INNOVATE® Nashville

Innovations of the World

INNOVATE® Nashville

Nashville – Music City, the capital city of the state of Tennessee is rightfully known as the hometown of country music, the birthplace of bluegrass, and the city with the highest concentration of music industry establishments in the nation, celebrating four times more music industry employment than any other US city.

But it’s that and MUCH more! Recently voted as the 11th best place to start a business in the USA, Nashville is a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. It has a thriving retail, automotive, and healthcare industry, and a growing tech hub, with notable organizations like Amazon, Oracle, and Facebook investing in the city.

This city, rich in history, culture, and entertainment just topped the list of the Wall Street Journal’s 2022 hottest job markets. Developments in connectivity, infrastructure and transportation will ensure that Nashville remains one of the best cities in the US to live, work, and play.

INNOVATE® Nashville showcases and profiles the innovators and innovation enablers that are contributing to the dynamic innovation ecosystem drawing talent, industry and investment to the city.

Featured Thought Leaders

Featured Thought Leaders

Featured Innovators

Featured Innovators

Adventure Science Center

Fostering Enthusiasm for Discovery and Exploration

Adventure Science Center connects learners of all ages to the science that surrounds them every day, fostering enthusiasm for discovery and exploration. This year Adventure Science Center marks 80 years of serving the Nashville community, all 95 counties of Tennessee, together with visitors from around the nation and the globe....

UnityAI

The Future of Smarter, More Efficient Healthcare Operations

Hospitals are some of the most profound institutions in America — places where nearly everyone begins and ends their lives. The complexity of these institutions, operationally and administratively, is immense. While no individual or team can optimize this complexity, UnityAI believes AI can. UnityAI didn’t start with a grand vision...

VANDERBILT CAREER ADVANCEMENT AND ENGAGEMENT

THIS IS A COMMUNITY OF LEARNING DEDICATED TO THE FULFILLMENT OF HUMAN POTENTIAL

If you woke up with the opportunity to help empower the next generation of change makers, how would you maximize that opportunity? That’s the question we have the privilege of answering every day for our students. In the 150 years since Vanderbilt University’s founding, we’ve grown from a regional university into...

SwitchPoint Ventures

We build companies around pioneering technologies.

Our journey began a decade ago, here in Nashville – a city known for creativity and reinvention. That same spirit shaped how we approach innovation: with collaboration, grit, and a builder’s mindset. At SwitchPoint Ventures, we build companies around pioneering technologies – particularly in AI, data science, and digital innovation...

Care Sherpa

Bridging the Gap Between Interest and Action

Transforming how healthcare organizations connect, convert, and grow. In the heart of Nashville’s thriving healthcare innovation scene, Care Sherpa is making a measurable difference—both in patient access and in how healthcare organizations grow. Founded by CEO Jessica Walker, Care Sherpa was built to solve one of the industry’s most persistent...

MOMENTUM UNIVERSITY

MOMENTUM UNIVERSITY-

FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT NEED, WE GOT YOU COVERED

Momentum University offers in-person and virtual sessions to over 1200 corporate leaders in over 60 companies around the globe. Whether it’s experiencing high-energy keynote speeches, training, or group coaching, the business is one of the fastest growing minority owned leadership and development companies in the state of Tennessee. The mission...

S3 RECYCLING

S3 RECYCLING-HASSLE-FREE E-WASTE SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESSES

HASSLE-FREE E-WASTE SOLUTIONS FOR BUSINESSES

S3 Recycling Solutions is the right choice for businesses looking for an easy and hassle-free way to responsibly and safely manage excess electronics. Headquartered in Springfield, Tenn., S3 is an award-winning, R2-certified technology recycling firm that provides tailored e-waste solutions to businesses across the nation and in Canada. Since 2007,...

ALTO

Making alternative investments and portfolio diversification accessible for everyone, not just the ultra-wealthy

Alto, a self-directed IRA custodian, is on a mission to provide everyday Americans the same investment opportunities long favored by wealthy and institutional investors...

Holland & Knight

Service Without Boundaries

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...

NASHVILLE SOFTWARE SCHOOL

NASHVILLE SOFTWARE SCHOOL-CREATING AN ONRAMP TO REWARDING CAREERS IN TECHNOLOGY

CREATING AN ONRAMP TO REWARDING CAREERS IN TECHNOLOGY

It was late 2011 when Nashville Software School (NSS) Founder and CEO, John Wark set out to find a solution to a challenge he frequently heard about in Nashville’s business community – the persistent shortage of trained tech talent such as software developers. The tech skills gap was (and is)...

