If you are here looking for new content click this link. Upon clicking, you will find more juicy content than you can shake a stick at (What does that even mean?).

What is The Startup Slingshot?

Simply put, The Startup Slingshot offers entertaining and educational interviews with experienced entrepreneurs and business experts! Interested? Click here.

Check out a few of our recent episodes!

• - Business School Selection For Entrepreneurs With Graham Richmond of Clear Admit
• - If you have a business idea and want to know what to do next, watch this interview with Scott Rouse of the Entrepreneur Center
• - How To Author A Book That Will Make You Money With Ruth Stevensli>

Yesterday, Sue Painter did an excellent post titled 3 Steps To Get The Most Out Of BarCamp Nashville Even If You Don’t Know A Soul! I want to follow that post by talking about how to get the most money out of BarCamp Nashville.

Regardless if you are attending or speaking, you can use the simple tactic below to generate leads, sales, brand awareness and partnerships for your business. How? Follow me!

Step 1) Ask yourself, “What does your business specialize in?”

For example, if you specialize in search engine optimization, start there.

Step 2) Find and purchase two books on the your specialty.

The key here is to get two copies of a beginner book and two copies of a more advance title on the subject.

Step 3) Host a drawing for the books

Get the word out before hand and the day of, that you will be giving away some awesome books at lunch. Keep in mind, the lunch deadline pushes people to act. Then surprise people by doing it again at the end of the day. All people have to do to enter into the drawing is give you their business card.

Step 4) Gather two beer pitchers from behind the bar

Fine, other containers will do, but the key here is to keep the drawings divided by book level (beginners vs advance).

Step 5) Follow-Up!

On Sunday afternoon take the stack of business cards you collected and begin to go through them and develop your outreach approach (method, message, etc.). Generally speaking, the individuals that entered for a chance to win the beginner book could make great clients, while the people that entered for a chance to win the advance book could make great business partners.

Want two more ways drive sales at BarCamp? Fill out the form below and I will personally send them to you!

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Be sure to check out Bar Camp Nashville To Go Or Not To Go by Greg Patarini tomorrow!

Each video in this toolkit examines a specific topic that will help your organization increase its number of volunteers and donors, in-turn allowing you to increase your impact! Topics include: social media, email marketing, content marketing, online video and MORE.

Featured Videos

Next Steps

Need additional help with the topics above? I can help. Please contact me if you have any questions. I’d love to hear from you!

Best regards,
- William

Ok, it’s likely that you already knew the fact above, so I wanted to take it one step further. Below you will meet some of the companies that are putting Nashville on the map! These startups range from exciting healthcare plays to technology platforms, more traditionally found in silicon valley.

In each video, you will learn about one of Nashville’s hottest startups from its founder. Enjoy!

Top Startups In Nashville

Bonus!

Do YOU want to get on this list? Take your first step by watching the video below!
Tips, tools and tactics to improve your pitch and business plan from Clayton Associates’ own, Andrew Bouldin

Want to learn more about entrepreneurship in Nashville? Sign up for my newsletter below!

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Did I miss anyone? Let me know in the comments below.

Watching this video you will learn:
- How to move individuals down the funnel towards becoming advocate for your organization
- How to identify and segment your key audiences by relationship stage
- How to target each audience segment using your messaging, tactics and calls to action
- How to harness your current advocates to breed additional advocates

Click To Thank Nancy For Her Time Via Twitter!

About Nancy VanReece

Nancy VanReece’s mission to advocate creative opportunities for communities to achieve their potential has been the driving force behind her success throughout her career.

Her blog has been actively discussing Living An Artful Life since 2005. A keynote speech is available on the topic. She also regularly speaks on issues regarding online marketing, social media communications, branding, copyright administration and clearance.

Nancy VanReece worked in the music business for nearly 25 years providing a variety of licensing, publishing, marketing and branding services. Her most recent work at Carpe Diem Management has allowed her to help small businesses and nonprofits understand and use social media to reach, build, and lead core audiences. With a keen eye to the latest trends in social media and online marketing, Nancy has provided detailed social media and social communications strategies for many businesses around the US. She is the Sr. Director of Partnership Development at Cool People Care, Inc. a strategist for GivingMatters.com, The Nashville Library Foundation, and The Transit Alliance of Middle Tennessee.

Connect With Nancy

Carpe Diem Management
Twitter
Facebook

We are not here to debate the origin of a leader, however, but this episode of Startup Spotlight is directed towards any leaders out there- born, developed, or aspiring. Join Chris Redhage, co-founder of Provider Trust, as he talks about some key leadership tips from criticism to communication. Pick up some practical ideas you can implement today to improve your overall leadership style along with some tips on how to continue to be the best leader possible. Watch this week’s episode of Startup Spotlight now!

Thank Chris for his time via Twitter!

About Chris

Chris Redhage has founded and led a diverse set of healthcare, technology and entrepreneurial ventures. His first healthcare venture, The Semeion Group, provided early stage investments to healthcare and technology firms. Mr. Redhage set the plans for the company’s initial investments and growth strategies.

As co-founder of Bluesky Medical Staffing Software (www.blueskymss.com), an Amistaff Healthcare Technology company (www.amistaff.com), Chris built the leading SaaS technology solutions within the healthcare staffing industry that serves as a turnkey solution for staffing companies to streamline recruitment, scheduling, credentialing, payroll and invoicing services. Mr. Redhage has help lead each organization from start-up to profitability and is passionate about social entrepreneurship.

