Wizards Wanted: Startup Weekend Nashville Oct. 10-12

Nashville's Startup Weekend, in which techies band together for 54 hours to produce new products, new businesses and-or new ideas, is solid for Oct. 10-12, on the Vanderbilt campus. Co-Leads Nicholas Holland and Jason Moore stress that software and web developers, database demons, designers, marketers, lawyers, promoters and others with the tech chops to help one or more teams are wanted NOW. Pro's have begun joining the Startup Weekend Nashville community at the site here. If you don't find what you're looking for, register and post your queries. Startup Weekend, so successful in other cities, should be an anchorpoint, along with Barcamp Nashville and other events this fall, for Nashville's next surge in technology community-building.

VU spin-out venture promotes Med Center ties

Informatics Corporation of America (ICA), the venture formed by Vanderbilt University three years ago, has been moving ahead with the ease only a well-capitalized company enjoys, picking up a couple of prominent customers as early proof of the value of healthcare informatics products initially developed at VU Medical Center. Enviably, ICA has exclusive right for "all aspects of marketing the products, future releases of new products, access to VMC resources and use of VMC as a reference site." Now, ICA CEO Gary Zegiestowsky (at left) is stepping-up promotion of the company's ties to Vanderbilt -- in the process, illuminating a board of directors that includes entrepreneur, investor and VUMC Vice Chancellor Harry Jacobson; VUMC Informatics Center Director and Associate Vice Chancellor Bill Stead; and, among others, Voyent Partners founder and former ENVOY CEO Fred Goad. In a release published yesterday in the wake of U.S. News & World Report's latest hospital "Honor Roll," in which VUMC ranked 15th overall, Jacobson says, “Our [VUMC's] performance in all categories—most importantly in our efficiency of operation and our ability to drive out variability of practice—has been heavily dependent on leveraging the tools ICA provides.” In a recent review of VUMC strategic priorities, Jacobson cited ICA's strategic role. ICA. originally named Star Technologies, is considered one of Nashville's best hopes for becoming "The Silicon Valley of Healthcare."

Road Warrior: Cisco's Man in Nashville

Cisco Systems, which last year earned over $1 billion in the healthcare sector, alone, has more than 100 employees in Tennessee, including a batch of developers over in Knoxville. Brentwood-based Frank Grant (at left), who's been with Cisco 9 years (after tours with IBM, Hitachi and others) is the playmaker for much of Cisco's healthcare IT and related business in the U.S. and Canada. It's a role that gives Grant an extraordinary view of the healthcare landscape. It's also a job that keeps him on the road more than 70 percent of the time, closing deals, consulting with customers and developing Cisco's "thought leader" relationships with influentials. He's not alone among the road warriors who base here in Nashville, while serving the rest of the world. More on that, in this story.

VC Update: Nashville

During a recent M&A conference here, Atlanta-based VC Allen Moseley (left), his tongue planted firmly in cheek, reminded Nashville entrepreneurs they don't need to go to the coasts for capital, because Noro-Moseley is only 3.5 hours away, down Interstate 24. That conference hit a number of nerves here, and prompted VNC to step-up further our efforts to learn more about Nashville VCs' perspectives, the first instalment of which now appears on the VNC website. Readers may also find it useful to read recently installed Noro-Moseley General Partner Greg Foster's views on what he sees as a big opportunity for digital-media startups in the Southeast, even though his take on it, inevitably, seems Atlanta-centric. Meanwhile, for more on our chat with local execs with Petra Capital, Council Ventures and Solidus, please read more here.

NTC uses Human Capital to seek Costantine successor

Since posting our earlier story about NTC President Jeff Costantine's planned retirement, we've learned that Steve Hayes (at left) of Brentwood-based The Human Capital Group is leading the search for the fourth NTC president. Worth noting are THCG's website promises that they deliver finalists within 20 days of getting the assignment, and that they look for candidates who will stay aboard for the long haul. Speed-on-tap notwithstanding, we're hearing NTC has given THCG two months to search, with interviews beginning after Labor Day, aiming to have the new president shadow Costantine for a month, before taking over Jan. 1, 2009. THCG has offices in Georgia, Florida and Ohio, as well as here. Our call this morning to NTC Chair Beth Chase, who owns C-3 Consulting, has not yet been returned. Hayes office indicated he is traveling. Our earlier story's here.

On-demand player hits pause button

For someone still in his early 40s, Alton Minton (at left) of Hendersonville has had a goodly share of bad press, deserved or not. First, it was around allegations he sold shares in airplanes FractionAir didn't own. Now, his iNowTV.com is in disputes with one or more web-presence developers and at least one ally believes Minton's 'gone under'. Minton assured VNC yesterday iNowTV is alive and kicking, and that he'll have his site up within six weeks. Meanwhile, am I the only person in North America who isn't trying to launch a video on-demand service? Wassup with this? The latest on Minton's venture, here.

Nashville's hospitalist secret is out

'Don't remember for sure, but the first time I heard someone refer to the hospitalist specialty as the 'fastest-growing segment' in medical history, I was probably tempted to file that factoid in the hyperbole bin. However, eventually I looked into the numbers -- including hospitalist-centered Cogent Healthcare's 35 percent compound annual growth rate. At that point, earlier blurry events came back into focus: There was, for example, Cogent's move to Nashville from Irvine, Calif., 15 months ago. And, earlier this year, there was the hospitalist industry's first IPO -- for LA-based IPC The Hospitalist Company. That offering had set VC radars a'whirring, here and elsewhere. Paradoxically, though, it's the relative quiet around "hospitalists" here in town that has caught my attention. It's the kind of quiet that surrounds a business concept that has been deeply accepted. Is the so-called hospitalist trend in fact fait accompli, and we're just waiting Big Money to book its flight to BNA? We'll see. Meanwhile, what do you think? Here's the story.

