Diversity is a hallmark of Memphis’ population. And the city is known for its entrepreneurial nature. The inaugural class of Memphis Inno's Startups to Watch reflects that racial, gender, and business-focused diversity.
Since its fall 2021 launch, Memphis Inno — MBJ’s brand geared toward startups, technology, and innovation — has expanded its coverage of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. The section highlights startups and founders who are breaking technological ground in their respective industries, with new ventures and innovative product offerings. Represented among Memphis Inno’s Startups to Watch in 2022 are entities with concerns as varied as medical technology, music and digital content, transportation, finance, and retail.
Some are early stage companies figuring out how to get off the ground, and others already have significant sources of funding and are looking to scale up. All are uniquely Memphis ventures.
ConveyMD
Spotify for medical professionals. That is the lofty goal of Memphis-based startup ConveyMD, which is focused on app-based delivery of medical podcasts.
Led by CEO Mike Donoghue and cofounder Chris West, ConveyMD has significant growth plans. The platform launched in 2021 and carries about 100 podcasts on the app. The founders’ startup thesis is that young health care professionals “crave this kind of content, delivered this way,” Donoghue said.
A Podcasting Industry Report from Insider Intelligence found that the number of monthly U.S. podcast listeners was expected to reach 117 million in 2021. And younger consumers — ConveyMD’s target audience — are helping drive this growth, as the report asserted that 60% of American adults ages 18 to 34 listen to podcasts monthly.
Much of the content offered by ConveyMD is free. Yet through partnerships with continuing medical education (CME) providers, ConveyMD will also provide exclusive, accredited content for purchase.
According to a data report from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), there were more than 1 million hours of CME instruction in 2020, including interactions with 45 million health care professionals.
A significant market exists for such content, delivered in podcast form.
“Podcasting is here to stay; it’s just been underutilized for medical education,” Donoghue said. “We believe there’s a big opportunity to move people from webinars to podcasts, because of the convenience and accessibility.”