MITER HEALTH

INTELLIGENT CARE DELIVERY PLATFORMS

The healthcare industry works towards caring, promoting health, and quality of life. The growing aging population and rise in cost associated with eldercare is a concern to home health care providers. The challenges faced by home health care providers are immeasurable. From rising costs to providing the care, tracking staff...

Nashville Stars

Building a Brand, Creating a Venue, Inspiring a City

When the story of Nashville’s first Major League Baseball franchise is finally written, one theme will stand above the rest: innovation. Music City Baseball (MCB), the local ownership foundation behind the Nashville Stars, has approached the challenge of bringing MLB to Tennessee with a strategy that goes beyond the traditional...

EVIDENCECARE

EVIDENCECARE

INEFFICIENT WORKFLOWS PLAGUE CLINICIANS. EVIDENCECARE HAS A CURE

The genesis of EvidenceCare came one night while Dr. Brian Fengler was working in the emergency room of Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital in Nashville, and a young woman presented with extreme shortness of breath and fast heart rate. She had a massive blood clot between her heart and lungs. She...

INTERAWORKS

INTERAWORKS-IS YOUR ORGANIZATION READY FOR THE FUTURE@WORK?

IS YOUR ORGANIZATION READY FOR THE FUTURE@WORK?

InteraWorks is an answer to how companies and their employees can elevate the human experience at work, leading to higher performance and new models of leadership, learning, and culture.   The world has changed, and it is time that companies realize that people absolutely must come first. Their capacity and...

HeroWear

Evolving work, improving life: HeroWear exosuits help prevent backpain to improve worker quality of life.

Serious back injuries in the workplace are often preventable. The logistics, manufacturing, and construction industries have long struggled to prevent worker injuries, which impact the quality of life for workers and collectively cost companies billions of dollars each year. In fact, workers in warehousing and transportation who are keeping our...

STUDIO BANK

STUDIO BANK

How Studio Bank is fueling Nashville’s creative economy with creative financial solutions and human connections

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...

Harbor + Union

The Growth Hub Powering Nashville’s Next Generation of Business

In the historic Factory at Franklin, just outside of Nashville, a new kind of business environment is quietly transforming the way local founders, executives, and creatives work. Harbor+ Union is more than a co-working space. It’s a purpose-built ecosystem designed to fuel growth, connection, and innovation among the region’s most...

SUPERWISE

AI That Works for the Real World

SUPERWISE® is leading the next evolution in AI – making intelligent technology work for real-world industries, not just research labs. With practical, scalable, and low-friction tools, SUPERWISE empowers organizations to use AI to increase efficiency, improve decision-making, and transform how work gets done – from the executive suite to the...

CIRCA

BRANDING THAT DRIVES MEANINGFUL & MEASURED GROWTH

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...

TEACH FOR AMERICA

TRANSFORMING CLASSROOMS AND EXPANDING POSSIBILITIES

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...

DARVIS

DARVIS-Fueling companies of the future with automation and innovation

Fueling companies of the future with automation and innovation

DARVIS empowers companies with ultimate visibility of objects, processes and efficient solutions. This productivity as a service platform uses cutting edge artificial intelligence and computer vision technology to track objects and processes with the highest precision and privacy standards on the market. OUR TECHNOLOGY Using an existing camera infrastructure, DARVIS...

MobileFlow

Carpool, Cash In: MobileFlow’s Congestion Hack.

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...

PAT SUMMITT

LEADERSHIP IN A TIME OF CHANGE

The workplace is evolving at record speed. Artificial intelligence, hybrid schedules, and multiple generations sharing the same office are reshaping how we work, creating challenges even seasoned leaders haven’t faced before. We all know that “the only constant is change.” During Pat Summitt’s 40 years of championship-level coaching, she worked...

FORESIGHT

FORESIGHT-Bring Value To Life

Bring Value To Life

Foresight is elevating the sales profession by arming reps with their buyer’s unique needs and pain points so they can have more effective meetings. In the information age, buyers want consultants (not sales reps) to guide them through the process. We make that vision a reality. Freshly baked sourdough and heirloom...

Load More

The Publisher

Glen Edwards

Glen Edwards was born and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University and served in the United States Marine Corps Services. For the next 10 years, Glen worked as a Juvenile Probation Officer in Philadelphia, counseling underprivileged children in North and West Philadelphia. In 1983, Glen left the court and went to work... click to read more

The Publisher

Glen Edwards

Glen Edwards was born and raised in Philadelphia. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University and served in the United States Marine Corps Services. For the next 10 years, Glen worked as a Juvenile Probation Officer in Philadelphia, counseling underprivileged children in North and West Philadelphia. In 1983, Glen left the court and went to work... click to read more

Other Ecosystems