Rockin' your customers' worlds

Belmont University Center for Entrepreneurship Director Jeff Cornwall is bringing Minneapolis-based Reside LLC CEO Matt Meents (right) to campus this fall to share his wisdom and ideas for helping Belmont students' nascent businesses. Meents co-founded Reside nearly 8 years ago, and the company now has about 35 employees (and is looking for four more "good people" right away). Reside cranks about $2.5 million in annual revenue, by using the Web 'to grow businesses and solve problems'. In an interview yesterday, Meents told VNC he places tremendous emphasis on creating a "rockin'" corporate culture that creates "harmony and energy" for clients, employees and the community. Toward such ends, the company created a virtual band -- the Residers -- and now uses the digital entertainers to raise money for local charities. Some band members -- like Maverick (at left) -- embody the personalities of co-founders Meents and Eric Scheel, while other players correspond to different Reside departments. The "Rockin'" cultural banner is extended to such things as naming the firm's conference rooms (Main Stage, Green Room, etc.). Meents, now 32, was once a student of Cornwall's at St. Thomas University in St. Paul and Cornwall has been his mentor, since then.

The Noog Uber Alles

The news of Volkswagen's selection of Tennessee for assembly of its new midsize vehicle is stunning, possibly epochal -- even though Middle Tennessee's economic benefit, if any, may be years away. Locally, in nearby Montgomery County, Clarksville Industrial Development Board Executive Director Mike Evans was diplomatic this morning when contacted by VNC. His megasite was barely in-the-running against Chattanooga, Alabama and Michigan. Still, while declining any comment on efforts Clarksville might have made with regard to VW, Evans offered congratulations to the state and Chattanooga, and said the news demonstrates the "validity of the TVA megasite [certification] program." He also stressed that "regionalism" is the proper context in which to view Chattanooga's win. Indeed, some reports suggest that in addition to the 2,000 jobs created in Chattanooga, another 10,000 could be spawned in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. The win announced yesterday should also provide fresh impetus -- as though it needed any -- to the Tennessee Valley Corridor initiative, which seeks to improve jobs, skills and quality of life in the zone from Knoxville-Oak Ridge...through Tullhoma, Murfreesboro and Chattanooga, to Huntsville. The TVC effort includes, by the way, most East Tennessee members of Congress, but currently excludes U.S. Reps. Bart Gordon of Murfreesboro, who chairs the House science committee. Periodically, there has been talk within TVC of correcting what some see as an "oversight," a gap that in some ways leaves Nashville standing outside the TVC tent. As previously reported here, Rutherford County leaders have during the past two years sought to hitch that county's prospects more closely to the corridor. Earlier, related item here.

Cisco I-Prize contest workable in Nashville

David Hsieh (left), the Cisco marketing exec who led the year-long I-Prize competition in winners get cash and jobs in a new Cisco venture, told VNC in an interview last week that he'd welcome a chance to make another trip to Nashville to talk about lessons learned during the I-Prize process, which attracted 1,200 ideas. He said he thinks a city like Nashville couple replicate the I-Prize process, capture entrepreneurial energies and perhaps spawn a new venture or two. Read more about it here.

Nashville heats up?

Right now, it seems unlikely the institutional and informal meetup layers of Nashville's Technology community will co-mingle. Odds are good, for instance, that if you go to the July 31 breakfast of Nashville Geeks, you won't also be attending the Nashville Technology Council's Aug. 7 roundtable on data management for business intelligence -- okay, unless maybe your name is Dave Delaney, the guy who's apparently involved in everything digital in town. Well, maybe we all need to get out a little more. Check out this report on Digital Nashville, and co-founder Skip Franklin, who's also SVP at PassAlong Networks.

Another Tech report for the bookshelf?

Nashville Technology Council President Jeff Costantine told VNC yesterday he isn't exactly alarmed about Nashville's rankings in recent reports of city and state Tech employment and Tech wages. In fact, he said he and many others really aren't sure what to make of it all. As reported earlier, Nashville ranked 49th in the American Electronics Association's ranking of 60 U.S. cities' creation of new Tech-sector jobs (including telecom, IT, computer hardware and other fields). Our story also reported that a recent Milken Institute report showed Nashville losing ground. Costantine explained, "First, I am glad that we are on the [AeA 60-city] list. I don’t think that we are in a tenuous situation – we have a very good technology footprint, but we need to do a better job of promoting what we have." (His comments echoed his bullish response to an earlier report containing statewide, as opposed to city-level data.) Costantine indicated he feels it may be inappropriate, if not unfair, to compare Nashville with Austin, which has more computer manufacturing and chip production; or, to compare Music City with Charlotte, which Costantine said has a greater share of Internet-oriented businesses. He also said he's not sure what significance, if any, to assign to the AeA data, partly because more detailed information about Tech in Middle Tennessee simply does not seem to exist. In addition, Costantine indicated it is difficult, if not impossible to determine what mix of tech industries would be better for Nashville, assuming that mix could even be managed. Although it wouldn't be definitive, Costantine explained that he's considering creating a Tech index that would track employment within a small set of identifiable Tech employers. Currently, NTC makes a similar measurement once a year, by totalling IT positions advertised in popular venues by some local employers. Costantine also said he hopes the Nashville Area Chamber's forthcoming Entrepreneur Project (EP) report will help shed light on how to grow the local Tech sector. He said he suspects that recruiting Tech businesses to Nashville and encouraging local startups and other homegrown ventures will be among the solutions. Chamber officials told us this week that the EP report will probably be out in July. Inadequate Tech data for Middle Tennessee is a long-standing issue. We remember a national association's report a few years ago on software R&D. The report (based on federal data) said Nashville had zero workers in software research, despite the fact that there have long been researchers at Vanderbilt University and elsewhere who would contest that. (I would argue that the VU School of Engineering's Institute for Software Integrated Systems qualifies.) The erroneous data was reported by someone here in Middle Tennessee whom the association would not identify, when asked by a reporter. In my book, all this is further evidence of the need for a thorough statewide Tech census. Individual cities seem to find such a project daunting, but it could be done at the state level. We wouldn't know the value of it, until it was done.

