Case Study

How Alchemist's Horizon program accelerated the Memphis logistics industry

Securing 4 pilot innovation projects with global startups in less than 90 days

Services provided

Problem Discovery Workshop
Startup Application Solicitation
Reverse Pitch Event

The Epicenter role in the Memphis logistics ecosystem

The logistics ecosystem is a key pillar of the local Memphis economy, powering tens of thousands of jobs across multiple enterprises and segments.

Meet Nate Smith, Director of Startup Services at Epicenter, a Memphis-based nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Epicenter sought to accelerate collaboration between large logistics corporations and emerging startups across Memphis — especially in critical drayage logistics and supply-chain segments.

To foster innovation in this segment, Epicenter partnered with Alchemist's Horizon Corporate Innovation program team, leveraging a mix of strategic matchmaking, curated workshops, and pilot-ready programs to bridge the gap between fast-moving innovators and enterprise-scale challenges.

By bringing corporate innovation managers and local business leaders under one roof, Epicenter empowered them to pinpoint pressing operational hurdles and discover practical startup solutions.

The opportunity: A Problem-First Framework

Despite Memphis’s pivotal role in the logistics industry, local corporations found themselves with no clear path to identify their most pressing innovation opportunities — or to engage with promising startups in a meaningful way.

This lack of dialogue not only bred uncertainty about cutting-edge solutions and best practices but also led to an overall decline in confidence that real, impactful ideas could emerge from the broader ecosystem.

Without a strategic framework to pinpoint specific operational challenges and prioritize partnership outreach, logistics corporations struggled to access startups that could truly solve their problems, stalling their innovation programs altogether.

As a result, existing resources were underutilized, while vital networking or scale-up opportunities for high-potential entrepreneurs were missed.

Epicenter initially relied on traditional methods — local meetups, generic accelerators, and scattered networking events — to engage Memphis’s logistics community. While these alternatives generated plenty of introductions, they often fell short of delivering real impact, leaving corporate leaders overwhelmed by irrelevant pitches and “innovation theater.”

This broad but shallow approach failed to align startups with genuine operational hurdles, ultimately wasting time and resources on both sides.

The real problem was that corporations lacked a strategic, problem-first framework to define their most pressing needs.

Without pinpointing specific challenges up front, they struggled to find startups capable of offering meaningful solutions. As a result, executives felt frustration mounting — the noise of countless, mismatched startup proposals offered little clarity on how to drive tangible outcomes.

That pain point not only stalled critical innovation efforts but also eroded confidence in the broader ecosystem’s ability to deliver lasting value. Seeking to revive local momentum and reinforce Memphis’s status as a logistics powerhouse, Epicenter emerged as the catalyst.

The solution: A Culture of Innovation with Horizon

By partnering with Alchemist, they introduced a targeted approach that educated corporate teams, brought in qualified startups for in-depth dialogue, and embedded a culture of networking and connection — ultimately putting Memphis’s logistics sector on a path to sustainable, high-impact innovation.

To revive the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and inject a compounding culture of innovation, Horizon brought in a battle-tested, structured program made of strategic matchmaking, curated workshops, and pilot-ready startup challenges to bridge the gap between fast-moving innovators and enterprise-scale challenges.

“Alchemist has been an amazing partner for Epicenter on the Logistics Opportunity Challenge. It is no small feat to get representatives from 10 different corporations to spend multiple days together, sharing freely about what their businesses' biggest challenges are, but Alchemist created a collegial and innovative environment in our problem discovery workshop that nurtured collaboration and sharing of information.”

Nate Smith

Director of Programs at Epicenter

day 1-30

Action A

Begin by gathering the foundational elements required to kick off your process. Identify the key resources, tools, or data needed and ensure all preliminary steps, such as setting up accounts, defining objectives, or aligning stakeholders, are completed. This step sets the groundwork for a smooth and effective progression.

day 31-90

Action B

day 91-180

Action C

day 1-30

Action A

Elevated Visibility with Horizon

Industry-wide problems identified

The Memphis ecosystem identified key problems that matched industry needs and clear startup opportunities, going from zero to clear startup opportunities
Qualified startups quickly engaged

Four top-tier startups secured pilot projects with major logistics enterprises in just 90 days, driving real-world scale opportunities and tangible economic opportunities.
Capital deployed

Tradelanes emerged as the top startup contender, earning a $25,000 investment and validating the program’s results-driven focus.
Ecosystem development accelerated

Epicenter gained high-profile TV recognition and unlocked federal investments, cementing its leadership role and injecting innovation in the Memphis entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Impact

Epicenter’s collaboration with Alchemist sparked major gains in Memphis’s logistics ecosystem, driving more pilot project launches, fast-tracking stakeholder engagement, and expanding the network of investors and mentors involved.

• As a result of Horizon outreach, four top-tier startups with global footprint secured pilot projects with the participating logistics enterprises — ensuring real-world scale opportunities for the startup while focusing local corporations on focused innovation opportunities ripe for efficiency gains.
• Thanks to Horizon's structured program and battle-tested approach, this process took less than 90 days — granting education and access to innovation opportunities with the highest quality and focus, compounding future opportunities for the Memphis ecosystem.
• Tradelanes emerged as the challenge’s top contender and secured a $25,000 investment, validating the initiative’s competitive yet results-driven nature.
• Beyond these tangible outcomes, Epicenter gained significant recognition for its entrepreneurial thought leadership, including TV coverage and federal funding to expand its efforts.
• This elevated visibility showcased the nonprofit’s ability to bridge corporate challenges with high-potential innovators, creating a more vibrant business environment in Memphis.

Epicenter and Alchemist proved that targeted innovation programs can rapidly drive measurable change in any regional ecosystem by focusing on real metrics, like pilot projects initiated, time-to-collaboration, and meaningful investor involvement.

Overall, this partnership drove meaningful increases in pilot project launches, sped up time-to-collaboration, and boosted overall investor and mentor participation — ultimately igniting more vibrant entrepreneurship and long-term growth in Memphis.

"Alchemist has been an amazing partner for Epicenter on the Logistics Opportunity Challenge. It is no small feat to get representatives from 10 different corporations, some of which were direct competitors, to spend multiple days together, sharing freely about what their businesses' biggest challenges are, but Alchemist created a collegial and innovative environment in our problem discovery workshop that nurtured collaboration and sharing of information.

Alchemist did an amazing job planning and running our demo day event, which one attendee referred to as 'the best Logistics innovation event I've ever attended.'" — Nate Smith, Director of Programs, Epicenter

Alchemist is trusted by corporate leaders investing in their tomorrow

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How Alchemist's Horizon program accelerated the Memphis logistics industry

The Epicenter role in the Memphis logistics ecosystem

The opportunity: A Problem-First Framework

The solution: A Culture of Innovation with Horizon

Here’s how [company]
transformed their sales

Action A

Action B

Action C

Action A

Elevated Visibility with Horizon

Impact

Related Case Studies

Innovation is inevitable — don’t resist it

How Alchemist's Horizon program accelerated the Memphis logistics industry

The Epicenter role in the Memphis logistics ecosystem

The opportunity: A Problem-First Framework

The solution: A Culture of Innovation with Horizon

Here’s how [company]transformed their sales

Action A

Action B

Action C

Action A

Elevated Visibility with Horizon

Impact

Related Case Studies

Innovation is inevitable — don’t resist it

Here’s how [company]
transformed their sales