Wednesday, September 21, 2011 9:30 am

NASHVILLE – The timing could not be better for Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam to help Cannon County acquire jobs.

On Thursday, the governor and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bill Hagerty will join Startup America Partnership Chief Executive Officer Scott Case as he keynotes the Commissioner’s Luncheon during the 58th annual Governor’s Conference on Economic and Community Development in Nashville.

The Startup America Partnership is a private organization working to help young companies succeed in order to grow jobs, and it has announced more than $500 million in private-sector commitments to support startups since launching in January.

“Through his own experience as an entrepreneur and now leading the Startup America Partnership, Scott can offer conference attendees an expert perspective on what can be done in their communities to support entrepreneurship and drive the economy,” Haslam said. “Business startups are an important generator of new jobs as we work to make Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

Cannon County has a business seeking startup assistance. Cobb Home Innovations has proposed a manufacturing facility to produce lighted décor tiles for worldwide distribution and sales. Around $1.5 million in funding assistance is needed to get the project off the ground.

The Startup America Partnership is focused on bringing together some of the country’s most successful organizations to provide valuable resources to young companies with high growth potential. Those resources fall into five key areas that are critical to an entrepreneur’s success: talent, services, expertise, customers and capital.

Rep. Mark Pody, who represents Cannon County in the State House, will be at the Governor’s Conference this week pushing the Cobb’s project the state officials.

Startup Tennessee is Tennessee’s statewide initiative to support entrepreneurs and help startups create jobs. The program is a part of the INCITE Initiative, designed to support innovation across the state and a key component of the Governor’s Jobs4TN economic development plan. Led by the Entrepreneur Center, Startup Tennessee leverages the best practices and national network of the Startup America Partnership to enhance and grow the state’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.