Dan Marcum, co-founder with wife Fran of Tullahoma-based Marcum Capital, said today that he's identified two tech companies -- one in Arizona, one in North Carolina -- that he could invest in, if bolstered by TNInvestco funds; and, Marcum said the entrepreneurs involved in both ventures have already agreed to relocate their companies to Tennessee, if he invests. (MBVP's Gary Stevenson, also involved in a TNInvestco finalist fund, recently shared a similar scenario with VNC, here.) Fran Marcum (left) is lead founder of NEST-TN LLC, which is one of 10 TNInvestco finalists. Though rumors are rife that ECD-Revenue have picked the TNInvestco winners, an ECD spokeswoman denied that today, adding that the winners are still to be announced on or about Nov. 1. That timeline is the one that's been laid-out for weeks, although it is not binding on the two commissioners overseeing the award of grants. Gov. Phil Bredesen, ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber depart soon for a 12-day business mission to Japan and China, placing them back in Music City, albeit jet-lagged, just a few days before the TNInvestco announcement milestone arrives.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Marcum TNInvestco scenario
Dan Marcum, co-founder with wife Fran of Tullahoma-based Marcum Capital, said today that he's identified two tech companies -- one in Arizona, one in North Carolina -- that he could invest in, if bolstered by TNInvestco funds; and, Marcum said the entrepreneurs involved in both ventures have already agreed to relocate their companies to Tennessee, if he invests. (MBVP's Gary Stevenson, also involved in a TNInvestco finalist fund, recently shared a similar scenario with VNC, here.) Fran Marcum (left) is lead founder of NEST-TN LLC, which is one of 10 TNInvestco finalists. Though rumors are rife that ECD-Revenue have picked the TNInvestco winners, an ECD spokeswoman denied that today, adding that the winners are still to be announced on or about Nov. 1. That timeline is the one that's been laid-out for weeks, although it is not binding on the two commissioners overseeing the award of grants. Gov. Phil Bredesen, ECD Commissioner Matt Kisber depart soon for a 12-day business mission to Japan and China, placing them back in Music City, albeit jet-lagged, just a few days before the TNInvestco announcement milestone arrives.
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3 comments:
Not very impressive. What would be impressive would be if Marcum and the TNInvestco dollars actually went to Entrepreneurs in Tennessee. We have plenty of good ones here already. How about investing in the people and the companies who already believe in Tennessee. Why should Tennessee dollars reward people and companies who don't already support our state??? I would see Marcum's comments as a negative mark for his application, not a plus.
Very disappointing, given all the worthy young entreprenurial businesses that already in TN and struggling for funding. Hopefully this doesn't turn into a political reward for Marcom and the funding goes to investors that have already proven committed to TN.
I'm glad to see Mrs. Marcum continue to focus on bringing top talent to Tennessee and keeping them there. As a Vanderbilt graduate I can appreciate the struggle facing post-grads in the Tennessee job market. In spite of her best efforts Fran wasn't able to keep in in Nashville. I relocated to Dallas to pursue a better paying position with better avenues to entrepreneurship. I hope she's able to reign in some of Tennessee's lost talent and prevent future entrepreneurs from leaving in the first place. Good luck! Keep up the good work.
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