TNInvestco update

VNC updates TNInvestco investments right here.

TNInvestco's Update

A half-dozen TNInvestco funds recently finessed additional investments. Get the update here.

Venture Notes, March 26

Claritas Capital's John Chadwick, Innova's Ken Woody and a MoonPie entrepreneur sound off, in this gathering of Venture items.

Pittco, Innova execs counsel entrepreneurs

EmergeMemphis' gathering of entrepreneurs and VCs was sold-out at 50-strong, and execs including Andrew Seamons (left) of Pittco and Ken Woody of Innova Fund advised entrepreneurs to be passionate, but well informed and realistic. The CA has it.

Innova fund explains TrakLok investment

Innova Memphis' Jan Bouten, a key man in TNInvestco-capitalized Innova Fund II, found himself all-but promising Memphians that -- even though the new fund's first investment was in Knoxville-based TrakLok -- the pipeline if full of Memphis-area firms and some are likely to be winners, soon. Bouten told the Memphis Daily News the fund has received hundreds of inquiries regarding investment since the TNInvestco winners were announced in November. Bouten told the MDN he'd been following TrakLok since 2008 (probably, VNC thinks, after having been introduced to the firm through the TTDC innovation conference that year).

Innova nails TNInvestco goal

Innova Fund II may be the first TNInvestco company to plant its flag in the insurance industry. VNC reported today that there may eventually be 10 winners, rather than six, and the capital pool could rise to $200MM. Now, Innova's Ken Woody has confirmed that his fund has "successfully closed on a commitment for all of our $20MM allotment of tax credits. Four Bridges assisted us in that transaction," Woody told VNC.

Bioworks CEO on TNInvestco impact

Memphis Bioworks Foundation CEO Steve Bares posted yesterday on the foundation's BioBiz blog his views on how Innova's winning a TNInvestco allocation for investment advances biomed excellence in Memphis.

TNInvestco: VC joins Innova team

Jan Bouten, who, as reported by VNC, joined the Memphis Bioworks Foundation TECWorks management team earlier this year, is now a member of Innova Memphis' new TNInvestco investment team, within Innova Fund II. Innova is a subsidiary of Bioworks. Innova also told Memphis Daily News it has for some time been courting insurance companies for participation in TNInvestco. Innova is the only funded TNInvestco applicant that is also a member of the TNInvestco Consortium, which was created to seek insurecos' participation.