Teamworthy Ventures Founder Forum
NashVegas
A huge thank you to Teamworthy Ventures for inviting me to their Founder Forum in Nashville last week. I wanted to share below a recap of some of the great presentations, demos, and panel discussions.
About Teamworthy Ventures
The firm is led by senior investment professionals Thomas Lehrman (Managing Partner) who previously co-founded Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) and served as Director of the Office of WMD Terrorism at the U.S. Department of State, Stephen Schmalhofer (Partner), and Brian Cashin (Vice President). I have a tremendous amount of respect for Teamworthy, having previously worked at GLG, and as a huge fan of a number of their portfolio companies (and their thesis around investment research data and tools) including People Data Labs, G2, Affinity, Grata, and Harmonic.
Want An Intro
If you’re fundraising and interested in speaking with Teamworthy, contact me by replying to this email and I can share any materials or make a warm intro. Happy to connect you with any of the portfolio companies below as well.
Job Board
Teamworthy maintains a job board here for roles across their portfolio companies.
Presenting Companies
The day was packed with awesome demos, with each presenter asked to share more on the founding journey, challenges & opportunities.
Dotflo is currently in stealth so I’m not going to spill the beans :)
GlassHouse provides home services businesses with data-driven outbound sales tools without relying on costly ad platforms. The platform enables home services businesses to prospect by leveraging and like-modeling their existing customer list and geographic presence.
Lasso is an all-in-one operating system purpose-built for event companies. The platform provides tools for project, crew, inventory, and financial management for event production.
Morrow helps workers build financial strength by providing a holistic financial view and support. They also provide ESOP tools to companies to help empower their employees.
Parakeet is a risk and compliance automation platform for industrial companies. They help lower the cost of complying with regulatory changes, manage 3rd party risk, and automate certifications and renewals.
Parry Labs is a leader in Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) focused on securing and future-proofing the modern battlespace with advanced digital systems integration.
Quantek Systems provides clinical workflow management tools for radiation oncology (RO). The platform aids in facilitating both business and clinical processes and procedures to elevate patient care.
QuicksortRx provides decision-support tools for pharmacy purchasing. The company has a platform for real-time data and analytics for health systems to manage and lower pharmacy spend.
Panel Discussions & Fireside Chats
There were many great panel discussions and fireside chats…
Starting a Soccer Club
Fascinating story of the founding of Major League Soccer’s Nashville SC and the sprint to win one of four new team bids in under one year from starting the plan. Will Alexander (Co-Founder and the Club’s first Chief Revenue Officer) and John Ingram (Club Owner & Chairman) shared the founding journey as well as insights into hiring the best and the impact of technology and analytics on the sports world.
Technology & National Security
A really interesting discussion with a lot of people with wikipedia pages. Elbridge Colby (former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development), Jeff Eggers (former Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and retired Navy SEAL Commander), Doug Adams (Executive Director, Institute of National Security at Vanderbilt University), and Tim Katsapis (Defense Venture Advisor at Teamworthy Ventures). The group shared thoughts and experiences around defense in the world of AI, and the importance of investing in technology and education.
Healthcare and Beyond: Investor Perspectives
Nashville is home to HCA Healthcare, one of the largest hospital operators in the world. It’s also home to three medical schools, including Belmont’s brand new Thomas F. Frist Jr. College of Medicine. Navid Farzad (Managing Partner at Frist Cressey Ventures), Devin Carty (CEO at Martin Ventures), Byron Smith (Managing Director at Mountain Group Partners), and Richard Fitzgerald (Managing Director at CapitalSpring) shared great insights on healthcare, investing, and startups. Highlights included each panelist’s journey to healthcare investing, the best bosses they’ve worked with, and the future of healthcare.
Vanderbilt Research and the Nashville Innovation Alliance
Padma Raghavan (Vice Provost for Research and Innovation and Chief Research Officer at Vanderbilt University) shared some of the incredible health and technology innovations coming out of Vanderbilt University and interesting partnerships with industry leading companies. Vandy is killing it right now, especially with a huge Football win and subsequent parade off the goalpost down Broadway and into the river.
Fireside Chat
Thomas held a fireside chat with Greg Jones, President of Belmont University. Greg has a great background in academic leadership, having previously served as EVP & Provost of Baylor University and Vice Provost for Global Strategy and Programs and Dean of the Divinity School at Duke University. Greg shared his journey and Belmont’s starting of a new medical school. The Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine recently opened and welcomed its inaugural class. He shared the University’s mission and north start, aligning on a key word, Hope.
It wouldn’t be a trip to Nashville without some country music
Here’s Brian Cashin on violin jumping up for a cameo with the band.
