Pinnacle Financial Partners becomes first LaunchTN VISIONARY
The new partnership will help build connections among Tennessee investors and entrepreneurs for LaunchTN's new "InvestTN" initiative.
Launch Tennessee (LaunchTN) and Pinnacle Financial Partners have announced a new partnership to support the former’s role with the new $70 million “InvestTN” program.
Under the arrangement, the public-private partnership that supports entrepreneurship and economic development across the Volunteer State will work with Pinnacle to build connections among Tennessee investors and entrepreneurs. “InvestTN” is one component of “Fund Tennessee,” a $116.9 million federally-funded program, officially known as the State Small Business Credit Initiative, that will bring much-needed capital to the state’s start-up community.
The other components are:
- “LendTN,” a $47 million loan or debt fund that will work with the state’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs); and
- “AssistTN,” a component not yet approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that would provide technical assistance to start-ups through the Tennessee Small Business Development Center network.
Pinnacle becomes the first ever LaunchTN VISIONARY, which includes a $100,000 investment in LaunchTN. The two enterprises will be hosting events in Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville through summer and leading up to September’s “3686 Festival,” which is the state’s premier entrepreneurship event.
“This investment is more than just money,” said Bryan Bean, Executive Vice President for Corporate Banking at Pinnacle. “It’s time, talent, resources, energy. We are really asking ourselves, ‘How can we do more than just write a check?’”
The collaboration will also yield content creation and the promotion of services, such as financial literacy support. It’s part of LaunchTN’s new effort to create meaningful, long-term relationships with financial supporters to yield higher engagement and benefits for everyone the nonprofit serves.
Pinnacle, the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee Pinnacle, operates in 17 primarily urban markets across the Southeast. It had about $42 billion in assets as of December 31, 2022.
