'Super proactive': Lifelong innovator brings problem solving zeal to UofM

February 17, 2025 - Daily Memphian

Whitney Hardy had her first taste of entrepreneurial energy sprawled on the floor of her parents’ front room, determined to use their better-than-fine vacuum to turn a skateboard into a hovercraft.

“I’d researched enough to know that the vacuum cleaner bottom produced enough air to lift up the little 7-year-old that I was,” she said, her eyes dancing not just with the notion of lift but the thrill of her own ideas taking shape in her hands. 

The vacuum was so expensive and powerful that her parents had her map out every inch of her plan before she could take the thing apart. Those drawings, product blueprints, were pinned up everywhere in the Hardy house, linear line drawings of an idea taking shape.

Hardy, 37, who’s innovated in many spaces since then — including designing two of the four hydrogen drinks made at Hardy Beverages, the company she co-founded with her mother, Carolyn Hardy — fell in love with giving ideas muscle to get up and go.

She spent five years at Epicenter, first as director of entrepreneurial programs, then as chief capacity officer. She co-owned logistics company, Henderson Transloading. She was an original investor in The Liquor Store restaurant and founded 3rdspace, an arts nonprofit. She’s also advised startups in pet care, consumer tech, retail, hospitality and health.

And four months ago, the University of Memphis named her director of its Crews Center for Entrepreneurship.

It had been without a permanent leader for more than a year and before that, had fallen quiet during the pandemic.

Hardy applied some gumshoe entrepreneurship — in this case, preparing tailored presentations for nearly every dean on campus on what the coaching could look like in their department, art to engineering — and making appointments with each one to talk it over.

“Entrepreneurship is interdisciplinary. It is about seeing a problem and coming up with a solution. It’s about not only creating a new venture but creating value in the workforce when you do start your first job,” she said.

It can be about cupcakes

Yes, there are students who see entrepreneurship as shaping the rare genius idea that can make them rich. Hardy has at least eight of them in her new coaching realm, but others are interested in building side gigs, working to transform family businesses or innovating to use their degrees in new ways. And some, she said, still dream of owning a cupcake shop.

“I’m like, ‘OK, well, let’s talk about it. If you want to create that cupcake shop, let’s figure out what do you need to know and where are you trying to go in the community,’” she said.

To make Crews central to how college-age entrepreneurs build networks, strategy and eventually the tax bases in their communities, Hardy is promoting the features at Crews, the Tiger Tank Pitch — a “Shark Tank” type of competition with a $10,000 prize for the winner — and the 12-week summer entrepreneurship accelerator, ImagineU. It comes with a $3,000 stipend.

But she’s added lunch and learn events with local entrepreneurs, a new pitch challenge funded by the Patton Foundation (with three prizes totaling $8,500) and a $40,000 accelerator, sponsored by the Greater Memphis Chamber, to guide multicultural Memphians through entrepreneurship in a 10-week session.

“Just seeing how clearly she defined the process from Week One to Week 10, and what they will be learning, the business fundamentals, the strategic plan,” said Jessica Mosley, director of community development at the chamber.

“Throughout the week, the members can schedule check-ins with Whitney, her team and the faculty and staff for ongoing support.”

Hardy teaches some of the segments, but she also brings in university faculty, leveraging the power of the campus for people who may have never been there before.

And because she’s big on access to capital for entrepreneurs — her words — she specifically carved out funding in the grant so that each finisher receives $1,500.

“If they want to put it toward accounting, if they want to put it toward marketing, if they want to put it toward a new website or getting inventory, they’ll have some cash to do it,” Hardy said. 

Bigger than business