Update: Agassi new CIO at Cogent Healthcare

Gov. Bredesen's eHealth Advisory Council leading-man, Antoine Agassi (at left) will become Chief Information Officer at Cogent Healthcare in Brentwood, July 1, according to the company's announcement this morning. Agassi's departure from the Council was reported here June 20. Initial indications are Agassi will remain an advisor or consultant to the Bredesen Administration. Apart from that, Agassi could play a key role supporting nascent technology ventures: The eHealth Council's grants programs and the state's push for e-prescribing, in particular, have already spurred more than one venture. Apart from that, Agassi's role as a strategic advisor to Tall Oaks Capital Partners LLC (Charlottesville, Va.) may soon be just one several such board-level chairs Agassi holds, now that he's free of state-employment rules. From such vantage points, Agassi could help steer capital to promising Tennessee companies. First, though, we'll have to await announcement of his new CIO role, which is due-out around just after the Fourth of July. Read today's story here.

No Fear: Owen consultants tackle companies' challenges

By the time 110 enrollees and faculty in the Owen Accelerator get off their twin motorcoaches tonight, they will have been further crammed by senior executives at Humana and Yum! Brands. Their 36-hour sortie, however, is just part of the students' multi-layered 28-day endurance test, also known as a summer business and innovation "experience" at Vanderbilt's graduate school of management. The program's director said the 85 students consume at least $10,000 worth of snacks during their stay at VU. Okay, it's probably more Dasani water than Red Bull, but you get the point. Eight Accelerator teams are working up business plans, products, marketing schemes and other brainstorms for nine corporate sponsors, including Griffin Technology (the local iPod phenom), LiveScribe, American Airlines, Bridgestone, CAT Financial and others. One team will recommend converting the city's Thermal energy-plant site into a World Trade Center. But, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Read the whole story here.

Nashville 49th in creating Tech jobs

Nashville is fortunate to be among the 60 U.S. cities that made AeA "Cybercities" ranking, released today. A city must have at last 17,000 high-tech jobs to get in that circle. However, a set of three reports suggest both Nashville and the State of Tennessee have only a precarious foothold in Tech employment, a grip likely to become shakier in an economic downturn. There are mixed signals: Our Tech wages rose faster than any other Cybercity in 2006, but we're only 49th in creating Tech jobs, with weak showings on other indicators, as well. And, we've lost ground: As reported in our story this morning, The Milken Institute State Science and Technology index, which rates states using 77 indicators -- says Tennessee now ranks 40th among states in science-technology advancement, compared with our 34 rank in 2004. Read the whole story here.

Smartvue gets second look from Angels

Smartvue Corporation's Marty Renkis isn't backing-off his $100 million revenue goal. Renkis (at left) and VP-Sales Bill Hapner -- who was hired this week at Smartvue after a decade at Beacon Technologies -- have their work cut out for them. The interactive video-surveillance and business-intelligence company is now deep into its second round of raising at least $1.5 million in Angel capital. This venture has already attracted at least 18 local angel investors. It was interesting to learn from Renkis how first Nashville and, later, Research Triangle Park captured his imagination and that of his wife, leading him first to found a company here, then move it to North Carolina, sell it years later to a Boston buyer, then return to Nashville to press ahead with Smartvue. Even though he spoke glowingly of the Tarheel State's support of high technology entrepreneurs, Renkis made a point of praising Nashville angels who have supported Smartvue, thus far. Read the full story here.

Update: Angels take entrepreneurs' pitches

Angel Capital Group this afternoon provided the names of the three tech firms presenting tomorrow here in town to Angel investors: They are Cybervision Text, a startup that produces electronic educational products (Franklin-based, involving owners of another company, Key2Ed Inc. Presenter-Owner Doug Little is pictured at left.); Modern Sprocket Inc., which has interactive media technology (Knoxville); and, Optivia Medical, the Winston-Salem-based medical device firm that presented here May 22. No advance registration is required for tomorrow's 3 p.m. takeoff at Cummins Station's 4th Floor conference room, 209 10th Ave. (37203). UPDATE: June 19 pre-event story is posted here.

Entrepreneur fights his way toward global work

It's far too early to tell whether the title 'Renaissance Man' applies, but Shane Messer is certainly a contender for busiest guy in the universe. The onetime computer programmer, who says he spent some time living out of his car behind a Wal-Mart, now owns a smallish private-equity investor, The Incubator Group, from which he has launched, revived or grown a number of businesses -- the latest being firms seeking to capitalize on runaway interest in mixed-martial arts events. Governor Bredesen made Messer's day, Friday, when the chief signed into law legislation creating a new commission to oversee boxing, kickboxing and mixed martial arts. MMA advocates say the new law means more instate entertainment for Tennesseans and a bit of money for state coffers. Meanwhile, it seems Messer considers unarmed combat just another waystation along the path to deeper involvement in economic development in other nations. Read the full story, here.

Wozniak joins Nashville's Leadership Music

It's a fine time to be a Nashvillian. On Friday, Leadership Music announced that its 20th Class will include Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple Computers. Just 24 hours earlier, the National Endowment for the Arts reported (pdf page 15) that Nashville has a higher percentage of musicians in its population than any other U.S. city. In fact, in the Musician category Nashville's lead over Lawrence, Kan., is a hair wider than LA's advantage in actors over No. 2 New York City. Leadership Music chief Kira Florita told us Friday the Woz doesn't want special treatment, perhaps explaining the soft Friday-afternoon release of LM's latest class of 53.

