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August 27, 2018 | Tom Ballard

“36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival” kicks-off today in Nashville

By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA

Planning on attending the multi-venue “36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival” that kicks-off today in Nashville? If so, you need to be aware of several important points.

  • There are multiple venues with the Wildhorse Saloon, 120 Second Avenue North, serving as the homeroom, so to speak. Other programming, networking, and happy hour spots are in the downtown area within walking distance of each other with two exceptions. The additional primary venues in downtown include the Ryman Auditorium (112 Fifth Avenue North), BB King’s Blues Club (152 Second Avenue North), The George Jones Museum (128 Second Avenue North), and Acme Feed & Seed (101 Broadway).
  • The first night kickoff party will be at Launch Pad’s new East Nashville location, 604 Gallatin Avenue, Suite 206.
  • To help attendees manage the multiple venues and concurrent programming, Launch Tennessee has an app available. For iPhone users, click here. Android users can find the app here.

With those explanations, here’s a snapshot of the events day-by-day (all times CDT). You can click here for the full agenda.

Tuesday, August 28:

  • The annual “36|86 Student Edition” featuring live pitches from the 13 teams selected as finalists begins at 3 p.m. in Suite 210 of the Tech Hill Commons building, 500 Interstate Drive South. (For more information, see our recent biz article here.)
  • The “Entrepreneur Kickoff Party” runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Launch Pad East Nashville location.

Wednesday, August 29:

  • Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. on the main floor of the Wildhorse Saloon.
  • The new Launch Tennessee VIRAL Pathfinder networking tool will be active throughout the day. (For more information, see our recent biz article on the tool here.)
  • There are several networking opportunities starting at 9 a.m. including the Asurion Work Lounge (third floor of the Wildhorse Saloon) and The JumpFund Women’s Lounge (second floor of the Wildhorse Saloon).
  • Nissan is hosting its “Innovation Alley” from 11 a.m. to 1p.m. where the Tennessee-headquartered corporation will showcase the latest and greatest in intelligent mobility technologies.
  • Between 9:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., attendees have a variety of programming opportunities on topics such as bypassing traditional venture capital, foolproof formulas for finding product-market fit, impact investing, converting a free user base to recurring revenue, and early stage branding.
  • At 10:30 a.m., the winners of the “36|86 Student Edition” pitch at The George Jones Museum.
  • Jay Clayton, Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will speak that afternoon to a limited attendance session.
  • One of the more intriguing sessions begins at 4 p.m. when Jim Haslam, Founder and Chairman of Knoxville-based Pilot Flying J, participates in a fireside chat with his son – Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam. The topic – “What’s It Like to Exit to Berkshire Hathaway?” – is about the recent sale of the company to Warren Buffett. That session is on the main floor of the Wildhorse Saloon.
  • The “Opening Night Afterparty” starts at 5 p.m. at Acme Feed & Seed.
  • The first full-day wraps with Bunker Labs “Nashville Veterans in Residence Launch Party” that starts at 6:30 p.m. at WeWork’s downtown location on the 22nd Floor of One Nashville Place, 150 Fourth Avenue North.

Thursday, August 30:

  • Concurrent programming starts at 9 a.m. on the last day with sessions covering topics like corporate venture capital, opportunity zones, building a “killer” start-up team, and smart mobility.
  • The VIRAL Pathfinder networking tool will be active throughout the day, and both the Asurion Work Lounge and The JumpFund Women’s Lounge will be operational all day.
  • The start-ups that comprise Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s “Innovation Crossroads” cohorts will be on display at 11 a.m.
  • The festival wraps-up with the “Live on the Green Music Festival” and VIP After Party starting at 5:30 p.m. in the Nashville Public Square Park, Union and Third Avenue North.

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