#3686Fest Recap: Tennessee's Growing Startup Opportunity

Last month our Launch Tennessee team brought the annual 3686 Festival back to Nashville after a COVID-induced hiatus.

After moving here in October 2017, I quickly came across Launch Tennessee's team and looked forward to participating in the 3686 festivities the following year -- an event that would quickly become my favorite conference in the Southeast. While it may not be the largest event for startups and investors, I always left with a stronger sense of connection and belonging to a growing community of builders from across the region and beyond.

Fast forward and I had the sincere honor of getting to contribute to the production of 3686 led by our infinitely talented CEO Lindsey Cox , a self-proclaimed LaunchTN boomerang (she spent nearly 6 years with the organization, recently returning as CEO). Her institutional knowledge of both the event and Tennessee's multi-layered ecosystem (not to mention her penchant for creative swag and delicious food) truly brought the event to life in a record 3-month production period.

3686 By The Numbers: Capital Team Update

Last week, we shared the following stats on 3686 with Launch Tennessee's board members:

• Recruited over $227 Billion in assets under management (AUM) as speakers and attendees from across the Southeast and U.S.
• Curated 533 1-on-1 meetings for startup founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem supporters via LaunchTN Connect, powered by Brella
• Hosted the BuildTN Fund Launch Party (more info on our upcoming fund here)
• Co-hosted the 3rd Annual ‘Comfort Food + Conversation’ dinner with Build In SE for 30 women VCs and LPs, sponsored by? 摩根大通 ?
• Co-hosted ‘The Land of Opportunity’ Institutional LP/GP Breakfast Roundtable for 105 GPs and LPs at GEODIS Park, with breakfast sponsored by First Republic and venue sponsorship from Valkyrie

Our capital team was especially proud of these numbers, as we initially set a goal of attracting $50 Billion in AUM to 3686. We viewed this event as an opportunity to expand access to capital for Tennessee's startup founders and funders alike. To bypass our goal and deliver a 4.5x outcome for Tennessee was especially rewarding and encouraging for future events.

Capital Programming Highlights

While the broader 3686 program spanned Tennessee's growing areas of opportunity, including Web3 and healthcare, there were several panel discussions and events specifically created to spotlight venture capital trends. These conversations featured voices from all across the U.S. to expand visibility and access for Tennessee's startup founders and funders. Here is a recap of those sessions.

The value-add investor: becoming an operator-angel

Speakers: Eric Satz (Alto IRA), Josh Payne (Amplify.LA), Charlie Brock (Brock Partnerships), Eric Bahn (Hustle Fund), Kim Seals (The JumpFund)

Description: Meet angels going above and beyond - helping to add value to the startups they write checks into. Learn what their journey looked like to becoming an operator-angel and what they look for when seeking out new deals.

Key Insight: Great ideas don't necessarily translate to great companies -- the founder is important!

A #BuildInSE homecoming story: entrepreneurs turned VCs in the Southeast

Speakers (L-R): Monique Villa (Launch Tennessee), Mickey M. (Redhawk VC, Alabama Futures Fund), Cam Doody (Brickyard), Mahati Sridhar (Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund), Maria Salamanca (Ulu Ventures), Hunter Hillenmeyer (Next Play Capital)

Description: Hear from entrepreneurs-turned-VCs who grew up in the Southeast and are now investing in the next generation of unicorns across the region.

Fun Fact: Five states of knowledge came together on stage including Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.

Fundraising through the storm: the VC perspective

Special thanks to Adam Sichko for the feature!

Speakers (L-R): Khrystopher Hatch (Launch Tennessee), Ian Rountree (Cantos), Samara Mejia Hernandez (Chingona Ventures), Sydney Paige Thomas (Impressionism Capital), Aia Sarycheva (Bessemer Venture Partners), McKeever (Mac) Conwell,II (RareBreed Ventures)

Description: Top VCs from across the U.S. share their top tips and advice for startup CEOs navigating the next 18-24 months of fundraising.

Excerpt from the Nashville Business Journal, quoting Sydney Thomas: "There's a certain amount of 'fundraising through the storm' that you've probably already lived through, for a really long time," Thomas told the audience. "Some of this context is very Bay Area-centric. And it's often not applicable to what fundraising looks like in places that generally have less access to?capital."

3rd Annual ‘Comfort Food + Conversation’ Investor Dinner

Co-Hosts: LaunchTN , Build In SE

Sponsor: 摩根大通 (special thanks to Cameron Simmons and Kate Wilburn LaSacco !)

Venue: Henrietta Red

Attendee Profile: Full-time women investors of venture capital funds and limited partners attending 3686 (institutional, family office, corporate), co-hosts and sponsor

# Attendees: 30

The Land of Opportunity: LP/GP Breakfast Roundtable

The purpose of this invite-only breakfast was to host an open conversation between institutional limited partners and general partners investing outside Silicon Valley aiming to expand access to capital in emerging tech ecosystems like Tennessee. The name for the event came from a TechCrunch article I wrote during my time at Mucker Capital talking about the opportunity to invest across the U.S.

Co-Hosts: LaunchTN & First Republic (special thanks to Sean Park and Caroline Hale !)

Breakfast Sponsor: First Republic Bank

Venue Sponsor: The Valkyrie Premier Club at GEODIS Park (special thanks to Leah Wald , Steven McClurg & Deborah Mickelson !)

Attendee Profile: Leading institutional Limited Partners and General Partners from across the U.S.

# Attendees: 105

Speakers:

Highlights:

• The LP panel featured Priti Mody (Cook Children's Foundation), Carol Womack (Diversified Trust), and Hunter Hillenmeyer (Next Play Capital) and focused on tactical advice for emerging managers investing in non-traditional geographies.

• The GP panel featured Anna Mason (formerly with Rise of the Rest, now leading Ingeborg Investments), Wes Barton (Third Prime), Katie Jacobs Stanton (Moxxie Ventures), and Santosh Sankar (Dynamo Ventures), sharing their perspective on why their funds invest in founders building companies in emerging ecosystems.

• The LP-GP fireside featured Graham Pingree (Cendana Capital) and my former boss and long-time mentor William Hsu (Mucker Capital), who partnered across multiple funds to date, sharing best practices for LPs and GPs building relationships for the long term. A favorite quote from this session came from Will at Mucker, who shared, “The best way to raise money is to sell your sh**.” (The above photo was captured at this exact moment.)

Looking Ahead: #3836Fest in 2023

Our team wrapped 3686 feeling energized for the year ahead and will announce the dates for the 2023 program in the coming months. To stay current on all-things Launch Tennessee and 3686, make sure to subscribe here.

See you next year!