Don't lie about your 'Hockey Sticks'

Hockey's in the air today. But, here we're not talking about the FBI's investigation of Predators investor Boots Del Biaggio. This note's on "hockey sticks," those often-suspect projections of startup revenue that depict poor-performance near-term, but incredible resurgence -- three or four quarters out. During a chat today with LBMC valuation expert Chris Lovin, I chuckled when he mentioned that, while valuation experts aren't typically expected to render opinions on a company's performance projections, if they see "the old hockey stick," it's often cause for pause. Also, until today, I hadn't realized that a company's "goodwill" might be split between the company, itself, and, say, an individual founder who's been deeply involved in customer sales and service. I don't think many who lead startup ventures give much thought to these things, particularly if they spend a long time in "friends-and-family" financing-mode, where napkin projections would seldom withstand dispassionate review. Read more and send us your thoughts. Here's the link. This post updated 1326.

eMids' FlatWorldCafe may brew ideas

VNC's report on eMids Technologies' business-development push not only provides a fresh reminder of the rapid evolution of global business; but, also affords us a look into the branding of this Nashville-based provider of onsite-offshore services. eMids President Saurabh Sinha explains that "dialogue" -- symbolized by the company's still-emerging FlatWorldCafe.com website -- is at the heart of his business strategy for his venture, which has American shareholders in addition to its majority Indian owners. It'll come as no surprise to anyone who's met the congenial and diplomatic Sinha that he's relying on effective listening to produce continued growth. As reported in our story, although resistance to offshoring has certainly softened, it's still an issue in some quarters. Today's story cites a recent IT contracting instance involving Erlanger Health Systems in Chattanooga. eMids was not involved in that bidding. Always curious about corporate identities, we asked Sinha what the acronym "eMids" denotes. He explained that the name of the now-$10 million company was dreamed-up by Sinha and his fellow founder-classmates, while they were all at the mid-point in their arduous Engineering studies, and thus known on campus as "E-mids." Read the full story here.

Herculean effort: Startup Weekend Nashville

Since publishing our story Monday about voting for 'Startup Weekend Nashville', the pro-Nashville tally has risen 50 percent, and two local techies have disclosed they hope to lead the project: Jason Moore (right), the Nashville-based partner in bigWebApps; and, Nicholas Holland (at left) of CentreSource. They'll need all the help they can get for what is, by all accounts, a herculean undertaking. In separate interviews yesterday, both men confirmed they're tentatively planning to conduct a small-scale beta for the project in August, then hold a full-scale startup generator in October. (The duo seems unphased by the fact that Nashville BarCamp2 is also in October.) Moore, who was apparently first to make contact with the Boulder, Colo., organizers of Startup Weekend, said a key question is whether the Nashville event will be mainly a social-networking gathering in which you "try to push something out by Sunday"...or, a 54-hour enduro that actually produces a sustainable venture. Moore's Atlanta-based partner in bigWebApps, Patrick Clements, participated in Atlanta's successful Startup Weekend, and Clements' experience spurred Moore to start agitating for Nashville. Meanwhile, VNC's contacts with veterans of Memphis and Houston S/W's suggest the event would probably be worthwhile for the communal experience, alone. The big question is whether the work and play would actually produce a startup. In addition, the national coordinator of S/W's has been going through changes in both leadership and model, leaving its goodwill intact, but raising questions about how best to leverage the national group. For our earlier story on Memphis Startup Weekend, click right here.

Nashville 'Creatives' may lure high-growth ventures

In the interest of encouraging high-growth ventures and better-paying jobs in Middle Tennessee, in 2007 the Greater Nashville Area Chamber launched its Entrepreneur Project, led by Bobby Frist and Mike Shmerling (L-R, at left). The EP's 75 members will soon report their recommendations for growing our chunk of the Knowledge Economy. More than two years ago, a Chamber consultant reported that local capacity for innovation was inadequate -- at that was just one of a seeming myriad of findings. One issue that the Project (or some successor organization) may need to address is Nashville's long-standing "Music City U.S.A." brand. At least one local executive thinks that brand has been extended to encompass more forms of work and play. If that's true, Nashville enjoys tremendous leverage in competition for "Creative Class" workers and ventures. Please read the story on the Venture Nashville website and send us your thoughts.

State's tech push gets fresh horse

Tennessee Technology Development Corporation CEO Eric Cromwell (at left) is making clear to all who will listen that -- notwithstanding the state's $5.4 million tranche and (finally) a firm grip on the leadership role in taking the state's knowledge sector to the proverbial "next level" -- he has set himself just a two-year horizon for making a difference. After several years of hovering over the tech target as a State employee, Cromwell is not only impatient to get on with tech-driven development; but, probably also realizes that he'll soon-enough spend what the state has coughed-up. Particularly given looming uncertainty about the economy and the identity and priorities of the next Governor, much if not all of TTDC's state funding will need to be replaced with federal and-or private-sector dough -- the kinds of grants, donations and sponsorships that will only materialize if TTDC can point to successes in pushing nascent tech companies along the development trail, recruiting new companies and cultivating existing tech business. And that, m'friends, is why it's worth noting today's story about the appointment of one Dan Schmisseur as Cromwell's first chief operating officer and strategist. Schmisseur has been close to tech and entrepreneurial initiatives in both Austin and Kansas. Read all about it here.

Bouncing Ideas: 'Trivial' VU research connects with NV business

On Monday, when Vanderbilt Engineering scientist Yi Cui visits Microsoft Research in Redmond, he'll be among fellow classmates and others who understand the importance of work that others may deem only "trivial but useful." After all, in the context of the next wave of Video on Demand enterprise, the work of Cui (at left) and others like him could reduce the demand for acres of servers and the energy they consume. At least one Nashville tech entrepreneur -- Bondware's Tim Choate (at right) -- found much to appreciate in Cui's work. Maybe Cui and his colleagues need more opportunities to spend time with entrepreneurs who understand their work, and who might be able to help ideas grow legs. Read the full story on the VNC website, here.

