Tennessee SSBCI venture capital, three InvestTN routes at different stages

Three routes, three different sizes

The Regional Seed Fund invests $25,000 to $250,000, working with a designated entrepreneur center in the applicant's area across seven centers statewide, and expects a venture-backable business model.

The Growth Fund invests $250,000 to $3 million and can lead rounds at that size. It engages across Seed, Series A, and Series B, targeting industries the program names as driving Tennessee's economy, including advanced energy, agtech, biotech, climate tech, data and artificial intelligence, fintech, and health tech. Applicants are expected to bring mature, experienced, strategic venture funds to co-invest.

The Multi Fund commits $1 million to $3 million per commitment to venture capital funds, ideally those targeting $10 million to $30 million in fund size and dedicated to investing in Tennessee-located companies.

The application status differs by route, and that distinction matters

As of the research date, InvestTN states that applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis, with no deadline, and that review from intake form submission to final decision usually takes within 90 days. Startups at pre-seed, seed, Series A, or Series B stages are eligible for an initial investment of $25,000 to $3 million.

The Multi Fund is in a different position. InvestTN states that it is presently fully deployed and that it is not currently taking new applications. A manager reading the rolling-intake language and assuming it covers the fund route would be preparing for a door that is closed.

Both statements are true of the research date rather than permanently. A fully deployed fund can reopen if capital returns, and a rolling intake can pause, so confirm the current position with Launch Tennessee.

The Tennessee test has three alternative routes through it

A company must be registered in Tennessee and meet one of three criteria: 51 percent of employees domiciled in the state, headquarters located there, or a majority of senior management domiciled there. Meeting any one of the three satisfies it.

A minimum one-to-one private capital match is required, and it must be secured within 120 days of a conditional commitment. The conditional commitment is itself useful: InvestTN describes providing commitments that startups can leverage to attract the matching investors.

Decisions run through an investment committee that meets monthly and requires a three of four majority vote, which is worth knowing when planning a raise timeline around the 90-day review.

What to prepare

• Which of the three routes the request belongs to, since only one of them is currently closed.
• Tennessee registration, and which of the three location criteria the company meets.
• The private capital match, and whether it can be secured inside 120 days of a conditional commitment.
• For the seed route, the relationship with the designated entrepreneur center.
• For the growth route, the strategic venture funds expected to co-invest.