ECD + TNInvestco (more)

A subcommittee of the General Assembly's government operations committee today voted in favor of extending the charter of the state's Economic and Community Development agency until 2017. Review of the State Comptroller's report on TNInvestco and other ECD programs, which have been cited by the Comptroller and ECD officials alike, as need improved administration and documentation, preceded the vote. Related VNC story here.

Imagine TNinvestco

TNInvestco has contributed real energy to the venture ecosystem in Tennessee, but if there's another round, more proactive efforts may be in order to attract entrepreneurs from some quarters. Read about it.

TNInvestco update

VNC updates TNInvestco investments right here.

Krush raise

Krush, the predictive networks startup, has raised $4.5MM, reported 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.

Stover exits TTDC

James Stover (left), after 3 years at COO at Tenn. Technology Development Corporation, is leaving for a new molecular-biology startup, backed by TriStar and Limestone TNInvestcos. Read about it here.

MidTN venture overload?

'Guess this means school's back in... so many things cookin' in the venture sphere... Clayton McWhorter's folks are taking a close look at go-forward staffing at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.. JumpStart is about to make some of its acclerator grads happy.. TNInvestco's are putting money where their mouths are, investing in seed- and early-stage deals... eMIDs is part of a Chicago mentoring group.. Steve Collins caught the IPO brass ring... and much more right here.

TN technology news

Venture Incite's latest commercialization gambit with Y-12... plus capital raises, entrepreneurship and more from one end of Tennessee to the other, read about it here.

TNInvestco update

We got yer TNInvestco portfolio investment updates, righ'cher.

NewsBits Aug. 1

Well, there are three-dozen items here, including a bit on a new ECD appointee with prior interest in TNInvestco. See the Aug. 1, 2011, NewsBits.

FDA gives VenX nod

VenX, a medical startup that treats spider veins and is backed by TNInvestco-certified TriStar Technology Fund got the FDA nod and 510(k) pre-marketing notification. More here.

TNInvestco update

Drawing on records provided by State Economic and Community Development, VNC presents an informal summary of the ten TNInvestco funds' reported investments, to date. Its' right here.

MBVP TnInvestco cash

Memphis Bioventures TNInvestco fund announced its first TNInvestco investment, and says there are more on the way. Story here.

Haslam INCITE incites complaints

State Sen. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) and Nashville tax-revolter Ben Cunningham, speaking in this morning's Tennessean, express concerns regarding Gov. Bill Haslam's INCITE program, through which ECD Commissioner Bill Hagerty hopes to get federal permission to use $30MM in federal funds to support co-investment in early-stage companies. If that permission isn't granted, the money might have to go to banks, instead. That, in turn, would eliminate one leg of the Haslam-Hagerty Incite program, and could jeopardize other parts of the plan, including the funding of incubators in some areas of the state. 'Could be coincidence, but McNally's concerns regarding transparency of the program could be partly a result of partly suppressed complaints in E.TN. about the fact no TNINvestco funds in that region were certified and little TNInvestco money has gone into firms in that territory. As we pointed-out in yesterday's NewsBits, The Knoxville News Sentinel opened further this can o' worms this weekend with a batch of stories. Also, as we reported May 23, Hagerty's agency rethought its release of TNInvestco investment-certification information and plans to release less info.

$75MM to PE by TN retirement system

Tennessee Consolidated Retirement Systems (TCRS) announced two more commitments to private-equity funds, and the mindsets of those to whom the money is to be entrusted are reflected on their websites, making interesting reading for entrepreneurs and investors, alike. Read about it here. Some in-state VCs, including some that are participating in TNInvestco-certified funds, have expressed interest over the years in TCRS making some commitments earmarked for instate funds.

New TN VC Council?

Stuart McWhorter's exploring creating a new VC statewide group.. There's apt to be less TNInvestco info published... Dan Marcum's creating The Launch Pad in Tullahoma.. and much more in the latest NewsBits roundup right here.

TN needs visionaries

All the patents in the world won't create jobs if they aren't investable and transformed into goods and services through commercialization - that seems to be the message from Friday's panel of ORNL, VU and other experts. TN has some catching-up to do with respect to its population of serial entrepreneurs and visionary leaders, too. Read about it here.

TN Angel Tax Credit?

The idea for a Tennessee Angel Investor Tax Credit has wings, but may or may not have legs. Read about it here.

TCRS-Bessemer Ventures

The Tennessee Consolidated Retirement System's (TCRS) latest private-equity asset commitment puts $25MM on the table for Bessemer Venture Partners to manage. The announcement advances the 18-month-old program, and comes shortly after word of a legislative initiative that could have influenced TCRS investments. Read about it here.

Consensus Point TNInvestco?

Consensus Point just may be NEST-TN's next TNInvestco-certified portfolio company. More on this and other funds' investments, right here.