Survivors: Nashville Business Plan winners unveiled

The Nashville Business Incubation Center has spawned and-or saved such company's as Zycron Inc., the IT staffing firm founded by entrepreneur Darrell Freeman (at left). Other alumni include Transcender, the tech training firm that sold five years ago to a Washington Post Co. subsidiary for $60 million, plus Christie Cookies, Beacon Technologies and more than 80 other graduates, since NBIC's founding 22 years ago. Yesterday, the Nashville Business Incubation Center unveiled the three companies that emerged with the best business plans in NBIC's Class of '08. Job mentoring, ice cream and a single tech firm took the honors. They bested 17 other firms that made it the end of NBIC's 18-month-long Business Plan University, which is based on the FastTrac New Venture initiative of the Kaufmann Foundation of Kansas City. NBIC chief Mildred Walters told VNC the process is so demanding, NBIC can only produce graduates every other year. No other local institution opens its business-plan contest to the public. As reported here, students at VU's Owen GSM, the University of Tennessee and elsewhere in the state are keen enough to enter competitions that hone their plans for future businesses and give them a leg-up when they leave campus with their parchments. For more on the story, please click here. For an earlier story on Belmont University's business "hatchery," visit here.

Debut Broadcasting's radio roll-ups await cash

Nashville-based Debut Broadcasting did a reverse merger, got that low-cost public shell, gained control of a brace of radio stations in Mississippi and then lined-up 16 more acquisitions -- before the credit crunch hit the world. CEO Steve Ludwig is squeezing cash from operations, automating like the Big Guys, pumping-up his sales force and borrowing against accounts, while his OTC stock is languishing. Read about Ludwig's efforts to create a Nashville media-entertainment company that's 'more than just radio'. The full story's here.

Nashville VCs may like Google angle

Founder-CEO Stephen Culp of Smart Furniture, the online designer-producer of personalized furniture and fixtures, says that among the Nashville investors who passed on earlier opportunities to invest in his company were Clayton Associates and First Avenue Partners, as well as local Angels. In three earlier rounds, Culp went on to find VCs in Memphis, Birmingham and elsewhere. It could have been a timing issue. First Avenue, for instance, spent a good bit of time the past few years dealing with its investments in iPayment, IPIX, Intechra and other holdings. Now, Chattanooga-based SmartFurniture.com may soon be the focus of a larger round -- up to $15 million. If the raise goes forward, Culp, et al, will attempt, once again, to tap Nashville funds. During the buildup, Culp's Smart Furniture seems to be easing-up alongside Google, with the two companies set to meet for a third time, later this month. One goal of their discussions may be creation of a 3-D shopping marketplace on Google real estate, with Smart Furniture possibly having more than a storefront role. Read the full story at VentureNashville.com.

Waiting for 'The Big One'

Over on the VNC website, our VC Update provides a timely reminder that 'the deals that make sense get funded', but that, eventually, becoming a star technology city will probably hinge on one of our local companies hitting a homer --- the legendary 'Big One', the likes of which created Silicon Valley. Our influential sources include Professors Germain Boer (at left) and Bruce Lynskey, and debt-equity transaction guru Tom Wylly. Read the story here. It's also a reminder that one of the nice things about Nashville's business culture is that most investors here take little joy in bursting someone's balloon. Note: In some other communities, venture forums give the most persistent entrepreneurs a fair hearing, while allowing investors some breathing room. It's been awhile since there was a venture forum in Nashville, although forums in Knoxville-Oak Ridge, Chattanooga and Memphis continue to draw crowds. In addition, most business-plan competitions in Nashville and elsewhere in Tennessee offer little, if any access for those who aren't students or faculty of the hosting campuses. The Nashville Business Incubation Center is an exception, but of more than 30 plans submitted in this year's competition, the few companies closest to tech were in IT services, data management and online e-tailing. Fortunately, the Greater Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Partnership 2010 will sometime this summer release their Entrepreneur Project's recommendations on how to fill some of these gaps. Stay tuned, meanwhile, today's article is here.

Local Rivals.com CEO faced only 'one jackass'

Just a year ago, Brentwood-based Rivals.com was acquired by Yahoo! Inc. in a deal valued by some observers at about $100 million -- or, what Founder-CEO Shannon Terry, tongue in cheek, referred to last week only as "a reasonable sum of money." Today, the college-sports news leader is headquartered on Cadillac Drive and is running at a $30 million annual revenue clip, serving an estimated 400,000 fans, including more than 210,000 paid subscribers. Those and other figures were shared by Terry (pictured above) during last week's Nashville Technology Council annual meeting. Rivals.com traces its lineage from the founding of AllianceSports.com in 1996; the sale of that firm to Rivals Network for $3 million in 2001; and, the repurchase of its key assets back from Rivals Network for $500K, after RN went bankrupt. Terry said the company became cash-flow positive just nine months after being rechristened Rivals.com, helped along by a $2.5 million round of financing. Terry projects that the myriad team pages of Rivals.com will see 4.75 billion page views in 2008. Terry said resisting the temptation to wade into fields other than college sports was a crucial decision -- one that he says was reinforced by reading Forbes Columnist Jack Trout's Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. During his presentation Thursday, Terry said he's hired about 90 people at Rivals.com, yet, "I think I've only had to deal with one jackass," who didn't fit in. Himself a former Lipscomb University basketball standout, Terry said he thinks former athletes bring both the team orientation and competitiveness he looks for in new hires. Terry said Rivals.com has done well by demanding four traits of itself: Passion; Differentiating to achieve "special" status among subscribers; Mental Toughness to overcome fear of risks; and, "servant leadership." Said Terry, "The last six-seven years of my life, I feel that I've been an effective leader because I've done a good job of putting myself last."