Chris grew up in Nebraska, graduated from the University of Richmond and currently lives in Nashville, TN with his wife. At one time, Mr. Redhage played soccer professionally.

Contact Chris

Provider Trust

Twitter

RedTrainVentures

Much of the success of an event has to do with the quality of marketing that goes in before the big day. Event marketing is a huge and necessary tool for any nonprofit expecting to draw in guests to their well-planned events. Erin Hornsby, the promotions and web content coordinator for Now Play Nashville, is an expert in the event marketing field and joins this week’s episode of Nonprofit Notables with some tips on how to improve your nonprofit’s online event marketing. With great advice on building an event specific website, how to attract and encourage guests to buy tickets online, and how to build hype around your event, you won’t want to miss this episode!

 

Click To Thank Erin For Her Time Via Twitter!

 

About Erin Hornsby

A 2004 graduate of the University of Mississippi, Erin studied journalism and Public Relations. Upon graduation, she moved to Memphis where she worked as a sales rep and later fell back into her PR roots at an ad agency. This is where she learned all of her web knowledge doing corporate web communications for FedEx. She created energy conservation communication plans, edited video copy, wrote press releases, and strategized about what was next on the horizon. Nashville became Erin’s next stop on the career path. She’s always had a passion for volunteering her time with nonprofits, so wanted to incorporate her already web experience with giving back to the community. Four years ago, she landed with The Community Foundation and its initiative NowPlayingNashville.com, an online events calendar. She wears many hats at her job from working with nonprofits on how to submit events, promotional marketing in the community at various events (Street Team), coordinating volunteers, event logistics for the Street Team, promoting the county page initiative, online banner ad placements, and much more. In her spare time, she enjoys the occasional freelance jobs, helping her best friends plan their weddings, spending family time, and traveling. .

Connect With Erin

NowPlayingNashville
Twitter
Linkedin

Getting a diploma is not the only thing on Kumar Thangudu’s mind right now. As the founder of ColdCrate, Kumar is directing his time and efforts to pursuing the startup of his own company, which stems from a unique and passionate history. Watch this week’s episode of Startup Spotlight to learn more about ColdCrate, Kumar’s passions, and how he is learning to balance the responsibility of being a full time student and full time businessman.

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About Kumar Thangudu

Kumar is responsible for the day to business relationships, sales, and overall strategy formation of the company. Prior to starting Cold Crate, he worked for numerous technology startup companies in key business development roles during his education at Georgia Tech. He worked at the Houston Technology Center interacting and consulting with over 60 startup technology startups in IT, Life Sciences(medical devices), Petroleum, Space, and nanotechnology industries. He worked for a groundbreaking Cryogenic Powderized rubber company designing shipping/recieving factory lanes. He spent 2 years working for a particle accelerator company, Scan Tech Sciences, designing the layout of their electronic cold pasteurization facility.  Kumar studies Industrial Supply Chain Engineering at Georgia Tech and currently resides in Nashville, Tn.

Connect with Kumar and ColdCrate

Thangudu.com

ColdCrate

Bengal Famine

Email: hkt@gatech.edu

We all know that content is created at light speed on the internet and infographics are no exception. In June I posted 13 Infographics for Entrepreneurs and here we are about 2 months later and I’ve found 14 more info packed infographics that pertain directly to the field of entrepreneurship. Take a look and let me know what you think!

Note: Click on the image to see the full infographic.

Silicon Valley Salaries

Tech Boom vs. Tech Bubble

The Top Entrepreneurs of the Last 100 Years

Invest Like It’s 1999!

The Tech Talent War

The Startups Toolkit

Spawn of a Tech Giant

Fantasy vs. Reality of a Startup

How Educated Are Successful Entrepreneurs?

The Entrepreneur’s Guide To Delegation

What Entrepreneurs Are Getting Funded?

Which Female Tech Influencer Are You?

The Most Respected Venture Capitalists

5 Tips For Entrepreneurs

Bonus

What Types of People Raise Money For Web Startups?

Did I miss any?! If so, put them in the comments below!

About William:

While at centresource and Suineg Consulting, William Griggs worked with clients ranging from one-man operations to large corporations in order to launch their products and grow their business.

William is very active in the digital community and has served as both an advisor and in managerial roles of several Internet start-up companies.

Currently, William is in the process of starting Give Year, a social enterprise he is incubating in the Nashville Entrepreneur Center that seeks to change the world by harnessing the talents of our nation’s most promising future leaders and providing them with an opportunity to serve.

Follow William: twitter.com/william_griggs

The use of videos is increasingly popular and important to the growth and PR of any nonprofit, and Sam Davidson of CoolPeopleCare is no stranger to the power of videos. On this week’s episode of Nonprofit Notables, Sam fills us in on the why, how, and what of putting together a short segment for your nonprofit. Even with very little skills in videography, you too can push your nonprofit out into the lime light, while developing a recognizable face for your organization.  Tune in to this week’s episode to learn some quick and easy tips to producing your very own video.

 

Click to thank Sam for his time!

 

About Sam Davidson

Sam Davidson is a speaker, author, and entrepreneur who tells stories that need telling in order to motivate others to change the things that need changing. Since its founding in 2006, Cool People Care has connected thousands of individuals to causes in their local communities while its merchandise line has raised over $125,000 for nonprofit organizations around the US. He the co-founder of Proof Branding and is the author of three books: New Day Revolution, 50 Things Your Life Doesn’t Need, and Simplify Your Life. He lives in Nashville with his wife and daughter.

Connect With Sam

CoolPeopleCare.org
SamDavidson.net
Proof Branding
Twitter
Facebook