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Launching Launchpad
By Will | December 3, 2007
Mercury Launchpad just launched here in Memphis a couple weeks ago. They aim to make it a little easier for micro-startups to get going.
They are a venture of Mercury Tech Labs. I was invited to their launch party and wrote a little about it on my personal blog. It was enjoyable to meet some other local businesses people who are interested in enhancing the city’s capability to launch new companies, especially in the high-tech areas.
What will they do? Basically, it is an incubator for really small start-ups. The interesting part is that your small company (perhaps between 1 and 4 people) can join and utilize facilities, consulting, and networking among other members. The set up works well for small entrepreneur with perhaps several ideas they are prototyping.
An excerpt from their site:
The Mercury Launchpad is a rapid business prototyping center and convergence point for early stage technology businesses in the Mid-South. Operated as a membership based center, the Launchpad combines the benefits of collaboration with structured advising to assist entrepreneurs and technologists alike in growing their technology based businesses. By bringing together top talent in emerging business, the Launchpad will support and facilitate swift and smart business decision making through discourse with others, knowledge exchange, and professional networking. People do better, more value-added work when working together.
The lab will be perfect for working multiple ideas, and perhaps letting a few drop. It is not necessarily based on running a single idea through and then dropping the ideas and the people when it does not work. It is looking for people who will generate and rapidly prototype ideas, looking for that gem.
Many small companies in these areas suffer from a couple different things: money and support/ network of people. The money helps get things going, and a network of people can offer support, ideas, consultation, and even potential employees of these future companies.
I think that incubators like this, combined with building a solid community of Angel investors could really create a successful formula for enhancing smaller-capitalized areas’ ability to launch companies. Good luck to Mercury Launchpad!
Topics: Startups |
