Scott Barstow

Sam Davidson mentioned there are 80-something resources for entrepreneurs in the Nashville area. StartupNash has one goal: it helps you find your first supporters. We connect startups to peer founders and funders through a tool called Britepeer. Supporters could be: peer founders, funders, mentors, customers, or community members. They likely: - build at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center through vertical specific programming - take advantage of mentorship from SCORE Mentors Nashville - Pitch at the the Wond'ry -Pitch at Founders Live - Go to meetups at Nashville Product Meetup - Join a vault group at BrainTrust - Incorporate through Gust - Angel investing education through Gust’s Angel Guide - Join Greater Nashville Technology Council - Attend 3686 from LaunchTN - Join NashDev Slack to meet other tech founders and engineers solving real problems in their work - Use the Wefunder community to raise a community round OR invest in companies you believe in as a funder - Join other actionable community groups like Repped In Tech® - Join Gun.io's Slack or Discord channels to meet other engineers and learn about Nationwide tech talent -Apply for Jumpstart Foundry’s Healthcare accelerator - Attend Nashville Software School to learn how to be a software developer - Get founder resources specific to the Southeast from Build In SE - Keep up with a ledger of venture backed startup-related developments from Milt Capps at Venture Nashville - Read founder stories from TENNBEAT ...and 70 other groups in Nashville help founders, funders, and vertical specific businesses incubate, accelerate and grow. Of course, many of the folks who run these programs are also on StartupNash to help raise aware awareness for these resources. Any one of these programs could also use Britepeer to help people in their communities meet if they have a Slack group! (Some of the groups I listed already do!) I have a vision that connecting peers easily within programs like these is the way of the future. * Edit, added tons of things I missed the first time 😄 Probably will continue adding to this. Who did I miss?

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Knowing our clients are able to find this kind of value in the things we do is what we do this for.

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Often taken for granted, this subject carries so much weight. especially in times when startup culture world over is on the run. if the fund seeker knows the requirement and chemistry of the fund provider, they may chose the right time and path. so simply explained below.

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Overall, only 1 in 6,300 of all companies makes it to $100M. This post below is just VC-funded companies, which says that that group is 30 to 63 times more likely to get there. Only 1 in 400 companies ever reaches $10M in sales. This data is from the Kaufman organization that studies entrepreneurship. Many companies are not operating companies, holding companies, or solopreneurs too. So that dilutes the results. This data here does not jive with other studies I have seen that conclude VC picks are no more successful than average companies. Of course, this data is skewed by the multiple financings that can reach $50M . You will not get that Series B without some major progress first. It is hard to fail completely with that much capital, as you can crush all the smaller competitors with sales and marketing. So you must ask the question, "Were they successful only because they had more capital, time, and the better people that can attract?"

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Every truly great founder that I know is a THOUSAND STEPS AHEAD. You know this by asking them questions on anything related to their startup business, team, markets, data points, financials, legal, etc. The issue? Most people do not ask great founders, great questions. The other issue, most people know nothing about business building. (so they have no idea what is good, bad or ugly, they simply follow the laggards) I like what Lenny Rachitsky discusses with Mike Maples, Jr here. 1. Get out of the present: Instead of just thinking about solving current problems, you need to immerse yourself in the future. Look for emerging trends, technologies, or shifts in behavior that suggest where the world is heading. Great innovations often stem from individuals who immerse themselves deeply in a niche or cutting-edge area. 2. Great startup ideas share three elements: a. Inflections: External shifts that create potential for radical change in how people think, feel, and behave. b. Insights: A unique understanding of how to harness these inflections and enable a future that the company believes in. c. Founder-future fit: An alignment between the founders and the future they envision, including their skills, motivations, and network. 3. Three things that successful founders do differently a. Movements: A movement aligns early believers around a higher purpose, leveraging their emotional commitment rather than just pragmatic benefits. b. Storytelling: Frame your startup’s story as a hero’s journey. Position yourself not as the hero but as the guide (like Obi-Wan Kenobi) who invites customers (the heroes) to embark on a transformative journey toward a better future. Tailor your narrative to resonate with different stakeholders—investors, customers, employees—by emphasizing how they can achieve their aspirations through your vision. c. Disagreeableness: Founders who challenge the status quo often appear disagreeable because they defy conventional norms. They drive change by questioning existing patterns and persuading others to embrace new ways of thinking and acting.

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