Memphis Entrepreneurism — Doing it Our Way

Having spent the weekend at Memphis’ first BarCamp, I was struck by how different Memphis is from other cities that are trying to develop an entrepreneurial environment.  In most cities an event like this would be filled with white males under the age of 35.  Not here.  Looking around the rooms, it was obvious to me that we have attracted a different audience.  Our audience consists of a mix that, well, looks more like our country.  This is in terms of race, gender, physically impaired and not, and pretty much whatever dimension you could think of.  I suppose this is also an extension of how LaunchMemphis was organized, as it is also diverse in terms of gender, race, and age.  None of this was planned — it is just the natural fabric of Memphis.

And, I was proud.  The reason was not that we met some social expectation of diversity, but that we are able to bring a totally  unique perspective to startups that most cities cannot.  When you bring together such a diverse crowd, you will get diverse opinions.  When these different backgrounds are brought to bear on new web applications or social networking strategies, they will be very, very different from a group of young all white male coders.  And, I can’t wait to see where it leads.  One thing I know for sure is that it won’t look like the gatherings that take place in DC, the Valley, or Austin.