#0109 - Charles Layne, Monique Villa, and Khrys Hatch from LaunchTN Talk About their Ongoing Work in the Tech Ecosystem

<p dir="ltr">On this episode of the Startup of the Year Podcast, we hear a panel discussion that took place at the Established Lounge during SXSW with members from our partner for the event, Launch Tennessee. </p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Specifically, the panel included Charles Layne, who currently serves as the Innovation Manager at Launch Tennessee where he works to facilitate the development of Tennessee technologies through the organization's commercialization programs. Monique Villa was also on the panel and she is the Chief Investment Officer at Launch Tennessee leading capital programs and investments in early-stage companies. Last but not least, Khrys Hatch also participated on the panel. He is a Senior Associate at Launch Tennessee.</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">We also again mention an event that we have coming up on May 15 - 18, the SBA will host the second America’s Seed Fund Week. This series of virtual events connects startups and small businesses working on advanced technologies to the country’s largest source of early-stage funding. America’s Seed Fund serves as a springboard by providing over $4 billion in funding to early-stage startups and small businesses each year as innovators take their technology from R&D through to commercialization. Check out more about the event and register today at: <a href= "https://www.americasseedfund.us">https://www.americasseedfund.us</a> </p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p dir="ltr">Lastly, we again shine a spotlight on one of the startups from our community and that company is Storybook App, which combines guided infant massages, narrated bedtime stories, and relaxing music to help parents get their children to relax and fall asleep. Storybook App has been ranked as the #1 app in parenting in 90 countries with 1.7 million downloads. The app is reducing the average falling asleep time from an average of 50 minutes to an average of 13 minutes, which sounds pretty amazing! Go to <a href= "https://storybook-app.com/">https://storybook-app.