#64: LIVE from Nashville Entrepreneur Center: How Community Resources Fuel Startup Growth

Starting a company is often a solitary journey. Until they have enough traction to hire their first employees, founders tend to spend much of their time working alone. A little support for a young startup can go a long way, and that’s where community initiatives and organizations can make a tremendous impact. Today’s episode of the Igniting Startups podcast takes an in-depth look at how one community empowers its local tech startups and entrepreneurs. Our two guests are Brynn Plummer and Clark Buckner, staff members at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center in Nashville, Tennessee. (Buckner is also co-founder and chief creative officer of Relationary Marketing). The EC (Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s nickname in the local community) is a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting entrepreneurs with the critical resources needed to create, launch, and grow a business. Following the release of the “Grit and Growth: The 2018 Tennessee Tech Census Report” and the EC’s NEXT Awards honoring local entrepreneurs and companies, my guests and I sat down to discuss the many ways Nashville enables startup success. Our conversation showcases the organizational and institutional support that communities across the country can provide for their local entrepreneurs—and how entrepreneurs can leverage a variety of community resources for business growth. In this episode with Brynn Plummer and Clark Buckner, you’ll learn: --- How entrepreneurial organizations help founders create winning business models. --- Why interpersonal networks are crucial when it comes to fundraising. --- The big difference a good culture makes for a startup. --- The many ways investing in public transportation empowers entrepreneurs. --- How to tap into your city’s unique business landscape for startup success. --- Major forces and circumstances that attract people to tech hubs. --- The kind of content you can expect from the Nashville EC’s upcoming podcast. If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powderkeg Podcast. Check it out at powderkeg.com/itunes.