Zap's Wrap March 24th

hi friends,

It’s been a busy 3 months on my own entrepreneurial journey of building startup house!

The goal of startup house- increase the density of venture-backed tech founders in Nashville and create a place to build near one another.

The hard part- before I publicly launch and brand it, I need to figure out the right words to explain it and who it’s ultimately for.

The fun part- it’s starting to ‘work’.

Come to an upcoming event to see it and talk to me about it!

• Learn- Friday, 4/4 @ 3pm: Anatomy of a Term Sheet: Most Highly Negotiated Terms

• Hang- Friday, 4/4 @ 4:30pm: House Party 4/4 @ 4:30pm.

• Meet- Friday, 4/23 @ 6pm: Reverse Pitch 4/23 @ 6pm.

Startup stuff that’s cool

• I caught up with Ryan, who spent the last 8 years turning a $139 bag of groceries into 5M in revenue with his in-home cooking company, Placemat. He’s now taking his tech + experience to bring it to other restaurants, turning Placemat into a marketplace that brings your favorite restaurants to cook for you in your home or airbnb!

• I caught up with James, who was building a startup inside of a larger org for the past 3 years. He’s now working on a totally new thing in the retail experience space that will be one to watch!

• I learned about Eclipse from Calvin and Harrison. They’re a platform for the next generation to get their college degree, faster, cheaper, and customized to their needs.

• My friend Tess now has 1,000 homes selling their yards for local businesses to advertise through At Home Ads!

• I met Paige, founder of Happenstance Whiskey, who launched her brand when she learned 40% of whiskey drinkers were women yet 99% of whiskey companies were run by men.

• I met Tim and his cofounder Sam who are building vertical saas for the tattoo industry with Tap Tattoo. They have over 250 tattoo artists already using their product and growing!

• I met Kris, cofounder of the AI-me that I use with Vinly, who is hopefully going to move to Nashville later this year ❤️ 

Startup house

• Lights are hung in the courtyard (thanks to Read) and I am getting so ready for outdoor events!

• We had Mike come by last week who is one of the biggest champions of Nashville founders!

Interns

If you’re looking for summer interns still, Notre Dame compiled a great list of their undergrads who are back in Nashville for the Summer. You can see the list of students and reach out to them here!

Personal updates

I got to do my favorite thing over the weekend- ride bikes around town with Mr Zap ❤️ 

Change your life, get an e-bike and start biking everywhere! People think it’s not possible, but it’s easy to bike around Nashville and if you know the routes with bike lanes it can be safe.

I also got to go to dinner on Broadway with my friend Gale and a crew of other startup folks!

Ask me questions about Nashville startups through my AI-self here.

Or, come visit me at in-person office hours.

to the moon,

zap