Promise for High Growth Technology in Tennessee
Today I had lunch with Christine McDonnell, Vice President of Existing Business & Entrepreneurship - Economic Development at the Nashville Chamber of Commerce, and Eric Cromwell, President and CEO of the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation at Bricktops to discuss PodCamp, BarCamp and how all of these organizations (or un-organizations in BarCamp’s case) could come together to improve the situation for technology entrepreneurs in Tennessee. They were both very passionate and enthusiastic about what is being done at BarCamp, and they both have some great ideas of there own on how we could utilize our strengths to really make a difference here.
I understand this plight all too well, as I was launching my fledgling company “Remarkable Wit” (which is now holding its own), I found it very hard to convey the essence of my company to potential funders. Now, I’m kind of happy it worked out the way it did because it forced me to get some real revenue and prove my model in order to survive, but I have a lot more credence in town than many other aspiring hackers/entrepreneurs and I can see why so many start-ups never start up. There really does need to be more communication between those of us in the know, and those who have the means to enable those in the know. I know of a few startups right now that should be off the ground, but they just haven’t gotten their funding secured yet. It’s a bit to frustrating to watch, honestly.
Having lunch with them really made me proud of the work that the BarCamp Nashville Crew has done thus far to promote and celebrate Internet focused communities and companies in Middle Tennessee. I think there may be very good things that come from this meeting, and I applaud the Chamber and TTDC for reaching out to us to seek a way to work together. I’m predicting more great events and forums in the future, held in our beautiful city of Nashville.
January 24th, 2008 at 1:50 am
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January 24th, 2008 at 2:04 am
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January 24th, 2008 at 9:49 am
I wish ya nothing but the best Marcus. It is great to see the community coming together and the powers that be taking notice.
See you soon.
Dave
February 5th, 2008 at 11:26 am
What were some of the ideas? Or is that being saved for another blog post?
Eric Cromwell is a class act. He and I got to work together on several projects when he was with the state econ development office. It was unfortunate that a lot of the initiatives that he was evangelizing didn’t get Bredesen’s support. A lot of this was due to TennCare’s woes.
There’s a lot to say about this topic. Tennessee (and Nashville specifically) has a very rich and depthful ecosystem of entrepreneurism going back decades. Unfortunately, architects and planners keep trying to turn it into the ‘next Silicon Valley’. My advice: we’re not Silicon Valley. There are many things about the Valley that work well, but there are just as many that don’t. Be Nashville. Don’t be the Valley.
February 5th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
The roots of all this wonderful growth are definitely in good communication. Thanks to the many people out there who build, encourage, and sponsor open forums like BarCamp and PodCamp so that we have a place to exchange ideas. I can’t wait to see everyone this weekend.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:41 pm
dude! time for a new post! looking forward to working the room with you at SX, and hopefully causing some trouble with the chmbr
March 5th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
dude! time for a new post (you havent been hangin around the hillsboro office as of late…) hope all is well! good time to be in middle tennessee!