(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following announcement was provided by The Biz Foundry.) 

COOKEVILLE—On Thursday, several organizations unveiled a regional initiative to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the Upper Cumberland. Eagle Labs is a partnership comprised of several key organizations as partners in the region: Tennessee Tech University, Cookeville Regional Medical Center, Launch Tennessee, and The Biz Foundry. Eagle Labs will be facilitated and managed by the Upper Cumberland Entrepreneurial Foundation, parent organization of The Biz Foundry.

The overall mission of the Eagle Labs program is to promote economic development through innovation and partnerships. The program will foster collaboration between private industry, education, research and the entrepreneurial community in order to serve as a catalyst for innovation, and in turn economic growth and job production. “As we strive to grow the research and innovation core of TTU, we are looking to create a front door to the university that enables business development through innovation, assistance with business retention and expansion, and assistance with new business recruitment,” said TTU President Phil Oldham. “We are looking forward to exploring the opportunities this initiative presents.”

The official agreement took place at Cookeville Regional Medical Center Thursday afternoon. “Community outreach and economic development is important to us and the Upper Cumberland area,” said CRMC CEO Paul Korth. “We are pleased to partner with The Biz Foundry and look forward to seeing the growth that will take place with their program.” The Eagle Labs’ mission coincides with Launch Tennessee’s effort to build entrepreneurial eco-systems across the state. The regional Launch Tennessee business accelerator, The Biz Foundry, will oversee the program. Launch Tennessee director of commercialization, Jim Stefansic, will also help with technology transfer issues and connections to outside resources.

“The research community, including students and faculty, is a major contributor to the entrepreneurial community in any region. This partnership is a step towards connecting the collective talent of TTU to vital business partners and entrepreneurs across the state and the country. Partnerships like this lead to the creation of high tech companies that take root in our region. An organization like Eagle Labs is very attractive to outside companies looking to locate in the region as well,” said Biz Foundry President Jeff Brown.

The partnership will be open to private industry, entrepreneurs and community organizations in the 14-county Upper Cumberland region. Community and industry participation is encouraged to further stimulate innovation and collaboration. To learn more about Eagle Labs, please contact The Biz Foundry at 931-210-5105.

When we first profiled Baron last August (http://www.teknovation.biz/2012/08/08/baron-personifies-importance-entrepreneurial-persistence/), he was preparing for fall semester when the backpack would be available in the UT Book Store and selected other retail outlets. With the 2012-13 academic year nearing its end, we wondered how the first year had gone.

“I’m happy, but not satisfied,” Baron said. “It (Casenova) has come a long way. You don’t realize it takes time to build a brand.”

Noting that he works almost “24/7,” Baron says that “it’s been a great business learning experience. I’ve thrown myself into it.”

It is little wonder that he works around the clock, with Casenova’s manufacturing occurring in China, a broadened product mix, and a second company that he has launched with a partner.

Baron shared with us his Casenova catalog for retailers. It includes the original sling bag in black, pink and royal blue, one- and two-strap backpacks in a variety of colors, messenger bags, a variety of iPhone and iPad cases, and laptop sleeves, The company’s website is http://www.case-nova.com/. Products can also be ordered from Amazon.

“Our sling bag is still the big seller,” he says.

The soft spoken entrepreneur exhibited at the Campus Market Expo earlier this year. It is billed as the largest tradeshow and educational event for the more than 3,000 college bookstores in the country.

“I wanted to do some market research,” Baron says, adding that “we got some good feedback and some orders.”

He’ll be in China much of this month exploring new product offerings that he can promote.

“The college market is seasonal,” Baron explains. Stores typically buy in May, June and early July for fall semester and again near the end of the calendar year for the spring season.

“I want to add 150 to 200 stores this next year,” he says.

In addition to Casenova, Baron and his Chinese manufacturer have partnered to launch a line of art-inspired luggage under the Neo-Cover brand (www.neocover.us).

Baron clearly has the entrepreneurial “bug.”

