Emerge Memphis

What Emerge Memphis does

Emerge Memphis is a private Memphis-based economic development entity that operated as the city's first business incubator from 1999 to 2019, providing workspace, mentorship, and corporate-engagement support to early-stage, growth-oriented technology companies and to women- and minority-owned businesses. Over its 20-year operating life it housed innovation centers for three Fortune 500 companies (FedEx, Cardinal Health, Hilton) and incubated 242 companies that collectively created 750+ direct and 3,225 post-incubation jobs, generated $7.4M in private investment, and produced $62.8M in cumulative revenue. Two notable accelerators — StartCo and Seed Hatchery — originated from the Emerge building.

In 2019 founder Bryan M. Eagle III sold the Tennessee Street property, exited the incubation business, and converted proceeds into the $5 million Formation Fund, a venture vehicle co-created with Epicenter Memphis (ecosystem/deal-flow) and Innova (capital). The Formation Fund now invests in Memphis-based technology companies operating in logistics, home services, medical tech, and ag-tech, and draws deal flow from the University of Memphis Patents2Products program and Christian Brothers University's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Operationally, Emerge is a small team of 1-10 employees with no disclosed revenue, no product pricing, and a single-Memphis geographic footprint. Its business model is a hybrid of fund management (Formation Fund AUM) and non-profit economic-development activity, with no traditional product/SaaS or service revenue stream captured in the source data.

Name

Emerge Memphis

Legal name

Emerge Memphis

Website

https://emergememphis.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Emerge Memphis is a Memphis-based venture fund and former startup incubator, founded in 1999 by Bryan M. Eagle III, that now deploys a $5M Formation Fund into early-stage Memphis technology companies in logistics, home services, medical tech, and ag-tech, sourced via Epicenter, Innova, and local university partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Incubator & Venture Fund

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Accelerators & Startup Programs (FSANAHAD), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Venture Creation Centers (EDAHAHAH)

Keywords

• Startup incubation services
• Venture capital fund
• Business accelerator
• Early-stage investment
• Entrepreneurship support

Headquarters

HQ city

Memphis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Emerge Memphis is a non-profit economic development organization that operated as Memphis's first business incubator (1999–2019), providing incubation workspace, mentorship, and corporate innovation center hosting for early-stage technology companies and women/minority-owned businesses. In 2019, the founder exited the incubation business, sold the building, and converted the proceeds into the $5 million Formation Fund — a venture fund in partnership with Epicenter and Innova that invests in Memphis-based companies creating tech innovation in logistics, home services, medical tech, and ag-tech.

Product overview

Emerge Memphis operated as an incubator from 1999 to 2019, providing incubation services to early-stage tech companies and women/minority-owned businesses. The company also housed corporate innovation centers for Fortune 500 companies and hosted startup accelerators. In 2019, after exiting the incubation business, the company pivoted to operating the Formation Fund, a $5 million venture fund focused on Memphis-based tech companies in logistics, home services, medical tech, and ag-tech sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Incubation Services Incubation services provided from 1999 to 2019 from the building on Tennessee Street, supporting early-stage, growth-oriented technology-based companies as well as women- and minority-owned businesses in Memphis. Services included workspace, mentorship programs, hosting of Fortune 500 corporate innovation centers (FedEx, Cardinal Health, Hilton), and the launch of two accelerators (StartCo and Seed Hatchery).
• Formation Fund A $5 million venture fund created in 2019 in partnership with Epicenter and Innova, focusing on Memphis-based companies creating tech innovation in logistics, home services, medical tech, and ag-tech. It also supports companies coming out of the Patents2Products partnership between the University of Memphis, Epicenter, and Christian Brothers University's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 242 companies incubated over 20 years
• +5 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Epicenter MemphiscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Epicenter Memphis partnered with founder Bryan M. Eagle III to co-create the $5 million Formation Fund in 2019. Epicenter Memphis serves as a key ecosystem partner for early-stage Memphis technology companies, providing pipeline and support for the fund's investment activities.
• Patents2Products (University of Memphis & Epicenter partnership)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Patents2Products is a partnership between the University of Memphis and Epicenter that supports commercialization of university IP. The Formation Fund will support companies coming out of this partnership, providing investment and ecosystem resources to technology ventures originating from Memphis academic institutions.
• Christian Brothers University's Center for Entrepreneurship and InnovationsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019The Formation Fund supports companies coming out of Christian Brothers University's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, providing investment pathways for entrepreneurs graduating from this university accelerator program.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Y Combinator: World's largest startup accelerator providing seed funding, mentorship, and cohort-based programming to early-stage technology companies. Directly comparable model to Emerge's incubation services and venture fund activities.
• Idealab: Long-running technology startup studio and incubator creating and funding early-stage technology companies. Comparable founding-era legacy, incubation-to-investment operating model, and multi-sector tech thesis.
• Innovation Works (Pittsburgh): Pittsburgh-based seed-stage investor and incubator supporting robotics, AI, and life sciences startups. A regional fund/accelerator hybrid comparable in scope and ethos to Emerge Memphis's mission-oriented, geographically anchored model.
• Techstars: Global accelerator and investor-operator with thematic programs across fintech, healthtech, logistics, and more. Highly comparable to Emerge Memphis's accelerator heritage and current seed-stage venture fund model, though Techstars operates at much larger scale.
• gener8tor: Mid-continent accelerator network running cohort-based programs and managing seed funds in multiple U.S. cities. Operates as a regional fund/accelerator hybrid very similar to Emerge Memphis's pivot toward the Formation Fund.
• ZeroTo510: Memphis-based medical device and healthcare accelerator specifically focused on medical tech startups. Direct overlap with Emerge Memphis's Formation Fund medical-tech thesis track.
• 1871 (Chicago): Chicago-based nonprofit technology hub and incubator providing workspace, mentorship, and programming to early-stage companies. Direct peer to Emerge Memphis's 1999-2019 physical incubator operating model.
• MassChallenge: Global nonprofit accelerator running equity-free programs supporting early-stage entrepreneurs with mentorship and corporate partnerships. Comparable mission-driven accelerator model to Emerge Memphis.

Regional players

• BIO Enterprise / JumpStart Health: Midwest healthcare/medical-tech focused business accelerator and fund. Comparable through Emerge Memphis's medical tech thesis and similar nonprofit/regional investor mission.
• EPIcenter Memphis (RevUnit): Adjacent Memphis-based entrepreneurship and innovation hub. Co-created the Formation Fund with Emerge and overlaps in serving the local startup ecosystem, making it a regional peer and co-fund partner rather than a head-to-head competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EmergeMemphis
• Facebookfacebook.com/emergememphis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emergememphis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Emerge Memphis