Updated 27 Oct. 2014: Jumpstart confirmed its shift to Healthcare-only, at least for the 2015 cohort, because JSF's had best success in that vertical.-Ed.
JUMPSTART FOUNDRY is considering increasing its emphasis on healthcare-related startups, and the option of becoming exclusively focused on Healthcare companies is on the table, according to two sources. Conversations now underway between Jumpstart and its venture-capital network will influence design of the 2015 program, JSF Chairman Vic Gatto said when asked by VNC. Those 2015 parameters are expected to be in-place by Oct. 31, said Gatto. VNC notes that, as previously reported, JSF has drawn closer to Vanderbilt University and its technology-commercialization program, which is generally regarded as weighted toward health and medical assets. Also, local observers have for years acknowledged that more than 40 years of healthcare-services growth has created critical mass in that sector's knowledge base and entrepreneurial track record, with accompanying investor confidence. Non-healthcare startup activity seems to have surged a bit in recent years, perhaps due to the creation of 10 TNInvestco funds, via a State capital-formation and jobs-creation program.
TENNESSEE HiMSS has given its statewide Tech talent-development and advocacy program the name TNovation. The initiative includes HiMSS's recently announced IT workforce-acceleration partnership for IT education and training, created in partnership with Belmont University. TNHiMSS also plans to license its educational content for use by postsecondary institutions in other states. The program is partly a result of interest by 10 major Tennessee employers, operating as a consortium. Students who enter the 14-week accelerator training program commit to classes once each week, plus 48 hours of online instruction. VNC