Last November, when MBJ asked participants of the ZeroTo510 Medical Device Accelerator to share highlights of the program’s first in-person week, most had a similar answer — they enjoyed having dinner together.
“Everybody’s talking about their families, and their dogs, and all that stuff, and you can really get to know someone a little bit more,” Tyler Melton, co-founder of Caridian Medical, said at the time. “It was a good example of people having the time to talk about themselves in a personal way, not just, ‘These are my business goals' … [We were] actually humanizing each other."
Though they were roughly two months into Epicenter’s three-month accelerator — which helps early-stage medical device startups refine their business model and navigate through the startup process — it was the first time they had met each other in-person. And this was unusual for the program.
Traditionally, it has been held completely in-person. The accelerator attracts fledgling businesses and entrepreneurs from across the country; and sometimes, they’ll even remain in Memphis after the program is complete. But in 2020, Epicenter forwent the accelerator because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and instead offered a condensed, five-week program. In 2021, the organization did hold the accelerator, but with the virus still raging, the lion’s share was done over Zoom.
ZeroTo510 was held from Sept. 8 to Dec. 9 last year, and only two small portions of it — from Nov. 1-4 and Dec. 7-9 — took place in-person.
This year's format
This fall’s program, however, should be different. Though Epicenter plans to once again use a hybrid format, the in-person component has been significantly amplified. Last year, participants wished they’d been able to meet the other members of their cohort in-person sooner, and not two months in.
This year's participants are set to get that wish granted, plus more. The 2022 program is scheduled to launch on Sept. 12, with an in-person week that’s followed by three weeks of virtual sessions, and then another in-person week. This is the format Epicenter will follow: a rotation between an on-location week and three virtual weeks, until the accelerator’s conclusion. It is planned to end in-person on Dec. 9, and overall, about a third of the program should be held in-person.
“We know in a virtual environment, it’s hard to create that connection or community to Memphis,” said Danielle Gore, Epicenter’s senior manager of innovation programs. “But we’re hoping that, by doing it this way, we’re able to get them more connected to the community, and more connected to the resources that are here. And that’s our overall goal of this approach.”
So, with that in mind, why not just have the entire program be held in-person?
Because, Gore explained, Epicenter has found there are benefits to having a virtual component. For example, the organization brings in an array of mentors for the participants, and the remote option allows them to use more mentors from throughout the country.
That’s not to say Epicenter won’t ever go back to a completely in-person format, as Gore noted that she’s not 100% sure the accelerator will use this model forever. One of Epicenter’s primary objectives of the ZeroTo510 accelerator is to convince participants to relocate to Memphis, or at least have them working with local businesses and institutions even after the program ends.
And the accelerator’s future format could in part be determined by how successful it is in this endeavor.
“For now, we think this model works, and is convenient,” Gore said. “We’ll probably look back from a data point perspective and say, ‘How many companies relocated to Tennessee or Memphis? How many are actually doing business with some of our partners here?' And when we see those results and they’re positive, then we can feel okay about sticking with this model.”
The accelerator's layout
Applications for this year’s program are open, with a July 22 deadline. Epicenter will accept four to six medical device startups, which will receive up to $50,000 in funding from Epicenter and its venture capital partner Innova Memphis, plus extensive training and guidance as they look to strengthen their fledging companies. Promising local startups like SweetBio, Hera Health Solutions, and Diatech Diabetes are all alumni of the program.
The accelerator focuses on effective business and finance practices, while also placing an emphasis on components specific to medical devices and the health care sector — like navigating through regulatory affairs and gaining FDA clearance. A significant amount of time is spent on product development, which is led by Epicenter’s engineer-in-residence.
“We do many things that push the needle on both the business front and the medical device-specific front,” Gore said.
In addition to this, participants also do things like weekly pitch practices, so they can become adept at effectively interacting with potential investors. And they become heavily engaged with the program’s alumni, their mentors, and other local leaders and groups that can both benefit their business, and bolster their connection to Memphis.
For example, last year's cohort visited local manufacturing facilities. They met with Regional One Health president and CEO Reginald Coopwood, and the hospital system’s Center for Innovation director, Alejandra Alvarez. They toured the headquarters of SOMAVAC Medical Solutions Inc., an alum of the ZeroTo510 accelerator that’s found significant success since completing the program in 2016.
Activities like this can also aid Epicenter as it looks to help keep the startups in Memphis — a task that Gore hopes will soon become easier.
“Our overall goal is that in the next three to five years, every company that’s coming through our accelerator, is wanting to start a business in Memphis, and it’s a no-brainer,” she said. “They see the ecosystem, they see the opportunities, they see the resources, and the attention that their startup will get, and they’re relocating here."
