Just as the name might suggest, the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project ranks accelerators around the country using all sorts of sensitive data, such as fundraising and valuations, that its team of academics collected in confidence and distilled down for the benefit of entrepreneurs everywhere who are considering going through an accelerator.

This year’s rankings were unveiled last week at SXSW. Greenville, S.C.-based The Iron Yard and Memphis, Tennessee-based ZeroTo510 both ranked in the top 25 in the project’s “silver” level. Meanwhile, Healthbox and Techstars, which aren’t based in the South but have outposts here—in Orlando and Atlanta, respectively—scored at the higher “gold” and “platinum” levels.

Susan Cohen, co-director of the project and a management professor at the University of Richmond, gave TechCrunch some guidance on the various tiers, which is a different rankings system from last year when accelerators were ranked 1-20. “There’s a bigger difference between bronze and silver than there is between gold and silver. Achieving gold is something to be proud of. But these are all top, top and top programs, not top, middle and bottom programs.”

Both The Iron Yard and ZeroTo510 (and Techstars) appeared on last year’s list.

The Iron Yard, which is perhaps best known for its coding classes, runs a digital health accelerator out of its Spartanburg, S.C. campus. ZeroTo510 is a medical device accelerator that will be choosing its fifth cohort soon. Operated by the Memphis Bioworks Foundation and part of the EPIcenter community, ZeroTo510 has accelerated the creation of 20 new companies, $9.2 million in investments and more than 40 jobs. In addition, 60 percent of graduates have received post-accelerator funding, at an average of $675,000 per company, according to Jessica Taveau, director of marketing and communications for the Memphis Bioworks Foundation. Meanwhile, Healthbox is accepting applications, due March 18, for its Healthbox Studio in Orlando.

Cohen says the rankings are important because it helps make the process of choosing an accelerator more transparent. “With so many programs available, it’s hard for entrepreneurs to know which programs are best,” Cohen said in a press release. “The Seed Accelerator Rankings Project adds needed transparency to help entrepreneurs make a critically important decision for their startups.”

The post Two Accelerators in the South Ranked Among Top in the US appeared first on Startup Southerner.

The hardest part of owning a startup is always the beginning: the process of turning your idea into a company with a working business model and appropriate funding. Luckily, there is a multitude of accelerator programs in the South available to entrepreneurs who want to launch their startups quickly.

When you think of Memphis, Tennessee, what comes to mind? Elvis? Beale Street? Those adorable marching ducks?

At what point do you consider its competency in distribution and logistics?

Memphis, often referred to as America’s Distribution Center, is home to FedEx’s World Headquarters and more than 400 trucking companies. Its location provides easy access to five class-one railroads, two major highways and the Mississippi River.

With its dense population of distribution services and logistics workers, Memphis is the ideal place to launch new logistics innovations. And in an attempt to bring those innovations to the market, EPIcenter—an initiative that connects entrepreneurs to accelerator programs, incubators, mentors and networking programs within the city—has launched an accelerator program for startups in that field.

The program, called the EPIcenter Logistics Innovation Accelerator, is sponsored by FedEx and is open to startups investigating transportation- or logistics-oriented solutions. This includes payment systems, robotics, smart packaging and fleet efficiency, to name a few.

The accelerator will accept six startups through a competitive application process. Those six companies will receive $50,000 in initial seed capital. In addition, admitted startups will have the opportunity to work through a rigorous business-building curriculum, connect with knowledgeable mentors in their field and pitch their products on the program’s public Demo Day. They will even have access to EPIcenter’s post-acceleration programs after graduation.

EPIcenter, along with several organizations in the Memphis community, says it hopes to create a robust and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem to service the Mid-South region. Their goal is to create 500 companies and 1,000 entrepreneurs by 2024, and the EPIcenter Logistics Innovation Accelerator is just one step in the process.

The deadline to apply is March 18, with a projected start date of May 2. The program lasts 15 weeks.

The post Accelerator Spotlight: EPIcenter Logistics Innovation Accelerator appeared first on Startup Southerner.