LaunchTN’s Southland conference rebranding for 2015
What’s in a name? When you’re trying to lure entrepreneurs and venture capitalists to your city, just about everything. So when LaunchTN decided to expand and reorganize our signature (and very successful) Southland conference heading into 2015, we decided that a name change was in order as well.
Our event isn’t a typical conference filled with a bunch of boring presentations and cocktail parties that make it hard for attendees to get maximum value. 36/86 is an intimate gathering that showcases the doers, the makers and the innovators, and lets that talent draw new backers into its orbit.
We’ve had two great years under the Southland banner, but now it’s time to bring the focus a little bit closer to home. Southland drew in talent and investors from around the country, which remains our goal, but we want those visitors to know that this event is by, for and about Tennessee and the Southeast. That’s why we’re renaming the conference 36/86, which represents Nashville’s latitude and longitude map coordinates, and in this case, the meeting place to celebrate Southern entrepreneurship.
Make no mistake; the chance to enjoy Southern culture is what separates our event from many other venture conferences and has been a hit with attendees over the past two years. We fine-tune that with some of the best culinary fare, artisans and spirits the Southeast has to offer, not to mention amazing musical entertainment. We make sure our attendees have a great time, but most importantly, we want our visitors to see what’s happening in our flourishing entrepreneurial scene. At 36/86, we’re going to hone in on the unique people and companies who are starting businesses here.
From its founding, this event has been meant to heighten awareness for entrepreneurs in Tennessee and the Southeast. We have a unique story to tell, and this conference is a great way to showcase what’s going on here now, as well as what’s being built for the future.
Just because we’re focusing more on Tennessee doesn’t mean we’re closing the door on regional partnerships. Quite the opposite. We know that out-of-state investors are interested in what we’re doing across Tennessee, but when we can bring in other innovators from around the region, it packs an even bigger punch. The more we showcase our local efforts, and back that up with partners and entrepreneurs from around the Southeast, the better. That’s what we’re doing with 36/86.
Now couple that awareness with a few days’ worth of education for media and investors. Whether it’s through dynamic speakers and presentations, or more intimate, “porch party” gatherings of 15 to 20 people interested in anything from marketing to accessing West Coast capital, 36/86 will connect the Southeast’s innovative community to the global marketplace.
One thing that’s not changing is LaunchTN’s focus on earlier-stage companies. The goal of 36/86 is to help companies who have raised less than $1.5 million in venture capital funds, and are still early in their life cycle, financially speaking. One of our major, ongoing goals is to create more early-stage capital in Tennessee for our entrepreneurs, and a major event like 36/86 continues to be one of our best ways of doing that.
Charlie Brock is CEO of Launch Tennessee (launchtn.org), a public-private partnership focused on supporting the development of high-growth companies 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 36/86, visit www.thirtysixeightysix.com.