A variety of medical devices. Music distribution and monetization. Cloud labor for restaurants. Cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabigerol (CBG) products.
As time has passed, the startup scene in Memphis has grown and diversified, and if you need evidence of this, just take a look at the stories about local entrepreneurs written in 2022. These are people who hold differing interests and origins, but share common underlying drives — they’re trying to better their industries and society.
And many of them are devoted to Memphis.
Now, you can read about these entrepreneurs and their emerging ventures, in MBJ's 2022 startup year in review.
Jan. 6: SOMAVAC talks funding, regional expansion
MBJ catches up with SOMAVAC co-founder and CEO Esra Roan, as she and her startup have been busy. Its flagship product — an FDA-approved, wearable surgical drain pump device — has continued to be used and the company has just secured $1 million of a new, $3 million funding round, which will go toward commercialization.
It also has plans to expand into what Roan calls “Region Two,” which will likely be in the Charlotte area.
“Five years from now, I want SOMAVAC to be the standard of care in every operating room (OR) in the country,” Roan says. “I want every physician to be asking for a SOMAVAC when they’re utilizing a drain for an elective case."
Feb. 22: Bite Ninja’s big plans
MBJ chats with Will Clem, whose startup, Bite Ninja, provides cloud labor for restaurants. Restaurants can use Bite Ninja’s platform to outsource drive-thru and counter shifts to the startup’s network of trained 1099 contractors, and its model has caught on quickly.
The startup closed a $4 million seed round in November, and most of the major brands in the U.S. have reached out to it. Bite Ninja, at the time, has a presence with 20 to 30 different chains.
March 10: Connect Music starts to build a music city
Connect Music distributes songs globally, and ensures that its artists, writers, and producers receive compensation and recognition for their work. MBJ talks to CEO George Monger, as the startup has just made a major move: for about $2.5 million, it’s purchased the 31,000-square-foot Downtown building at 158 Vance Ave., where it’s placing its headquarters.
And the plan is for the space to do more than just house its employees.
“I feel a responsibility [for it] to be a gathering space, a collaborative space … a space for entertainment-focused entrepreneurs to intersect with content creators,” Monger says. “We’ve got to build a community, that when out-of-town music executives come into Memphis, it feels akin to the same thing they may have experienced — from an infrastructure perspective — in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, or Nashville.”
March 16: Stock in Motion
Former FedEx execs Mike Rude and Aly Hancock have left the corporate behemoth and used their knowledge to launch a startup: S+V Technologies, a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business that’s set to provide online merchants with another class of inventory.
MBJ chats with Rude and Hancock about this alternate option — “Stock in Motion” — why they decided to start a business, and their plans for its future.
March 25: Spesana gains momentum
Spesana provides an aggregated medical record to ensure cancer patients gets the best, most efficient care possible, based on their overall needs. MBJ catches up with CEO Carla Balch, as the company has raised new funds, grown its employee count, and launched new offerings.
April 20: Blank Beauty polishes its plans
Are you particular about nail polish? If so, then Blank Beauty’s product might interest you, as it dispenses custom-colored nail polish. With the company quickly gaining steam, MBJ talks to CEO Charles Brandon about its name change — it used to be called Beauty By Me — its plans to partner with retailers, and its online offering.
May 18: SweetBio looks to enter the home
SweetBio — which has an FDA-approved, bioengineered wound care product — is one of the most well-known startups in the Bluff City. MBJ chats with co-founder and CEO Kayla Rodriguez Graff about its plans for commercialization, and its effort to get its product into people’s homes — which could make it more accessible.
“The home has become the most convenient and practical place of care so, 'How do we fit in this space, and where is it that we can innovate to help improve care in this space?'” Rodriguez Graff says. “'How do we get more advanced technologies in the home?’”
June 15: George Monger and co. connect the dots
Local alternative investment firm Preserver Partners has committed a $10 million credit facility to Connect Music, which plans to use the funds to support the work of independent and legacy artists, and ensure they keep the ownership rights to their songs.
It’s a big victory for Connect, and MBJ speaks to both its CEO, George Monger, and Preserver’s president, Floyd Tyler.
“Here you have two minority firms, based in Memphis, who have decided to partner to build something that doesn’t exist in this community, or in the Southeast,” Tyler says.
June 22: Erika Dillard’s eye-opening experience
Erika Dillard’s startup, PopCheck Technologies, is developing a product that could predict if hospital patients are going to develop venous blood clots. She has confident in its future, and she’s not the only one. Because Dillard's business has been chosen for the MedTech Innovator, an elite, four-month accelerator for medical technology startups with a 5% acceptance rate. Of the more than 1,000 applicants from 49 countries and 43 states, only 50 startups were selected.
She’s just returned from the accelerator’s kickoff, so MBJ catches up with her to see what it was like.
“It was an eye-opening experience for me,” she says. “And as a founder, and just because of some of my experiences in medicine, I almost don’t necessarily give myself the credit that I probably should. So, this was a good boost for me.”
