in 2013.” said Allan Daisley, director of entrepreneurship and sustainability for Memphis Bioworks.

If you’ve got a medical device startup head over to apply here at zeroto510.com

Pink Robin Avenue Brings the Party to EverywhereElse.co And Beyond

By: Brittany Tuggle, University Of Memphis Entrepreneurial Journalism Student

Memphis-based startup Pink Robin Avenue offers personalized party events for any occasion. Clients can discuss everything from color schemes to tablecloths with CEO Danielle Inez, and her team takes care of the rest.

“I want my clients to have a great party experience without sacrificing so much of their time,” says Inez.

What makes Pink Robin Avenue different from other event planning companies is the convenience of it all. Inez gets all the details from her clients in one session; when her website launches, clients will be able to easily create customized events quickly that way as well. The company pre-assembles your selected party items and ships them to you.

“If you envision it, you don’t have to create it. We’ll do it for you. Everything is exactly how you want it and it’s as unique as my client,” said Inez.

Pink Robin Avenue designs events nationwide and is currently working on launching their website and expanding their business. Inez is planning on entering the Black Enterprise Magazine pitch contest later this year in hopes of garnering additional funding.

To start planning your own event, visit: pinkrobinavenue.com<http://pinkrobinavenue.com> or twitter.com/pinkrobinavenue<http://twitter.com/pinkrobinavenue>.

Be sure not to miss next years, everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference, Click Here

Plixser Addressing The Pains Between Music Students & Music Teachers

Plixser, Memphis startup, everywhereelse.co the startup conference, ee2013

Plixser founder Marcus Wiggins pitching in video contest finals at everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference. (photo: Allie Fox for NMI)

By: Calvin Carter, University Of Memphis Entrepreneurial Journalism Student

Plixser, a music teaching startup, is hoping to expand nationwide from its base in Memphis.

Plixser is a software program that attempts to fix many of the headaches faced by music teachers and students. The program features a live-streaming function for teachers to give lessons to students online, an automated billing system, and the ability to track lesson completion.

Marcus Wiggins, a doctoral student at the University Of Memphis who has been involved in music since the 8th grade, is the founder.

“I know the pains of both the teacher and the student, and Plixser can eliminate those pains,” he said.

By the time you read this, Plixser will have already officially launched. It spent two to three weeks in beta, gaining a positive reaction from ten teachers and students so far, Wiggins said. But Wiggins will continue to spread the word about the music program outside of Memphis, starting with an upcoming event with the Texas Music Educator’s Association. He hopes to garner some interest from the crowd of 25,00 expected to attend.

In it for the long haul, it appears that Wiggins is already enduring the trying moments of being an entrepreneur.

“The sexiness of being an entrepreneur wears off real quick, especially when you get no sleep and are working all the time,” he said.

But Wiggins said he shares one goal of many entrepreneurs trying to solve a problem: going beyond just having a job. “I want it to be that this is who I am and not what I do,” Wiggins said. “…. I want to fund the life that I live.”

Did you miss EE 2013? Don’t miss EE 2014 tickets available here

Black Girls Code Shows Off At EE 2013 A Week Before Launch

By Calvin Carter, University of Memphis Entrepreneurial Journalism Student

Kimberley Bryant grew up in Memphis, but her startup, Black Girls Code, originated in San Francisco, where the biotechnology/engineering professional is currently based. The organization, which aims to teach young women of color ages 7 to 17 skills in computer programming and digital technology, has branched out to other cities before Memphis, including Chicago. It wouldn’t be until a local architect, Meka Egwuekwe, reached out that the startup would find itself in Memphis.

“I messaged her [Bryant] about it on Twitter,” Egwuekwe recalled.

Egwuekwe’s interest and involvement in the program—he has two daughters—has launched it from one-man operation in to a team of 20 to 30 volunteers.

Black Girls Gode has seen a lot of interest, and will hold a workshop February 16 at Rhodes University to help young women learn how to build their own websites. It immediately filled up with 60 participants, and a follow-up workshop is being planned.

Black Girls Code is another sign that Memphis isn’t as behind in embracing the 21^st century as some outsiders or even some insiders may think.

“People seem to have this stereotype about Memphis,” Egwuekwe noted. “They find it hard to believe that we have stuff going on here with technology. They still think that this is the Memphis of 45 years ago, or what they’ve seen in documentaries.”

Did you miss everywhereelse.co 2013, well don’t miss next year’s conference, tickets available here.

Women Rock The Startup World At Huge Startup Conference

By Tyler Stafford & Rachel Wilhite, University Of Memphis Entrepreneurial Journalism Students

The “The Kick Ass Female Founders from Everywhere Else” was a success at the Everywhereelse.co The Startup Conference in Memphis, TN. The topics discussed expanded on those typically covered in the male-dominated world of all things entrepreneurial, and this gave the conference a girl power kick in the khakis.

The panelists included Sarah Ware of Markerly; Wendy MacKinnon Keith of Digital Retail Apps; Kelsey Meyer of Digital Talent Agents; and Andrea Livingston of Grit Design, Inc.

Elizabeth Lemmonds, the Chief Brand Officer of Launch Memphis, moderated the event. Danielle Inez of Pink Robin Avenue provided the questions for the Q & A that followed.

One of the most provocative questions asked at the event was, “Can the woman entrepreneur have it all?” Panelists noted that one of the concerns shared by many women entering the startup field, as well as men, is whether or not they can have a family life with a partner and kids and juggle the numerous demands of entrepreneurial ventures.

In her tongue-in-cheek response to this query, Andrea Livingston said that nobody can have it all, but they can make it work regardless. “Our house is like a comedy of errors every minute of every day,” she said.

“No one can have it all, but you can have moments,” said Keith, adding that “it’s about quality of time; not quantity.”

There is a silver lining, though. Not only do entrepreneurs have the ability to create businesses, they can also create their own schedules and set their own priorities.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a woman or a man,” said Livingston, “you better show up and be ready to work your ass off.”

The Everywhere Else startup community is eager to collaborate together rather than compete against one another. Entrepreneurship is about taking risks, learning to accept failures and respecting others (as well as yourself) throughout the process.

Wendy MacKinnon Keith agreed that women cannot have it all, but that they certainly can have “moments.” She said that it isn’t just the quantity of time that matters, but the quality.

Women in Memphis looking for advice and support in their own business endeavors should check out Upstart Memphis, an organization dedicated to fueling women’s innovation and entrepreneurship at www.upstartmemphis.com.

For more information on the panelists featured, follow them on Twitter:@WareSarah; @gritdesign; @digitalretail; @DTAgents; @SocialDani; @elizlemmonds

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