This past week, Coast Vue welcomed Innovate Mississippi President and CEO Tony Jeff for a discussion about the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Mississippi and some of the promising startup developers on the Gulf Coast.
Coast Vue is a radio show and vlog hosted by Ricky Mathews and broadcast on SuperTalk MS Gulf Coast, who said during the broadcast that he’s spoken with many different members of the economic development world about “the big change” he’s heard a ton about, where the “key to success going forward is building entrepreneurial communities, technology communities—the kinds of places people want to live in—to attract the workers.”
In reply, Tony pointed out that the Gulf Coast has “so many advantages than most any other area of the state,” talking about the small, livable towns on the coast. “There are communities every 10 miles that can fit every type of lifestyle, whether they want to be on the beach, have their kids in great schools,” he said. “We’re based in Jackson and we work with companies all over the state, but we’re seeing a whole bunch of activity on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.”
During the broadcast, Tony pointed out that the South Mississippi Angel Fund is getting its start this fall, bringing on angel investors to invest particularly in South Mississippi startups, joining two additional funds which have been launched recently, the North Mississippi Angel Fund and the Central Mississippi Angel Fund. Angel funds allow investors to get together and share their expertise so that they can get the due diligence done and participate in multiple deals via a process that helps ensure that their investments are diversified.
We’re very thankful to Ricky Mathews and Coast Vue for bringing attention to the entrepreneurial ecosystem on the Gulf Coast, the South Mississippi Angel Fund and the work of Innovate Mississippi. Watch the full show on Youtube.