CREATING A BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT where entrepreneurship thrives By Leslie Lynn Smith, President & CEO, EPICENTER As our region’s entrepreneurship hub, we take very seriously our responsibility to understand the economic, cultural, and policy conditions — from the local level to the federal level — that are most likely to encourage entrepreneurial activities within our community. After all, most jobs in our country are added from start-ups and small businesses. Relative to Memphis, at Epicenter, we wake up every day committed to creating a culture that lifts up the voices of entrepreneurs and celebrates their success and role in our community. We also work to remove barriers for entrepreneurs and increase access to resources for all members of our community. We encourage a mindset of investing as if we’ll succeed, not fail, which requires a shift from a scarce environment of resources for entrepreneurs to an abundant one. At the center of all of these efforts is our focus on justice and inclusion. To do this cultural work, we’re strengthening the comprehensive system of support that provides seamless access to the ideas, people, money, and customers entrepreneurs need to be successful. For example, Epicenter’s role is to identify gaps in its ecosystem, and, not surprisingly, what comes up most is access to capital. We’ve approached these gaps with a “capital stack” concept, which prioritizes access to a variety of capital types – from angel investment, to bank debt and equity – all designed to help entrepreneurs scale no matter their stage of business. For example, we’re piloting a Friends and Family Fund, designed for small entrepreneurial businesses in the Memphis area to meet a onetime capital milestone. It is also intended to fill a gap where investments from “friends and family” may not be available to an entrepreneur – this is often the case in underrepresented communities, such as entrepreneurs of color and women.
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MOMENTUM MAGAZINE
