High profile national tech firms expand Nashville presence
When officials from Uber, Eventbrite and Warby Parker give talks at next month's 36|86 conference, Nashville will not be an unfamiliar destination. That's because these nationally known, cutting edge firms have bet on Nashville as a growth market, opening offices and creating jobs in Music City.
Representing these companies on stage will be Julia and Kevin Hartz, cofounders of Eventbrite; Lon Binder, chief technology officer for Warby Parker; Meghan Joyce, east coast general manager and Mark Rogowsky, communications team, both of Uber. All three of these major brands, and many more, set up shop here in the past year to 18 months.
• Uber started out with six corporate employees, and has used its base here to grow its fleet of local drivers and customers. The company continues to expand its services around the U.S. and globe.
• Eventbrite opened its second U.S. office here, with plans to add 45 employees during the first year of operations. In 2013, the company processed $1 billion in gross ticket sales, and now has offices around the world.
• Warby Parker set up shop last fall, and has said it will create about 250 jobs over the next five years. Nashville was the company's first office outside New York City, where it is headquartered. The online eyewear vendor also added a showroom at Imogene + Willie on 12th Avenue South, one of an initial eight.
Each of these companies made much of Nashville's booming economy, focusing on the growth of high-tech start-ups in and around the city. They also pointed to an inclusive, welcoming environment, strong talent pool and growing amount of venture capital coming into the area as incentives.
At Launch Tennessee, we spend a lot of time working with entrepreneurs around the state, shepherding them from the idea on a napkin stage to first stage funding, launch and beyond. Based on the talent we continue to see everywhere in the Volunteer State, we're not surprised that some of the country's best known, innovative start-ups want to be in on the action here as well.
That's why 36|86 continues to be such a big deal. Just last week, we announced the full lineup of the 36 start-up companies selected to be featured at 36|86. These companies represent seven southeastern states in addition to Washington, D.C. Even more exciting is that 10 of the 36 companies hail from the Volunteer State. Collectively, these companies that will comprise what we're referring to as "Village 36" cover 18 different industry clusters and have collectively raised over $18 million in capital.
This outstanding slate of companies is just one of the many reasons why innovative, fast growing start-ups like Eventbrite, Uber and Warby Parker look at our state and region as a successful place to grow a company. Not only that, but they have chosen to take the stage at our event to share their story and successes with the many attendees who are embarking or already on the same entrepreneurial journey. 36|86 will be unparalleled in its value and experience for all of our guests, Tennessee and the entire Southeast. Purchase a ticket at http://thirtysixeightysix.com/ and come join us.
Charlie Brock is CEO of Launch Tennessee (www.launchtn.org), a public-private partnership focused on supporting the development of high-growth companies in Tennessee with the ultimate goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 place in the Southeast for entrepreneurs to start and grow a company. For more information on LaunchTN's flagship event, 36|86, visit www.thirtysixeightysix.com.
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