The First Of Two Nearly Identical Tech Conferences Comes To Nashville This Week

Nashville is hosting two conferences during consecutive weeks for technology entrepreneurs and investors. On the surface, the dueling events seem nearly identical, but they’re trying to differentiate themselves after a contentious split.

Last year, Launch Tennessee, a largely state-funded agency that invests in local startups, and San Francisco-based tech news site Pando Daily organized a single conference together. They ended up clashing over money and who should control the content. Afterward, Pando threatened lawsuits, and Launch Tennessee paid $93,000 in settlements, according to legal documents.

So this year, both sides are organizing their own conferences — but with a striking number of similarities. Both are being held in the same venue: Marathon Music Works, near downtown Nashville. Launch Tennessee’s event, 36|86, runs this week, just before Bonnaroo; Pando Daily’s Pandoland runs next week, just after Bonnaroo. They both are holding pitch competitions for startups, and they both feature a long lineup of speakers from nationally acclaimed tech companies.

Even their descriptions sound similar: Pandoland calls itself a ”festival of entrepreneurship, technology and Southern culture,” while 36|86 is described as “a celebration of entrepreneurship and Southern culture.”

During a break at 36|86, organizer Charlie Brock said he’s somewhat competing for attendance. Most people can’t take off two weeks in a row, he said. But he’s branding his event as focused more on the region and less on Silicon Valley. 

“We want the conversation geared also to be toward: How do you help startups in the Southeast?”

The pitch competition is limited only to Southern startups, for example, and many of the speakers have a Nashville connection.

In a blog post in January, Pando Daily founder Sarah Lacy said Pandoland’s focus would be to “reflect the incredible diversity that’s starting to emerge in startup hubs like San Francisco, New York, and LA.”

Some 36|86 attendees cited the local focus as their reason for coming, but Chattanooga software engineer Adam Haney said he chose Launch Tennessee’s event over Pando Daily’s mostly because of money.

“It was a lot cheaper to come to this one,” he said.

Pando Daily’s conference starts next Monday in the same building.