Tom Ballard leaves ORNL

Tom Ballard, long in the senior ranks of ORNL and UT, is headed for an accounting and consulting firm that's eyeing entrepreneurial startups as clients. Read about it here.

Startup or Job?

Entrepreneurship isn't for the faint-hearted, and sometimes a job's a better course. Read about this Nashville panel's discussion here.

StartupTN ops

StartupTN is a bit in stealth mode, but it has an operations director, read more here.

VentureTennessee?

VentureNashville readers have been generous in their comments and suggestions. Our recent VNC survey asked what you'd like, going forward. Your answer was, essentially: More! and you offered specifics. Partly because of that feedback, we're closer to a decision about coming out of our 'prolonged beta' and possibly launching an added VentureTennessee layer of coverage and services. We'd like to hear more of your thoughts on this idea or others, right away, either here or by email to milt at venturenashville com. -- Many thanks, Milt Capps

U.S. Incomes inequalities

From Huffington Post reporters, a sobering looking at the continuing concentration of wealth and, hence, opportunity in the world's foremost Opportunity Society, right here.

TN/Nashville ventures

Capital raises and startups abound! See today's NewsBits and Regional Roundup, right here.

Hagerty's to-do's

Bill Hagerty, ECD commissioner under Gov. Bill Haslam, has a long and growing economic-development to-do list. Notes here.

Metamarketer's O'Neill

'Not sure there's a feistier or more entertaining metamarketeer in Nashville. Read about Kate O'Neill here.

Criterion Holdings: Security roll-ups

Criterion Holdings got some TNInvestco-bred money via XMi High Growth Development Fund, and will pursue buying security firms, the CEO told VNC. Read more here.

PE invests in Change:Healthcare

West Health Investment Fund, a new private-equity venture focused on improving the affordability of healthcare services, has invested in Nashville-based ChangeHealthcare. Read more here.

MyWerx in iExchange

MyWerx, the Nashville-based IP-management software provider, and Cumberland Center have joined to create iExchange, to enable technology commercialization from the state's cooperating universities. Read more here.

Innovation for Greater Nashville

Economist Christian Ketels (left) laid-out a path toward regional collaboration for innovation and prosperity, during his presentation Oct. 20 to an audience assembled by Cumberland Center. Read more here.

ShareableInk's latest ink

Founder/CEO Steve Hau, 39, needs to be convinced he can adequately staff ShareableInk, a breakthrough technology company, with world-class engineers in Nashville. Read it here.

NEC's PE sponsor

Galen Partners, the private-equity firm based in Stamford, Conn., is the 2012 healthcare vertical sponsor for Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Read more here.

Tech Gala

Nashville Technology Council announced that Griffin Technology President Mark Rowan will be keynoter for the Oct. 27th Nashville Technology Gala Awards dinner. Read more here.

LifeScienceTN

LifeScienceTN, the bioscience trade association led by Joe Cook Jr. of Mountain Group Capital, today released a report of progress within the sector. The document is here.

Rent-An-Angel?

RentStuff, the Nashville startup that helps people borrow and lend things, is mulling who'll lead its seed-stage round, with a roughly $750K target. Read about its plans here.

Ventures!

TNInvestco and other Tennessee investors have recently invested in Atlanta Catheter Therapies, MedCenterDisplay, Sponsorpitch and Industrial Ceramic Solutions. Read about it here.