Passport Health no longer begging for customers

Passport Health Communications' Founder Jim Lackey (left) had a lot to crow about last week, having just announced another acquisition. On Thursday, however, the CEO made clear to a local audience he hadn't forgotten what it was like to plead for a hospital exec to be his first customer, or to go five years without profits. With revenue likely to hit $80 million this year and his workforce swelling to 300 or more, Lackey may be soon outgrow his Cool Springs Boulevard location. Read the whole story here.

Angel Capital Group seeks traction via syndication

Rachael Qualls, the 29-year-old founder and CEO of the Angel Capital Group based in Hendersonville, attracted more than 30 entrepreneurs and investors to her presentation May 22 in Belmont University's Curb Center in Nashville. Entrepreneurs from SmartFurniture in Chattanooga and OptiVia Medical in Winston-Salem joined her and others in pressing the case for a nationwide network of Angels. Qualls told VNC afterward that some attendees are considering signing non-disclosure agreements to allow them trial access to ACG's regional syndication database, which draws heavily on deals flowing through North Carolina Angel groups. Read the full story here.

VCs: Investors overlook Nashville's claim to fame

A panel of VCs led by moderator and former U.S. Senator Bill Frist (at left) yesterday told more than 450 Nashville executives that while there's lots of cash sloshing-around, few investors in major money centers have Nashville on their minds. Moreover, the investors most deeply involved in technologies are happily ignorant of Nashville's four-decade-old services track record. Frist, himself now a Cressey door-opener for entrepreneurs, VCs and investment bankers, said investors' ignorance of Nashville is a problem community leaders will need to address. In the interim, all agreed there's no help coming locally: While we have a great Angel community, there are no mid-market players in technology, whereas would-be investors like to follow a big lead investor. Unfortunately, entrepreneur Kin Clinton (at right) makes clear in our story that his Woolsthorpe Technologies (Brentwood) may not be able to wait for local investors to step forward, and may need to move his company to one of the Coasts or to somewhere like Alabama. For those of you hoping funding your developing or startup company will get easier: VC Allen Moseley said, "it's still credit cards -- believe it or not -- it's still friends and family, and it's [still] a lot of stress on the entrepreneur" that makes it happen at the git-go. Read the full story here.

Venture Marathon, May 21-22

In Nashville May 21-22 will represent a sort of endurance test for many of us. Wednesday is the Nashville Health Care Council's "Financing the Deal" seminar with focus on healthcare companies. Speakers from Noro-Moseley, Banc of America Securities, UBS and General Atlantic execs comprise the panel, with former U.S. Senator and Majority Leader Bill Frist moderating. The next day it's a twofer: Nashville Technology Council offers-up a daylong conference that includes keynotes by Passport Health CEO Jim Lackey and Rivals.com CEO Shannon Terry. Then, it's all capped-off by Angel Network Group's inaugural "Where Money Meets Imagination" event in Davidson County, at Belmont University. It's for Angel investors and interested others, at 3 p.m., details here.

Pathfinder Therapeutics really doesn't want to leave Nashville

Pathfinder Therapeutics' CEO Paul MacDonald says the developing Vanderbilt spin-off company is deeply rooted in Nashville, with no plans to leave -- even to satisfy a would-be VC based elsewhere, as Veran Medical said it needed to do. Given its ties to Vanderbilt, Pathfinder seems likely to stick it out. But, MacDonald's polite report on how tough it has been raising money here echoes a familiar refrain. PTI needs about $2 million to traverse the next 18 months and probably a minimum of more than $4 million to become fully commercialized. Read the full story here.

VU Board of Trust member scolds nation's leaders

Adamant in his concern about flagging U.S. innovation, Vanderbilt University Board of Trust Member (emeritus) Lewis Branscomb (at right) took both Republican and Democrat policymakers to the woodshed in his remarks May 8 before the American Association for the Advancement of Science. As reported by the AAAS, Branscomb said, "We must have new leadership in the Executive branch which recognizes that a broad range of government policies directly affect the nation's power to innovate... Also needed are policies for transitional technology investments, economic policy, trade strategy, government procurement, standards policy, robust hard and soft infrastructure, and a culture in American society that embraces creativity... We need more than basic science. We need public policies that support useful research and means for converting research to economically sustainable innovations that can grow into profitable and sustainable larger enterprises." Branscomb is a son of the late Harvie Branscomb, long-time Vanderbilt University chancellor, who died in 1998. He is professor emeritus of Public Policy and Corporate Management at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and adjunct professor at the School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California-San Diego. He also has served in top positions at IBM, including vice president and chief scientist, and as chairman of the U.S. National Science Board from 1980-1984.

BioMimetic plots change of course

BioMimetic Therapeutics is widely regarded as the top biotech player in Middle Tennessee. The Nasdaq-traded company led by Founder-CEO Sam Lynch (at left) has come a long way, challenging industry leader Medtronic, and growing from two employees in 2001 to 85 today, with hundreds more high-paying jobs on the way. Recently, an FDA alert related to possible problems with another company's product briefly stampeded BioMimetic shareowners, but the company began recovering, almost immediately. Our Special Report on the Venture Nashville site provides an update on the management team and their strategy for expanding biotech in Nashville. Please click here to read the story.

Alexander and Gordon keep pressure on White House

In ways both subtle and dramatic, Rep. Bart Gordon and Sen. Lamar Alexander are maintaining pressure to fund the nation's knowledge agenda: On May 8, Alexander addressed scientists gathered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and called for a "new Manhattan Project" that would advance technologies to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil. Then, yesterday in Texarkana Gordon led his House Science Committee's field hearing at a K-12 school with a curriculum centered on science, technology, engineering and math. On these and other occasions, both men have pressed for funding of America COMPETES, which President Bush pointedly criticized, even as he signed the bill into law, citing fears of pork-barrel spending embedded in it. Funding for America COMPETES may not improve until after the next Inauguration, according to observers. For the full story, please click here.

