Capital Conversations | The six ‘Cs’ for founders to consider before securing funding
The annual session is hosted by Launch Tennessee, looping in local funding partners.
On a packed Friday afternoon at the 121 Tech Hub, Launch Tennessee hosted its annual Capital Conversations session. Since 2023, the event has regularly brought together new and emerging entrepreneurs, ecosystem partners, investors, lenders, and community members to learn about the financial landscape across the state and city.
The panel for 2025 included Eller Kelliher from Launch Tennessee, Paige McVity from Pathway Lending, Shane Jackson with Pinnacle Financial Partners, and Keith Hickey from Three Roots Capital (3Roots).
To kick things off, Kelliher shared about LaunchTN’s $70-million equity investment fund, InvestTN. The funds are comprised of three pots of money: a $28 million Regional Seed Fund, a $36 million Growth Fund, and a $6 million Multi Fund. The goal of all three is to move money into the ecosystem and “off the sidelines” by requiring founders to secure a minimum 1-to-1 private match.
To bring those state dollars to fruition, entrepreneurs need to secure capital. This cannot be personal dollars, debt, or grant-financing. It must be private investment.
Hickey, representing 3Roots, provided some tips to entrepreneurs in the room who are seeking private investment to satisfy the match requirement.
“When pitching your business to us, founders need a well-established business plan,” he said, adding that knowing the ins and outs of the numbers is critically important.
3Roots, like many other VC firms, looks for the five “Cs” of credit: Character, Capacity, Capital, Collateral, and Conditions. But, Hickey added that there’s one more “C” that he and his partners look for.
“The sixth ‘C’ is ‘Communication,'” he said. “We seek out excellent communicators. Nobody ever says in their pitch that their business is going to fail. Yet, it happens all the time. Communicate along the way, and we can work to intervene and help.”
McVity from Pathway Lending also said her organization looks for the five ‘Cs’ before making a small business loan. But, they also seek a sixth ‘C.’
“Our sixth ‘C’ is ‘Coachability,’ a flexible founder is so much better to work with,” McVity said.
Jackson with Pinnacle said the selling point for any lender is the personality of the person they’re working with.
“We work with all sorts of companies from different industries,” he said. “But, great people like to work with great people.”
Learn more about the Capital Conversations tour.
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