Annual 3686 conference concludes, here’s what it says about the state of Tennessee entrepreneurship
As we wrap up on another 3686 conference in Nashville, and look toward another year of entrepreneurial initiatives, a few quetsions prevail.
3686, powered by Launch Tennessee, brought hundreds of innovators, startup founders, investors, and more from across the country to Nashville this week. It was a lively crowd with state representation from Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Cookeville, Kingsport, Chattanooga, Oak Ridge, and other cities in between.
The topics from this year’s conference made a statement about the state’s entrepreneurial landscape. They were as follows:
- Exploring Environmental Resilience
- What’s Next (& New) in Nuclear
- Ask Me Anything: Featuring dozens of community and corporate leaders
- Creative Brands (consumer)
- Amazon Sellers’ Success Stories
- Meet Tennessee’s Angel Investors
- ‘AI Native’ in Business
- Capital Conversations
- Taking Startups International
A focus on energy
From this, we really saw an emphasis on Tennessee’s strong foothold in energy innovation, which was a natural tie to Tennessee’s legacy infrastructure in Oak Ridge and emerging startups through key programs in the Eastern portion of the state.
For example, in the What’s Next (& New) in Nuclear panel, key speakers included Jean Luc Palayer, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of Orano USA, as well as Thomas Pedersen, the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Type One Energy, both out of the Oak Ridge nuclear hub. It also featured Dr. Jamie Coble, the Associate Department Head for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Department of Nuclear Engineering.
“We have such a great ecosystem for nuclear opportunities – they are second to none in the country, and our students see that,” she said.
Both Palayer and Pedersen said the state’s Nuclear Energy Fund was a big selling point. It was created in 2023 by Governor Bill Lee and approved by the Tennessee General Assembly. The $70 million fund aims to expand the state’s nuclear development and manufacturing ecosystem by providing grants and assistance to support nuclear energy business investment, workforce development programs, and site development across Tennessee.
Both Type One Energy and Orano USA were recipients of grants for that program. Type One Energy was contracted for a $4.5 million grant, and, in turn, committed to creating 330 new jobs and making a capital investment of $223.5 million. Orano USA is pending a $6 million grant, where the company would construct a new, multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art centrifuge uranium enrichment facility and create more than 300 new direct jobs. Read more about the status of the Nuclear Energy Fund projects here.
“Nuclear has gotten to the point where investors see the return for their pockets,” Pedersen said. “Once it’s ready… It’s reliable, everyone is going to need it, and it will make a huge difference for our grid.”
Pedersen = also said Tennessee has been a big magnet for nuclear companies due to the friendliness of federal dollars in the Oak Ridge area.
“People here know what nuclear is… and they like it,” he said.
The creative economy
E-commerce has been a big buzzword from West to East Tennessee for years. From the restaurants of Memphis and musicians of Nashville, to the Maker City of Knoxville and crafters of the Appalachian mountains, there’s a lot of creativity in Tennessee’s entrepreneurial scene.
Many of Tennessee’s most enterprising entrepreneurs and dynamic companies lean into creativity, craft, and out-of-the-box thinking as they grow. At 3686, makers and creators also discussed challenges facing many small businesses right now regarding manufacturing, fulfillment, supply chain, and getting recognized in a big sea of fish.
Additionally, a number of the participants in the inaugural Ask Me Anything stage featured CPG companies and service lines.
Amazon, the e-commerce giant, was also one of the key sponsors of 3686 this year.
Money, money, money
An entrepreneurship conference would not be complete without conversations about capital resources. Launch Tennessee has traveled across the state with its Capital Conversations program to help founders learn how to competitively apply for the InvestTN fund.
The fund contains early-stage investment capital for start-ups and companies raising Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, or Series B funding. There is $28 million allocated for a Regional Seed Fund and $36M for a Growth Fund. The regional fund allocations will be smaller, between $25,000 and $250,000; whereas the Growth Fund will support start-ups with up to $8 million. The money comes from the “American Rescue Plan Act,” which expanded the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) via the US Treasury to provide $10 billion nationally to support small businesses and start-ups based in the U.S. post-pandemic.
So far, Invest TN has made several notable investments, including Adele Health, one of the participants in this year’s 3686 Pitch Contest.
Other investments include: Daily Crunch, featured recently in teknovation, and Knoxville-based iO Urology, New Day Diagnostics, Onrise, Orion Therapeutics, Shift Thermal, and Unified Track.
But there’s another way to get funding, especially at the early stage of the company, and that’s through the help of angels. Read the Teknovation recap of the Angel session at 3686.
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