THE FALL POWER PUSH & TAKEAWAYS FROM A LOCAL CONFERENCE
Written by Jessica Murray
Labor Day has come and gone, and the end-of-year pick-up is in the air. Do you feel it?
I sure do. Everyone’s back in the office, fall conference and travel season is here, and you can feel the mix of energy and angst as business leaders hustle to hit targets or budget by the end of the year.
Empower’s not an exception either. In the past couple of weeks, there’s been a surge in:
Prospects “circling back” on proposal conversations.
Partners are taking a sharp view at the remaining days in the calendar year and working backward to double down on priorities.
My own thinking about how to accelerate velocity and set the end of the year (and 2026) up for success.
Business development conversations and networking opportunities after the August pause. This week, in particular, was a big one.
On that last bullet point, I spent much of the beginning of the week at LaunchTN’s annual 3686 conference. The event is the largest of its kind in the state, bringing together the entrepreneurial community to showcase innovation across Tennessee.
These events are always a whirlwind. And while they take a lot of energy, I’ve found 3686 to be a productive one over the past two years for learning more about what’s evolving, changing and emerging in my own backyard. For example, I somehow missed that Nashville broke into the top 20 markets for pre-seed fundraising last quarter, and it was brought to my attention on Tuesday.
Ten takeaways in soundbites
Since this was an entrepreneur-centered event, and this newsletter’s audience consists largely of current and aspiring business builders, I thought you’d be interested in the sound bites I jotted down.
So, here it goes…the top 10 I remembered:
There are many moving pieces to running a business. If you’re thinking about starting or acquiring one, remember that and do the work.
Don’t lose sight of the people, whether the ones internally helping you build or your customers.
If you’re facing a challenge, seek out the founder who had to overcome that issue nine months ago and survived. They can show you a path.
Deeply understand the customers and build products that fit their lives.
Your customers will give you signals of your relevance.
You can change someone’s day with something as simple as an unexpected “hello.”
Sometimes, constraints can actually bring out the creativity.
Build intentionality about what you want your life to look like, both inside and outside of the business.
Sweat the details.
Your pitch should be the movie trailer, not the entire movie.
Any of those hit home? Reply and tell me which one(s).
What’s next?
There’s more from this week’s events to share. Too much for one post, so expect a sequel in two weeks.
I think you’ll enjoy what’s next.
Yesterday, on the final day of conference events, I took the mic myself as a co-host of one of 3686’s third-day Partner Popups.
The Topic? Read the Signals: What Founders Can Learn from Real-Time Customer Insights.
In the next installment, you can expect reflections and a recap of the event, including the key messages that could be helpful if you’re trying to interpret and act on customer insights and data.