No summertime slowdown at Tennessee’s accelerators

At Launch Tennessee, we talk about the “pipeline” a lot when it comes to building a strong startup ecosystem. A key piece of this is developing, attracting and retaining a well-qualified workforce to the region. In this regard, there is some great work going on across the state with various partners, including a number of our accelerators, developing innovative programs to educate the next generation of tech-savvy Tennesseans.

These are very compelling programs, as evidenced by the fact that students willingly give up some of their summer vacation to participate. Here’s a sampling of what’s going on around the state:

•The Nashville Technology Council has partnered with the Tennessee Code Academy and RePublic Schools on computer-programming camps and after-school programs. Given the ongoing need for a software-oriented workforce in the area, these will be an important staging area for tech-oriented students to begin charting a career path.

•Speaking of Tennessee Code Academy, one of the very successful programs they have developed is the 100 Girls of Code. This summer, there are several programs going on around the state, and 21 different partners have licensed this program to take to their own communities — 20 of those being across the U.S. and one in Belize.

•One of the newest programs in this arena is Chattanooga’s TechTown, which just moved into a sparkling new facility in a highly visible downtown location. Tech Town has a hit on its hands with this year’s summer camp. In addition to days filled with information about coding, robotics, videography and other tech subjects, attendees also have gotten to hang out with R&B singer Bryson “Cupid” Bernard, who swung by to perform “Cupid Shuffle” and talk about the power of imagination. Ongoing programs at the TechTown facility will ensure that the venture is not only sustainable, but a major player on Chattanooga’s tech-education scene.

•In West Tennessee, the CO:de Catalyst program continues to improve technology education and grow local talent. The program, which The Co began in 2013, leverages Treehouse, a self-paced online platform that shows participants how to build a website, learn to code, build an application and even start a business. They will be expanding their program in the fall to even more ninth-12th-graders in the region. Top performers have won trips to San Francisco in the course, which also is a competition.

•In Memphis startup Code Crew, a member of StartCo’s Sky High Accelerator, has partnered with the Memphis Grizzlies Charitable Foundation. Area youth in grades 7-9 are taking the first step toward becoming producers rather than consumers of technology in ongoing hackathons, code camps and app development workshops. The program’s early success has already attracted attention from other NBA organizations.

Each of these programs, as well as many others around the state, draw strong interest from the business community, school leaders, parents and other stakeholders. There’s usually a waiting list to get in, which shows that the students themselves are ready and eager to get moving on a high-tech career.

This is good news for startups in Tennessee. We now have a wonderful accelerator network that is helping create stronger startups in key industries for the state. We also have more early stage capital in the state than ever before. However, if these companies are going to successfully scale, a strong, tech-savvy workforce is critical. We are proud to be working along with many others around the state to help ensure this happens. In doing so, not only will we do a great service to our existing startups, but we will attract more out-of-state tech companies here and, most importantly, provide great opportunities to the citizens in our state.

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 state in the Southeast for entrepreneurs to start and grow a company.