Nashville businessmen John Ingram and Stuart McWhorter have launched an investment partnership dubbed Bullpen Ventures that plans to offer seed-stage investments for up to a dozen start-up companies this year alone.
Bullpen will operate out of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center at the foot of Broadway, which helps budding entrepreneurs prepare to pursue funding.
“This strategy is designed to take a business plan and within 90 days turn the concept into an investable business venture,” said McWhorter, who along with others from his Franklin-based venture capital firm, Clayton Associates, will share business lessons with the entrepreneurs funded by Bullpen.
The initial investment by McWhorter and Ingram in Bullpen wasn’t disclosed. Both are also equity partners in Clayton Associates, whose chairman R. Clayton McWhorter also is the chairman of the entrepreneur center. Stuart McWhorter is president of Clayton Associates, while Ingram is chairman of distribution conglomerate Ingram Industries of Nashville.
A portion of proceeds from any successful investment by Bullpen will go to help sustain the entrepreneur center, McWhorter added.
Michael Burcham, CEO of the center, lauded the roles that both the Ingram and McWhorter families have played in shaping the entrepreneurial landscape here.
“This new partnership is an important part of our entrepreneurial ecosystem — helping us to support the next generation of Nashville’s entrepreneurs and promote economic growth for our region,” he said.
Other sources of seed-stage money for local startups include JumpStart Foundry, which in the past has provided $15,000 each to companies including some at the entrepreneur center. This year, Jumpstart, which receives its funding from local venture capital firm Solidus Co., and a network of angel investors, is targeting investments in health-care information technology, data systems and social networking tools.
Getahn Ward can be reached at 615-726-5968 or at gward@tennessean.com.
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