LaunchTN, a statewide small business program, appears to be a Nashville gang bang of the Shelby County taxpayer. Does anyone think small business in CEO and polo player Orrin Ingram? Ingram is CEO of the multibillion dollar Ingram Industries, SCORE Board member and polo player in his spare time.
Seems Ingram Industries, their peers, and Nashville in general are getting the best of the LaunchTN small business program. LaunchTN is marketed as a statewide small business funding consortium for entrepreneurs. But there is nothing in LaunchTN data to support that the public small business program is targeted toward areas of the most need.
For example, Ingram’s venture capital project, YouScience, received $1.4M from LaunchTN. YouScience is a web-based programming platform, to help individuals select their career pathway. This is nothing against the product. YouScience, while not perfect, turns out to be a well designed suite of assessment tools, based on personal experimentation.
But this is about the LaunchTN program, where there is more for Ingram cronies. Another Ingram peer, in Denny Bottorff, of ND Acquisitions Corporation, doing business as “NuScriptRx”, took down $1.9M in LaunchTN investments. Bottorff is on Ingram’s Board of Directors.
The numerical data in this blog was provided by Ms. Van Tucker, CEO of LaunchTN. Tucker, who is relatively new to LaunchTN, was accommodative in providing data and hasn’t had time to influence the direction of LaunchTN. Hopefully Tucker will influence LaunchTN to direct its efforts more toward areas of greater need like Memphis.
The LaunchTN Board, Chaired by the Commissioner of Tennessee Economic Development, Bob Rolfe, ultimately approves LaunchTN small business investments. And their historical work translates into a Nashville gang bang of the Shelby County taxpayer. Besides, Nashville doesn’t need the help.
Nashville is growing like gangbusters and has 37 business establishments per 1K population compared to 23 for Memphis. Memphis needs approximately 4,000 more small business establishments to power the local economy, to be competitive with those municipalities, with far less establishments per 1K than Nashville, like Knoxville with 29. The former, per 1k data analysis, is informed by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.
Since 2012, here is a summary of LaunchTN Board approved investments for Nashville and Memphis MSAs. The “COMPANIES” column is the number of companies that have received LaunchTN investments and just happens to also coincide with the number of business establishments per 1k in Nashville. See data:
Interestingly, from the raw data referenced at the end of this blog, 12 of the 37 Nashville companies have no corresponding private investment while being accompanied with $11.2M in public LaunchTN investments. Ingram’s Bottorff’s NuScriptRx is one of those companies, while also reporting no retained or newly created jobs. What can you say. Its a Nashville Gang Bang…..
At the same time, with the exception of Second Keys, which just received $150K from LaunchTN, Memphis six other companies have accompanying private investments to go along with their LaunchTN investments.
At any rate, a whole host of folks need to be concerned with the lack of funding coming into Memphis for small business from LaunchTN. Folks like Mark Yates and Roby Williams of the Memphis Black Business Association or even the Society of Entrepreneurs need to be concerned. All of this makes one wonder, what the hell is up with Epicenter ? After all., Epicenter is the designate local network partner of LaunchTN.
Knock, Knock, Anyone at Home Epicenter ?
Based on my analysis of Memphis data, corresponding public policy and lack of economic development course correction, the decline of the local Memphis ecosystem, seems to be an intentional, elitist and corporate socialist design for decline and sell of the Shelby County taxpayer. I can’t find any data to refute that conclusion.
To further confirm this, its just damn strange to see Epicenter Board Chairman and Memphis Chamber Board officer, David Waddell, writing a glowing editorial in the Tennessean on the Nashville Economy. One would assume Waddell serves on the Nashville Chamber, not the Memphis Chamber. C’mon Man !
And further, Richard Smith served on the LaunchTN Board for 4 years up until last year and Calvin Anderson and Waddell currently serve on the LaunchTN Board. Are you serious ? Only $1.5M from LaunchTN?
Waddell and Anderson should tell Rolfe and LaunchTN not to give the Ingram crew another cent, ever. Because they don’t need it ! And also tell, LaunchTN not to give the Nashville MSA another cent until Memphis gets $30M, based on a higher level of need.
In the meantime, I hope to see the Memphis Black Business Association come alive as well as the Society of Entrepreneurs in public forums…..
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