Nashville loses Veran Medical

[Updated 4:35 PM] Call it Brain Drain or Brain Drip, those seven jobs at Veran Medical Technologies are still a loss. Why? Because those seven brains that are relocating from Nashville to St. Louis are all fixated on capturing sizeable share of the $1 billion market for medical devices for early biopsy and treatment of lung cancer. And that's just Veran's first target. Read the full story here. The fact that 31-year-old Founder-CEO Jerome Edwards (at left) was a star MBA student at the Owen Graduate School of Management doesn't make it any easier. There's some solace in hearing Edwards heap gratitude on VUMC's Harry Jacobson and Owen's Bruce Lynskey for their guidance over the past few years. But, not much. Veran and its reps sought VC capital in Nashville, but quickly became convinced they'd have to look elsewhere. And, Greg Johnson at Prolog Ventures in St. Louis was more than ready to embrace them, if they'd move to St. Louis. [UPDATE: 4:35 PM - Veran announced the total investment was $4.75 million.] Okay, so investors here were just being prudent, "sticking to their knitting" and focusing on familiar deals in hospitals, surgery centers, e-Health, etc. Veran, meanwhile, is just doing what entrepreneurs do, connecting with winners like Johnson and looking for a way to make their dreams come to life. On the one hand, it's just business as usual. On the other hand, it's one of those pesky "L's" on the innovation scoreboard. It's too much like a year ago, when Ira Weiss pulled-up BioDTech's stakes and moved to Birmingham, after being wooed with Alabama incentives. Ira declared at the time Nashville 'doesn't get it'. On the other hand, the Angels among us have more than once rallied around a similar play, Pathfinder Therapeutics here in town. Makes one wonder if Pathfinder isn't also about set off into deeper waters.

KravTek's $10 million gambit

In what they acknowledge is a 'race against time', Nashville-based KravTek Media hopes that within 60 days the company can show potential investors and customers its latest prototype technology for seamlessly integrating content delivery for in-home digital devices. The speed, security, fidelity and wirelessness of KravTek's device could be the kind of breakthrough or disruptive technology that spawns an economic wave, or at least a major ripple. In keeping with tradition, Founders Norm Taylor and Ed Kaeser (L-R, at left) and their team of industry veterans have until recently worked without pay, with operations are divvied-up among the executives' homes in Franklin, Old Hickory and elsewhere, in an effort to conserve cash during their development phase. Next up: Recruiting up to $10 million in equity capital. The fledgling venture faces the customary long odds, but could become the kind of startup Nashville needs to strengthen its standing in entertainment, communications and media. Read the full story here.

Nashville Healthcare M&A

Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, M.D., has recently urged President Bush and others to leverage U.S. healthcare and medical know-how to create "a legacy in which medicine and health diplomacy serve as a currency for peace." Frist, who remains the driving force behind VOLPAC, has gained renown over the years for his humanitarian missions. Closer to home, on May 21 here in Nashville the 55-year-old Frist, who is now a partner in the Chicago-based private-investment firm Cressey & Company, will moderate the Nashville Health Care Council's panel discussion on financing healthcare deals. Panelists include Charles Ditkoff, Managing Director, Head of Healthcare Services, Banc of America Securities; Robbert Vorhoff, Vice President, General Atlantic LLC; Allen Moseley, Partner, Noro-Moseley Partners; and, Maureen Spivack, Managing Director, UBS Financial Services, Inc. NHCC's success with M&A-oriented events means more of that ilk: On Aug. 20, NHCC will co-host with Nashville Capital Network a conference titled "Investing in Healthcare: Early and Growth Perspectives." Panelists will discuss sectors of greatest interest and criteria for investing, as well as "how entrepreneurs can best position their companies for growth." P.S. -- On May 22, the fledgling Angel Capital Group is scheduled to hold a meeting at Belmont University titled, "Where Money Meets Imagination." The group's website says the event is "for anyone in the greater Nashville area interested in Angel investing."

Talent: Top IT execs need Nashville jobs

Some of Nashville's most qualified C-level information technology executives are forced to commute to the coasts for jobs, when the gigs that brought them here run out of steam, according to executive recruiter Craig Buffkin (left) of The Buffkin Group. He told us recently that Nissan and other companies' moving to Nashville has increased the numbers of highly qualified senior execs from most corporate roles. When their jobs end, those execs almost always want to stay in Nashville, he said. However, unlike the Bay Area, Austin, Boston and other tech centers, unless Chief Technology Officers' and CIOs' timing is perfect, Buffkin says they're going to have to take a pay cut, relocate or earn a lot of frequent-flyer miles. Buffkin said he could easily think of "8 or 10" local C-level execs in such circumstances. Most of these executives have a combination of strategic and tactical skills, a strong work ethic and the ability to "check their egos at the door," all of which could make them important players in Nashville tech startups or other roles. However, Buffkin explains that those who choose to live here and work elsewhere face a disadvantage in getting picked-up by another Nashville venture. "They're just not around, not at important [civic and professional] functions, not active in the social scene," Buffkin said. That's a problem in a town that still relies heavily on the "Old Boy network." The execs are often more likely to hear about opportunities from colleagues in other cities, before they find jobs here. For these and other reasons, top candidates in the C-level talent pool are often overlooked and perceptions of a talent shortage at that level may be exaggerated. In contrast, there's wide agreement that Nashville suffers from a shortage of what Buffkin calls "really senior technical people," including engineers and specialists with hot skills. To remedy the shortage, the Nashville Technology Council, Belmont University and other allies have been pulling together a consortium of several dozen universities, colleges, government agencies and companies to encourage more students to take up computer sciences and related studies in two- and four-year institutions. The project is dubbed "Turning the Tide of Technology," and it aims to reverse the decline of tech degree-holders; keep more of our grads working in Tennessee; and, more tightly align education curricula with employers' requirements.

