Tony Jeff, President and CEO of Innovate Mississippi, spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson during its May 20, 2025, meeting.
Jeff talked about dozens of start up companies in Mississippi and how you could become one of them or co-invest in a portfolio of Mississippi start up companies along with state funding.
Jeff discusses several amazing success stories of Mississippi start up companies that have grown to become multi-million-dollar companies.
Jeff, who has coached over 2,000 entrepreneurial ventures and helped companies raise more than $230 million in private equity, outlined the organization’s mission and called on local business leaders to play a more active role as mentors and service providers12.
Jeff described Innovate Mississippi as “the Shark Tank for technology startups in Mississippi,” focusing on high-growth, innovation-driven businesses that are often too risky for traditional bank financing. Instead, these ventures rely on private investors willing to take a chance on new ideas with the potential for significant returns12.
However, Jeff challenged the common perception that startup success is all about having a “good idea.” He argued that execution—turning an idea into a viable, scalable business—is far more important. “We don’t need clever ideas so much. What you need is really good execution,” he said, illustrating his point with a humorous example about starting a shadow puppet business. Even the silliest concept, Jeff noted, can become impressive with the right execution12.
He emphasized that the path for startups is fraught with failure, noting that most investor-backed ventures do not succeed. “For every winner, there are dozens of losers. Odds are, you’re one of them,” he said. Despite this, Jeff encouraged the audience not to fear failure, but to embrace the learning and resilience it brings12.
Jeff outlined Innovate Mississippi’s systematic approach to evaluating startups, which includes assessing technical feasibility, market demand, and financial viability. He stressed that entrepreneurs must plan not just to launch or become profitable, but to deliver a return to investors—often five to ten times their money within five to nine years12.
A significant portion of Jeff’s talk focused on the need for more mentors and service providers—such as accountants, attorneys, and marketers—willing to work with early-stage, sometimes unpredictable startups. He explained that while there is ample investment capital available in Mississippi for investor-ready deals, the real bottleneck is the shortage of startups that are truly ready for investment. “We have plenty of money for all the deals that are investor-ready; we just don’t have enough of those deals,” he said12.
Innovate Mississippi supports startups through a variety of programs, including angel investor networks, seed funds, and a new venture capital matching program. The organization also hosts pitch competitions and the “Co-Builders” accelerator, offering mentorship and funding to promising teams. Jeff highlighted the importance of these events, which push entrepreneurs to refine their ideas and business plans in preparation for public and investor scrutiny12.
Jeff concluded with a call to action, urging local professionals to volunteer as mentors or service providers. “There’s not a single company out there that couldn’t use your help and your experience for an hour,” he said, noting that even a brief mentoring relationship can make a critical difference for a startup12.
During a Q&A session, Jeff discussed the requirements for angel investing, the typical size and stage of Mississippi startups, and some of the state’s biggest entrepreneurial success stories, including Bomgar (now BeyondTrust), FNC, and Glow. He acknowledged the low percentage of startups that ultimately succeed, but stressed the importance of “failing fast and failing cheap” to maximize learning and resource efficiency.
