Launch Tennessee (LaunchTN), a public-private partnership focused on supporting the creation and development of high-growth companies in Tennessee, today released its 2012 report on entrepreneurship and innovation in Tennessee.
“Tennessee is quickly becoming an entrepreneurial hotbed with successful startup companies in a variety of sectors,” said Bill Hagerty, chairman of LaunchTN and commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. “We have the right support structure in place to help innovators, entrepreneurs and investors in Tennessee build on their success and generate more great jobs in our state.”
The report highlights the state’s fastest growing sectors, regional business accelerators and research institutions, as well as the venture capital investments Tennessee startups received in 2012 and the state’s role in 2012 Global Entrepreneurship Week.
“Tennessee has a rich history of entrepreneurship with some of the world’s largest companies founded and based in Tennessee,” said Charlie Brock, president and CEO of LaunchTN. “This report showcases the success Tennessee’s entrepreneurs had last year in launching and growing their companies. Launch Tennessee is poised to help build on that success in 2013."
Some statistics from the report:
- Startup companies and other early-stage, high-growth companies in Tennessee raised more than $210 million of venture capital in 2012.
- More than $17 million of that funding was raised by the 126 companies who completed training and mentorship programs at one of the state’s nine regional business accelerators
- The number of startup companies based on technologies from research institutions in the state has tripled over the past two years.
- Tennessee held 96 events during Global Entrepreneurship Week, making it the No. 1 state in the country for the number of events held during the week for the second year in a row.