Ingram steps down at Goldleaf

David Ingram (left), chairman and CEO of Ingram Entertainment, has left the table at Goldleaf Financial Systems, according to GFSI's recent filing. Goldleaf's management team is mostly in Norcross, Ga., while a major operations center and some execs are here in Brentwood. Ingram, 45, will keep two hands in banking: He's apparently leaving Goldleaf with 40,067 shares of the company; and, he's on the board of Nashville's stylish Avenue Bank. Reports indicate Goldleaf kept Ingram busy in eight audit-committee meetings last year. Ingram's seven-year watch inside GFSI ended with a 2007 that saw two CFOs and outside CPAs (they dismissed Grant & Thornton and hired E&Y) come and go, a run on the stock, problems integrating acquired companies and only modest success in migrating customers from the legacy BusinessManager offering to ACH and related software and services. Management failed to meet the board's performance expectations for 2007, leading to a restructuring of exec compensation that places even greater emphasis on EBITDA, integration of acquired operations and other metrics. Some investor message boards recently carried posters' complaints of executive compensation and lagging returns. The company is now absorbing Alogent Corporation, the $42 million Atlanta-area purchase it closed in January. The acquisition occasioned a stock run-up, and then a return to recent-normal altitude. The pressures on Goldleaf today seem, from the outside at least, strikingly similar to those that plagued predecessor Private Business, when reporter David Fox chronicled its struggles in his 2000 NashvillePost.com piece here. Seven months ago, similar calls for a fatter bottom line were heard during a conference call with analysts. The company 1Q08 results are due next Monday (May 12). It has previously declared 2008 goals of $87 million in revenue and $15 million in EBITDA (vs $56.7M and $6M in 2007, on negative annual EPS). Whatever the results, the company's Atlanta technology staffing is likely to grow, as Brentwood-based staffing declines, along with the aging BusinessManager offering.

Former Bradford, Avondale exec adds another seat

When Raymond Pirtle (at left) announced his departure from Avondale Partners three years ago, he explained the move would allow him to accept more board seats. Friday's announcement from China Wind Systems (formerly Malex Inc., a wind-energy play based in Jiangsu Province) is the latest evidence Pirtle is staying busy, working as Claridge Company LLC from an office on Woodmont. Complex relationships among China Wind and affiliated companies have attracted some scrutiny. Pirtle is also currently on the boards of Premiere Global Services, Inc. (Atlanta), IceWeb, Inc. (Herndon) and Tricell, Inc. (UK). Earlier, he was a director of eNucleus, Inc. (supply-chain software) and of Sirrom Capital Corporation, which was acquired by Finova Group. The man who's made more than 150 Euro trips to call on portfolio managers and analysts confirmed this afternoon he's a "one-man show" at Claridge, drawing on nearly 40 years' personal experience. Pirtle, 66, was a founder and senior managing director of Avondale Partners. He's also part of the J.C. Bradford diaspora, having served 23 years there (including nearly a decade as general partner) before the 900-broker firm was bought by PaineWebber (itself soon acquired by UBS). He also spent 13 years with SunTrust Equitable Securities Corp.

Music: Sobule the Disrupter

Both Jill Sobule's music and her attitude are critically acclaimed. The singer-songwriter (at left) makes working trips to Nashville several times a year. She created a different sensation earlier this year, when she decided not to pursue her sixth label contract. Instead, she launched a website and a viral campaign inviting the public to donate funds to help her independently produce, distribute and promote her next album. She aimed for $75K, and 53 days later she had $82,557, in 561 contributions ranging from $5 to $10,000 each. She got one $10K gift, earning donor Jill Pettinger of the UK the Plutonium Donor award, with benefits including voice lessons and singing on the album she supported. Sobule's achievement was mentioned only in passing during Leadership Music's Digital Summit, April 22 at Belmont University. But, the echoes from her "shot heard 'round the world" will not soon subside. During our interview Friday, the NY-LA-Nashville artist said she hopes next to create an online portal to enable other singer-songwriters to recruit financial support for their projects. Sobule -- who's been dubbed "deft ironist" by New Republic and "feisty post-punk feminist" by New Yorker -- said she tentatively plans to name her new indie label "Pink Records." The name, she explained with some laughs, is a "tongue-in-cheek" reminder that not only did some of her songs earn her the "Commie" label "back in the day"; but, also, that technology now enables artists to "control the means of production." Her donor-funded record -- "The California Years" -- is due out this fall. If Sobule follows-through with her artists' portal, she could be providing just the sort of disruptive technology that venture-capitalists and others say they're seeking.

World Trade Center for Nashville

Creating a World Trade Center will not be a slam dunk in Nashville. However, today Franklin-based entrepreneur Robert Thompson (left) said he and his firm CenTradeX have plunked-down $200K upfront to obtain the franchise for Middle Tennessee from the World Trade Centers Association. You can read the full story here. I learned of Thompson's application a couple months ago, while reporting CenTradeX's development of websites for WTCA members, but couldn't say anything til the WTCA board gave him the nod. Though trade centers face extremely tough development and marketing hurdles, the notion is compelling. I should note that during the Eighties I played a minor supporting role in what turned-out to be an ill-fated effort to create a WTC in Northern Virginia -- an effort superseded years later by creation of the WTCA member known as the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center, on Pennsylvania Avenue. Updated 4:23 P.M.: Alexei Smirnov at BusinessTN saw our scoop and provided this link to his 2006 CenTradeX story.