TNInvestco Program

The TNInvestco program was created by the Tennessee General Assembly in July 2009 as part of a broad strategy to nurture entrepreneurship in the state and to jump start job creation in sectors of the economy with high growth potential. The purpose of the TNInvestco program is to encourage and support investments in qualified small businesses that have the potential to transform the State of Tennessee’s economy. Companies like FedEx and HCA were founded by entrepreneurs and eventually backed by venture capital investors. These companies have had a transformational impact on the state’s economy through the jobs, wealth and tax revenues made possible, directly or indirectly, by the efforts of the entrepreneurs that turned vision into reality and the investors that fueled their ambition. For more information about the program, please visit the state of Tennessee website: http://www.state.tn.us/ecd/tninvestco/index.html.

In order to be considered a qualified business to be a recipient of TNInvestco funding, companies must meet the following criteria:

• It is headquartered and its principal business operations are located in Tennessee
• At least sixty percent of its employees are located in Tennessee
• It has not more than one hundred employees
• It is not principally engaged in:
  • Professional services provided by accountants, doctors, or lawyers
  • Banking or lending
  • Real estate development
  • Oil and gas exploration
  • Direct gambling activities
• It is not a franchise of and has no financial relationship with a TNINvestco or any affiliate of a TNInvestco prior to a TNInvestco’s first qualified investment in the business