INNOVATE® Nashville

A National Movement to Expand Educational Opportunity This year, Teach For America marks its 35th anniversary – a milestone that celebrates a movement of leaders working alongside communities to expand opportunity for all children. Since its founding in 1990, Teach For America has recruited, developed, and supported a diverse network...

If 2020 proved anything, it’s that change is inevitable, whether that is decided on internally or not. “The ability to be resilient lies within confidently understanding where your organization is today, where it desires to be, the team that makes it up, and the processes that support it, fast,” says...

Since 1989, truly understanding people has been a unique trait of Dalton – a leading advertising, public relations and digital marketing agency with offices across the Southeast, in Nashville, Atlanta and Jacksonville. On every project, Dalton digs deep to uncover the insights and human truths that get to the emotional...

A bank for creators…A Studio is a place where creators do their thing. Studio Bank exists to empower creators. Whether you’re designing a company or creating a better life for your family, crafting a song or writing code, orchestrating social change or enhancing the quality of care, we launched Studio...

For more than 70 years, RJ Young has stood at the forefront of helping businesses adapt to change. What began in 1955 as a local provider of office equipment in Nashville has grown into one of the Southeast’s most respected and comprehensive business technology partners. Over the decades, RJ Young...

Julie Lilliston Communications Shapes the Future of PR. When Julie Lilliston founded Julie Lilliston Communications in 2014, she envisioned more than just another public relations firm. Drawing from more than two decades of corporate communications expertise at global agencies Weber Shandwick and MSL Group, she set out to revolutionize how...

How Finwell Innovates Finwell has reimagined financial advice by removing the traditional barriers that prevent most people from accessing professional, unbiased wealth management and comprehensive financial planning. Unlike firms driven by product sales, Finwell focuses on serving individuals and families often overlooked by traditional wealth managers. By prioritizing education, planning,...

Renewal House combines evidence-based treatment with deep compassion, creating innovative paths to recovery that strengthen both mothers and their children. As the only long-term family residential recovery program for women and their children in Middle Tennessee, Renewal House has always been driven by a vision that goes beyond addressing substance...

Frost Brown Todd isn’t just a law firm—we’re a strategic collaborator and advisor to businesses nationwide. With more than 600 attorneys in key markets across the U.S., we bring solution-driven legal insight to every corner of commerce. Our firm is especially known for its strength in the middle market and...

Small businesses make up 99.9% of all companies in the United States. Within a year, 20% of new small businesses fail. That number rises to 30% before the end of the second year. After five years, half of those small businesses have failed. Profits only start trickling in after 18...

Circa helps organizations in vital growth periods uncover who they are, connect with who they serve, and build brands that last. In 2015, founders Tori Thomas and Laura Deleot set out with a clear vision: create what matters. They built Circa to not only deliver value for clients, but also...

FoxFuel Creative is a sharp-tongued, no-nonsense agency, built on the tension between sophistication and rebellion. Because brands need an agency that knows the rules and when to break them. That’s where the magic happens. In the friction between polish and punch. Between the curve in a classical column and the...

“Imagine a world where everything that can be connected will be connected – where driverless cars talk to smart transportation networks and where sensors can monitor your health and transmit data to your doctor. That’s a snapshot of what the 5g world will look like.” – Ajit Pai, Former FCC...

Public-private partnership Launch Tennessee has spent more than a decade creating a unique statewide startup ecosystem, supporting entrepreneurs in all 95 counties across the Volunteer State by providing capital, commercialization support, and connections. “It’s a great privilege to work on behalf of the entire state to boost innovation and entrepreneurship,”...

A construction supervisor reviews jobsite footage delivered remotely by an onsite robot. In a rural hospital, a patient’s MRI is uploaded to an online portal, where a specialist on the other side of the country reviews it. An aviation breakthrough gains patent protection to power the next generation of supersonic...

Mobility is more fragmented than ever. Urban congestion has long been treated as a civil-engineering problem—a matter of pouring more concrete or pricing drivers off the road. Urban gridlock has become the invisible tax of modern life. In cities like Los Angeles and New York, commuters lose between 50 to...

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...

Founded in 1889, Holland & Knight is a global law firm with more than 2,200 lawyers and other professionals in 35 offices throughout the world. The Firm’s lawyers provide representation in litigation, business, real estate and governmental law. Interdisciplinary practice groups and industry-based teams provide clients with efficient access to...

Baker Donelson’s Emerging Companies and Venture Capital Practice Fuels the Future of Emerging Companies. With a deep bench of attorneys who understand the unique challenges and opportunities faced by early-stage companies and rapid-growth ventures, Baker Donelson’s Emerging Companies and Venture Capital (ECVC) team is a trusted partner for entrepreneurs and...

JE Dunn Construction, founded in 1924, is the sixth-largest domestic general building contractor in the United States with offices in 26 locations. They endeavor to be an indispensable business partner, thoroughly understanding their client’s vision so they can deliver construction solutions that meet their needs. For over 30 years, JE...

A Good Fit. A Great Future. That’s how Nashville State Community College defines itself—serving diverse students from Nashville’s urban core to rural counties, each bringing unique backgrounds and experiences. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to how Nashville State serves its students and communities. In fact, with Vision 2030 – its...

At Thnks, our mission is to leverage technology and the science of gratitude to help establish and build strong relationships for the modern world, through efficient, personalized, and thoughtful appreciation. Thnks has created a movement in workplaces with over 15,000 Thnks sent every week — helping business professionals improve their...

Let a theatrical play be the way that immerses you in storytelling so powerful, it will live with you forever. Kennie Playhouse Theatre (KPT) is one of the city’s hidden jewels, a thriving artistic hub that brings dynamic, thought-provoking, and spirit-lifting stories to the stage for everyone to enjoy. From...

The Wond’ry, Vanderbilt University’s center for innovation, serves as a catalyst for efforts to build and strengthen innovation capacity in the region. The Wond’ry provides space, mentorship, programming and other resources designed to facilitate cross-disciplinary collaboration among students, faculty, staff, and alumni from across all parts of Vanderbilt and from...