If you’re serious about building a startup in Nashville, meet your secret weapon: the Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC). Founded in 2010, EC is a nonprofit built by business leaders to be—literally—Nashville’s “home to entrepreneurship.” What sets it apart? It’s not just talk: EC has helped over 14,000 entrepreneurs, including more than 1,000 alumni, raise $319 million in capital, generate $417 million in revenue, and achieve over $100M in exits. Their survival rate? A solid 84%, outpacing the U.S. average startups by miles.¹
Innovation in Action
The EC doesn’t just teach innovation—it enables it. Their accelerator programs, from TakeOff and InFlight to industry-specific cohorts in healthcare, help founders move from concept to scale quickly. One standout: Project Healthcare, now in its seventh year, has seen cohort companies raise $38.5 million, employ over 160 staffers, and connect with Nashville’s healthcare powerhouse ecosystem.² Through programs like Twendé—an accelerator for Black and brown entrepreneurs—EC tackles inequality head-on by delivering 140% average year-over-year revenue growth among participants.³
What really sets EC apart is how they innovate via programs and funding. Their aligned accelerator structure—launched in 2025—compresses mentorship, curriculum, and peer interaction into a 12-week window. All programs intersect, creating network density, and EC doesn’t take equity—founders keep control.
What Makes EC Unique
Yes, other cities offer coworking and events. But EC marries high-touch programming with deep connections in local industry and corporate funding partners. They’ve built a network of 150+ advisors in marketing, legal, accounting, and HR, plus corporate partners who invest in founder success. EC is a hub and a launchpad all in one.
Leadership & Legacy
The brains behind EC? Local leaders and exited founders whose backgrounds range from healthcare to tech to banking to music. And EC is now helmed by CEO Sam Davidson, who has set a strategic vision for the EC to be helping 1,000 founders a year by 2027.
Leadership matters. Every fall, The EC inducts local legends into its Entrepreneurs.
Hall of Fame, recognizing Nashville icons whose pioneering work built the city’s business ecosystem. Many of these leaders continue to serve as mentors, injecting wisdom into the next generation.
Voices from the Community
A founder exiting InFlight: “EC helped us accelerate traction faster than we ever dreamed.” A Twendé alum: “Revenue doubled in our first year—thanks to mentors and intentional programming.” These stories underscore EC’s mantra: increase the odds of success.
Services & Support
- PreFlight: virtual business planning course for early-stage founders
- TakeOff: launch-ready acceleration for Nashville-based businesses
- Inflight: traction-to-scale support for high-growth founders
- Project Healthcare: cohort-based accelerator tapping local sector strength
- Twendé: growing network and equity accelerator for founders of color
Each program offers free consulting, EC Impact Grant competitions (up to $25,000 non-dilutive awards), coworking access, and a chance to pitch at the biggest opportunity in Nashville for startups: Nashville Entrepreneur Day. All that via a nonprofit model that doesn’t take equity.
Vision for the Future
EC’s ambitions aren’t modest. They’re reshaping Tennessee’s entrepreneurial terrain—especially for underrepresented founders. Meanwhile, EC is refining its accelerator cadence so that founders can dip into multiple tracks in any 12-week window. Their vision: a city where starting a business is as natural as a walk down Broadway—but backed by design, resources, and community.
Bottom Line
The Nashville Entrepreneur Center isn’t just another nonprofit resource—it’s Nashville’s engine for startup success. With decades of business leadership, relentless programming innovation, and a fierce commitment to inclusivity and equity, EC raises the bar on what a local startup ecosystem can achieve. If cities are labs, EC is the experiment proving that greatness grows where planning meets grit.
Nashville Entrepreneur Day Proved This City’s Startup Scene Has Arrived
GEODIS Park hosted Nashville’s coming-out party as a serious startup ecosystem on May 15th. The numbers: 92 companies, 115 founders, and a room packed with business leaders who write checks and make deals.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell and Commissioner Stuart McWhorter came because they recognize what many Nashville business leaders are just beginning to see—the entrepreneurs graduating from EC’s accelerator programs represent the city’s economic future.
The innovation on display was striking. Consumer brands presented products ready for national distribution. These weren’t garage-stage ideas—they were revenue-generating businesses seeking growth.
What separated NED from typical pitch events was the quality of connections.
Established Nashville business owners discussed supply chain partnerships with logistics startups. Healthcare executives discovered technology solutions they hadn’t known existed. Investors identified companies worth deeper conversations.
The informal moments proved most valuable. During coffee breaks and the closing happy hour, competitors became collaborators and casual introductions turned into strategic partnerships.
The startups at GEODIS Park aren’t just building businesses—they’re building Nashville’s future. These founders chose to grow their companies here, creating jobs, attracting talent, and proving that world-class innovation doesn’t require leaving Music City. That commitment to local growth matters more than most realize. RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.
