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.
PopCheck Technologies
In 2019, Erika Dillard was the first person admitted into the Patents2Products program, a partnership between the University of Memphis and Epicenter that hires post-doc fellows to start businesses using patented intellectual property.
Dillard is the founder of PopCheck Technologies, a startup developing a product that could predict if hospital patients are likely to develop venous blood clots.
Detecting them in patients can be challenging, especially in the days after they’ve returned home. But Dillard’s device is set to predict if a patient will end up with a venous blood clot by measuring biomarkers externally and using an algorithm that determines if emerging patterns are consistent with the development of one.
It’s currently in the prototype stage, but the final product will function like this: An adhesive will be attached to the patient’s leg, and embedded electrodes will provide stimulation to the muscles to prompt blood flow. This will allow it to measure biomarker, to determine if there are concerning patterns.
To pay for her work, Dillard is seeking $1 million in funding. She’s entered various pitch competitions and, so far, has won about $75,000 from those competitions and from grants. This includes her recent first-place victory at the National Black MBA Association’s Scale-Up Pitch Challenge, which netted her $50,000.
