As Early Bird tickets go on sale for this year’s 3686 Festival, we are taking a look back at the last 10 years.
And be on the lookout for a call for 3686 memories in coming months, when we will put out a call for attendees favorite memories of the annual festival.
Timeline — a look back
2012: Working with ECD, rebranding
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development joined the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Technology Development Corporation to reimagine the organization as a public-private partnership, under the LaunchTN brand.
2012: Statewide network of connections
Entrepreneur centers statewide establish larger network for entrepreneurs
2013: Seed capital
Facilitated over $16 million in seed-capital investment to the accelerated startups
2013: Investment
Invested over $12 million in capital to high-growth Tennessee companies through the INCITE Co-Investment Fund
2013: Southland
Hosted annual conference, called Southland, which drew about 600 attendees
2014: Summer Internship Program
LaunchTN launches internship program (to date nearly 400 students have done paid internships through the LaunchTN program)
2015: Commercialization
Implemented SBIR and STTR support programs for early-stage companies; hosted the national SBIR road tour and introduced over 100 Tennessee researchers
2015: More investment
Invested $3.4 million in capital to high-growth Tennessee companies through the INCITE Co-Investment Fund and leveraged an additional $18 million in private capital
2015: 3686
Rebranded annual innovation conference 36|86 (formerly Southland); increased attendance from 700 to 900 while bringing in 86 different investment firms from around the country
2016: New focus
Branding reflects LaunchTN effort to make Tennessee the top state in the Southeast for entrepreneurs
2017: More investment
Invested nearly $5 million in capital to high-growth Tennessee companies through the INCITE Co-Investment Fund and leveraged an additional $12.5 million in private capital
2017: Angel Tax Credit
Developed the Angel Tax Credit that was passed by the General Assembly and was used to encourage more angel investment in the state’s early stage, high-growth companies
2017: New fund
Established the Impact Fund with proceeds from the INCITE Fund
2017: More commercialization
Hosted the national SBIR road tour and introduced over 100 Tennessee researchers and entrepreneurs to the various federal agencies providing grant funding
2018: 3686
1,200 attendees at our recent 36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival, drawing from 33 states and including nearly 200 investors
2018: Angel Tax Credit
Issued $1.9 million in tax credits through Angel Tax Credit fund
2018: All capital deployed
To date, all $28.8M from the INCITE fund has been invested for an impact of $1.25 billion
2018: Commercialization
SBIR/STTR Matching Fund established
2019: Angel Tax Credit
Angel Tax credit — 3.28 million dollars leveraged +$1 million credits approved + pending
2019: SBIR
$1.5 million SBIR funds awarded; $4.8 million in SBIR funds matched
2019: 3686
More than 1,200 founders, investors, and ecosystem builders came together in Nashville for LaunchTN seventh-annual 3686 Entrepreneurship Festival
2020: More investment
$1.4 million was deployed to 11 companies through the Impact Fund
2020: Angel Tax Credit
$8.6 million invested with Angel Tax Credit
2020: Commercialization
SBIR/STTR Matching Fund: FY20, the Fund awarded $3 million to 28 companies, leveraging almost $11 million in federal dollars
2021: SBIR
$7 million in SBIR Matching Funds to 44 companies since FY20
2021: Angel Tax Credit
$10.2 Million in Angel Tax Credit investments were made across 33 companies
2022: SBIR
$7 million in SBIR funds deployed (67.5% to diverse founders)
2022: More investment
$1.6 million in investments from Impact Fund
