The time is now.

• Entrepreneurship initiatives and support are moving towards critical mass in Memphis, exerting a powerful and positive influence on the city and the entire region.
• Research/business partners are growing.
• The FedEx Institute of Technology and the Office of Technology Transfer are gaining national credibility and attention.
• New political leadership in the city and state are strong proponents of job growth.
• The University of Memphis Centennial calls for new legacy initiatives.

The University of Memphis has an opportunity and responsibility to drive Memphis’ future and play a significant role in the building of an innovation-based economy in the Mid-South. We need to have foresight and lay the foundation for our legacy of economic impact on Memphis over the next decade. The Crews Ventures Lab will drive the commercialization of our work. It will create new jobs. It will keep investment capital in our community and provide an economic multiplier. It will distinguish U of M faculty and students as innovators and will provide a vibrant environment for collaboration on real-world applications . It will provide new pathways to partnerships with Innova, EmergeMemphis, the investment and corporate communities. It will be the seed that takes root and gives the U of M a key discriminator among the public universities in Tennessee that will secure our political and economic future and improve our opportunities for state/federal funding. It could simply be our future.