July 25: Kontji Anthony follows her dream
Kontji Anthony had been in journalism for almost 30 years, and worked hard to build a successful career. But in the spring, she chose to leave her job as an anchor with Action News 5, to go all-in on her startup, Youdle.
MBJ catches up with her to discuss why she chose to take the leap.
“I felt that if I didn’t do this when my contract came up,” she says, “I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”
Aug. 8: Hemp2Lab’s jackhammer, and Avadain’s big boost
At first glance, former WWE champion Bill Goldberg isn’t someone you’d think would be collaborating with a Memphis-area CBD company. But that’s just what he did.
MBJ reports that Goldberg has partnered with Hemp2Lab, a Rossville, Tennessee-based CBD and CBG product manufacturer. The two are set to launch a custom label, Gallant, a new line of wellness products that are designed to maximize nutrient delivery and athletic performance.
That same day, MBJ notes that Avadain — which plans to license out a graphene manufacturing process — has raised $1.37 million through its crowdfunding campaign.
Aug. 21: The ninjas take a big bite of funding
MBJ catches up with Bite Ninja CEO Will Clem, as his startup is making significant moves. It’s completed an $11.3 million funding round — bringing its total funding to $15.4 million — and it’s working with more than 50 brands. Some of these brands have only signed on for pilots, which means they could only be using Bite Ninja’s offerings in one location. But some of them are also major national chains, which could lead to major deals.
“That’s why we’re excited,” Clem says. “If that first store goes well, it can quickly grow to a lot of stores.”
Sept. 14: S+V’s 'Fantastic market demand'
S+V Technologies has gained a significant amount of momentum, so MBJ catches up with its founders, Mike Rude and Aly Hancock.
Their product has officially gone live on Shopify, where it can provide its offering to the e-commerce platform’s more than one million clients, as they prepare for peak season.
“We firmly believe, now that we’re in market, as we start to turn on all the channels of marketing … that this is going to have a really fantastic market demand,” Rude says.
Sept. 16: SOMAVAC makes its move, and raises more funds
MBJ checks in with SOMAVAC CEO Esra Roan. Her company has secured $2 million of a $3 million seed round. It’s expanded into the Charlotte area — which it refers to as “Region Two” — where it’s hired a regional director. And, it’s been issued a U.S. patent for a second device, which could provide surgeons with a more comprehensive solution that treats both the interior and exterior of a surgical wound.
“The company is on a great trajectory right now, with a lot of positive momentum, traction, and commercialization,” Roan says. “And this patent position only strengthens our desire, mission, and commitment to grow a company with a great platform to help patients after surgeries, and solve real health care platforms and save money in the health care system.”
Sept. 20: Howard Robertson plays Ode
MBJ chats with Howard Robertson, who has created Play Ode — a new app that aggregates Black-owned radio stations and podcasts from across the country so that people can listen wherever they are.
“Our tagline is ‘Hear us here,’” he says. “This is a platform that celebrates Black radio, Black information, and Black entertainment."
Oct. 6: Diatech dials up momentum
Diatech Diabetes is developing a software platform called SmartFusion, to help people with diabetes obtain proper amounts of insulin. MBJ chats with co-founder and CEO John Wilcox, as his startup has partnered with both a European insulin pump manufacturer and a U.S. insulin pump manufacturer — which it’s set to do clinical trials with.
“We’re trying to continue making a lot of progress … and we’re still very confident in our go-to-market plan,” Wilcox says. “So, we’re continuing to chug, and it’s a continued effort."
Nov. 22: Copy.ai continues to scale
Copy.ai uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help businesses write and adjust various forms of marketing copy, and it’s growing quickly. MBJ catches up with CEO and co-founder John Yacoubian, who details how its size has changed.
In October 2021, the startup had 12 employees, about 5,000 customers, and $2.3 million in recurring revenue. When he talks to MBJ, it has 30 employees spread throughout the country, around 24,000 customers, and a revenue run rate of $11.4 million.
Nov. 29: S+V locks in a deal with project44
MBJ talks to S+V Technologies founders Mike Rude and Aly Hancock about their startup’s partnership with project44 — a leading visibility platform that employs over 1,000 people.
Dec. 13: Connect Music goes international
Connect Music has acquired MTX Music, a music distribution business based in the London area that will ultimately become MTX-Connect. MBJ discusses the move with CEO George Monger, and head of music Askia Fountain.
“It’s us looking at things from a global perspective,” Fountain says. “We want to be able to work with a lot of artists all over the world and be able to support them.”
Dec. 16: Erika Dillard expands her team
Erika Dillard is PopCheck Technologies’ sole employee, which means she’s playing the role of CEO, CTO, COO, and just about any other title you can come up with.
But this, she tells MBJ, is set to change.
Because in January, Dillard is bringing on her technical advisor, Tamara Baynham, Ph.D., as a part-time VP of engineering. And Baynham’s experience lines up well with her startup’s goals.
“Where I'm doing all these things for the first time, she does them in her sleep,” Dillard says. “So, she's going to be able to move the needle a lot faster than I am. … It's going to allow us to do these things much quicker, and much more efficiently."
