VNC's previous reporting on exploration of the concept of the TennesSeed POC Fund is located here.
Release below provided July 15, 2015, by Grady Vanderhoofven of Meritus Ventures.
VNC believes these are important questions, but takes no position on the matter at this time.-Milt Capps
Innova Memphis and Meritus Ventures have partnered with Tech2020 and Memphis Bioworks Foundation, with support from The University of Tennessee Research Foundation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and LaunchTN, to establish the TennesSeed Proof of Concept Fund. The effort is partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce, through its Economic Development Administration.
The goal of the effort is to establish TennesSeed as a professionally-managed, evergreen fund to make equity investments in vetted "proof of concept" opportunities within Tennessee. The team is conducting a survey to gather opinions and perspectives from participants in the company creation and financing ecosystem in Tennessee.
The results of the survey will inform the team's thinking as they work to structure and position the fund for optimum impact and sustainability. You can access the survey at: https://survature.com/s/KK9YNBMCR0yd/
Your investment of time, which should be less than 5 minutes, will be appreciated and will contribute to the establishment of a new pool of capital focused on companies in Tennessee. [###]