Questions
How is the plan different from the many minority business efforts of the past?
This plan is laser-focused on a particular customer segment - the 800 black firms (out of 39,800) with paid employees - in order to accomplish two goals: double the revenue of 50 of them and grow the 800 to 1,000. Because the misalignment of partners is one of the main reasons civic efforts, especially minority business efforts, don’t get off the ground, this plan will focus on bringing together partners who fit how we improve the supply chain of support to minority firms. The 800 Initiative injects innovative and lean methods into the business and technical assistance being provided to match the innovation economy these minority firms will be growing into; this switch from a factory model style of programming to a apprenticeship model will be critical. Other differences are highlighted in the plan under the recommendations section. If entrepreneurship in general for Memphis is under-resourced, why not focus on all entrepreneurship and not just minorities? There are current efforts to move entrepreneurship forward for the City of Memphis to continue to dig the community out of its lack of participation in the innovation and entrepreneurship economy. However, the lack of inclusion of minority businesses, especially at the stages of customer validation and market entry, uncovered the need for a major push to scale minority firms in a city that is 67% minority if we are to see a true rising standard of living for all citizens. Did you research and engage the community before writing this plan? The 800 Initiative undertook a 6-month planning process of primary and secondary research, over 100 customer and partner interviews, and testing of programs before bringing the plan to its current form. There have been a total of more than 1,000 hours invested into this plan. Furthermore, this plan is written based on running experiments through the Propel Minority Business Accelerator the last two years, and the work that Start Co. and Epicenter have undertaken to bring new methods to growing minority firms. This initiative is by no means written in stone, and it will actually go through a 6-month building phase to continue to talk to the community and realign partners, among other things. Please see the market analysis section of the strategic plan for more information on engaging the community. Does this plan factor into the City of Memphis’ efforts to grow minority business? Yes, this effort was born out of Mayor Strickland’s Office of Business Diversity & Compliance. The 800 Initiative was actually a result of the success of the Propel Minority Business Accelerator, which showed the need to expand for the benefit of more minority firms. The newly opened Universal Life Building will house certain parts of the plan as well as house select minority firms who need office space. How/why did you choose Christian Brothers University as the initial university partner? Christian Brothers University was chosen as the initial university partner because of how it fared in the following criteria: embracing innovation/entrepreneurship, not only for improving student outcomes, but also university outcomes; economic alignment with its students and the community; past pursuits of entrepreneurship, for students, faculty, and administrators; entry point for adult learners; willingness to integrate entrepreneurship across the departments; speed and nimbleness for execution. CBU will ignite the 800 Initiative with the intention to incorporate other university partners for the success of the effort. Is this plan replicating what the Mid-South Minority Business Continuum does? The plan does not replicate the Mid-South Minority Business Continuum or other similar organizations because this plan focuses on helping minority firms in the Incubating Phase (proving the viability of the business and market opportunity) or Demonstrating Phase (gaining customer traction). Furthermore, the 800 Initiative will bring assistance and resources to match these phases of the business from customer discovery, improvements to their service/product, and assistance to secure seed funding. The MMBC focuses on helping firms in the Market Entry Phase and the Growth/Sustainability Phase, and providing the right assistance to match this level of minority firms. The 800 Initiative will increase the amount of quality minority firms who can take advantage of later-stage support organizations like the MMBC. Why is this focused on minorities and not women? The 800 Initiative is focused on the challenges that people of color face when growing their businesses in Memphis because of unique challenges this population faces that deserve a unique plan of support: greatest disparity of receipt participation, greatest disparity in household wealth, greatest disparity in education, and greatest disparity of social capital. The Initiative is not tone deaf to other underserved populations, and hopes that it will fit into the already existing support resources that Memphis offers for small business, locally owned businesses, women-led businesses, and minority-led businesses. Are you duplicating what Epicenter Memphis is doing? Epicenter is a critical partner of the 800 Initiative, as they are a funder and a service provider. This initiative fits into the plan that Epicenter has to grow all entrepreneurship for Memphis. In fact, their support is helping to rally $7MM additional dollars to support minority firms and entrepreneurship in general. |