“Collaboration is the key, but you can’t get there without communication,” the President and Chief Executive Officer of LaunchTN told about 50 people attending the monthly event. He added that his organization is focused on determining the best ways to “draw on the unique strengths” of each community and region and foster more alliances, whether local or with an entrepreneur or company in another part of the state.

“That’s the only way Tennessee can win,” Brock said, noting that 60 percent of the nation’s venture capital is based in California or Massachusetts.

“Tech 20/20 and East Tennessee can be a real showcase,” he added, citing the region’s assets like Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee.

Brock noted several upcoming events that LaunchTN has designed to help overcome some of the barriers to success. One is next month’s “Southland” conference that will significantly elevate the state’s profile by attracting venture capitalists and national speakers from around the country. Part of the attraction to get them to Tennessee is the fact that “Southland” is positioned between the Country Music Association’s annual “Fan Fair” and Bonnaro.

Another activity is the first ever statewide “Demo Day” set for August 27 in Nashville. Entrepreneurs participating in the nine regional accelerator boot camps will present their companies to a panel of judges that will select the “Tennessee 10.”

LaunchTN will take the winning entrepreneurs on a statewide tour the next week and hold a national road show later in the year to California, Massachusetts and New York. Both tours, designed to attract investors and customers, are funded by a grant from the Blackstone Group.

Jill Van Beke, LaunchTN’s East Tennessee Director, also spoke and announced a series of special monthly meetings focused on entrepreneurs, inventors and investors. We will publish more on those meetings next week.

We had the opportunity to meet many of the entrepreneurs who are leading the seven companies participating in the second week of the “Gig Tank,” Chattanooga’s internationally known accelerator. We also talked with a few mentors and a number of the “specialists” who are assisting the start-ups in specific areas like marketing and graphic arts.

There was a constant buzz in the room as people arrived and departed. Many of the mentors were already at work, talking with the start-ups to which they were assigned. One of those mentors was David McDonald, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Lift1428, an innovation, design, strategy, marketing, and communications firm devoted to the healthcare industry. He maintains offices in Chattanooga as well as Miami and San Francisco.

What I found so contagious, however, was the enthusiasm for being part of “Gig Tank,” which already has a national and international following in only its second year. If you doubt how far the word has spread about the event, you have to look no further than Parth Suthar, who relocated from India to serve as one of the “specialists” while he seeks funding for his own start-up company.

We learned that two of the “specialists” – Taylor Mergele and Patrick Karagianis – are from Chicago and have mutual friends, but had never met until they arrived in Chattanooga. Karagianis and another “specialist” – she said to use only one name (Niyan) – are students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, but they had never met. Mergele goes to Vanderbilt and another “specialist” – Soyoung Yoon – is a native of South Korea and currently enrolled at Carnegie Mellon.

We talked with two healthcare start-up entrepreneurs – Shayne Woods, President of fwdhealth, and Harrison Tyner, Chief Executive Officer of WeCounsel Solutions, LLC. Both are Chattanoogans who are starting their companies locally. During our conversation with Suthar, we learned that his company, named Sensevery Wireless Ltd, is focused on helping senior citizens maintain their independence through the deployment of a set of sensors in individual homes or assisted living centers.

Since our last visit to CO.LAB, we noticed some redecorating in the main room at CO.LAB. Enoch Ewell told us the new furniture, manufactured by Steelcase, was donated by Smart Furniture.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be posting additional stories about the entrepreneurs, mentors, staff and activities that contribute to this year’s “Gig Tank.” And, yes, we are already “pumped” at the prospect of attending “Demo Day” on August 6.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The graphic accompanying this article is a picture of this week’s schedule for the “Gig Tank” teams.)

Here are links to other recent articles about the “Gig Tank”:

• From Southern/alpha - http://southernalpha.com/general/thegigtank-new-team-exclusive-tidbit/.
• From Nooga.com - http://www.nooga.com/161632/investor-paul-singh-brings-constructive-criticism-to-chattanooga/.