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

S3 RECYCLING SOLUTIONS

CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN BUSINESS AND CULTURE

S3 Recycling Solutions provides businesses with a hassle-free way to responsibly and safely manage their excess electronics. Headquartered in Springfield, Tenn., with a new location in California, S3 is an award-winning, R2v3-certified technology recycling firm that provides tailored e-waste solutions to customers across North America. S3’s core business is to...

INSEQUENCE

INSEQUENCE

INDUSTRY LEADER IN AUTOMOTIVE JUST-IN-SEQUENCE MANUFACTURING FOR OVER 25 YEARS

What exactly is innovation? It’s more than a brand new way of thinking, though that is definitely a key part of the equation. Genuine innovation also must have a practical application; that is, be impactfully useful. Sometimes the combination of novel idea and usefulness reach the summit and forge a...

MOTUS DRIVE

PRACTICAL MOBILITY SOLUTIONS

Motus Drive was founded by Ferhan Jemal after seeing firsthand the challenges his uncle faced due to limited mobility and the high costs associated with powered wheelchairs. Motivated by this experience, Ferhan spent eight years studying the wheelchair market, talking with industry experts, prototyping, and gathering direct feedback from wheelchair...

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...

VIDEOBOMB

VIDEOBOMB-MAKES ANY BRAND ENGAGEMENT MORE IMMERSIVE AND COMPELLING

MAKES ANY BRAND ENGAGEMENT MORE IMMERSIVE AND COMPELLING

According to Chad Marcum, VideoBomb’s Founder and CEO, “Our mission is to make augmented reality available to businesses of all sizes. AR is the next big thing in customer engagement, and it should not be limited to only the big brands with big budgets. We’ve made it easy and affordable...

Vanderbilt University

Innovation at Vanderbilt

An R1 research institution, Vanderbilt University is known for pathbreaking research, advancing discoveries and fueling breakthroughs across multiple disciplines. With more than $1 billion in annual research expenditures, Vanderbilt fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration with global impact. But Vanderbilt isn’t just a research university, it’s a powerful economic engine that turns ideas...

COUTURE TECHNOLOGIES

COUTURE TECHNOLOGIES-

Virtual Try On Technology is Reshaping How Customers Shop for Clothing Online

You know when you shop for clothes online, but you don’t know which size to buy or if an item will look good on your body? Couture Technologies helps apparel brands solve this massive financial and sustainability challenge by seamlessly integrating its patent-pending virtual try on technology with a brand’s...

SHANE MAC

SHANE MAC

INVESTING IN THE SWITCHBOARD CITY

I have lived to work and, believe me, that’s no way to live… or work. This doesn’t mean don’t work hard. I’ve just discovered that when you love where you live you have a longer-term view of how you work. I spend my days supporting people who are in the...

Schneider Electric

Global Industrial Energy Technology Leader

Schneider Electric is a global industrial energy technology leader bringing world-leading expertise in electrification, automation and digitalization to smart industries, resilient infrastructure, future-proof data centers, intelligent buildings, and intuitive homes. Anchored by deep domain expertise, the company provides integrated end-to-end lifecycle AI-enabled Industrial IoT solutions with connected products, automation, software,...

ACQUIRE

ACQUIRE-The last time we had a technology this versatile

The last time we had a technology this versatile, it changed and improved every element of nearly every business

People used to wonder whether blockchain technology would survive. Then the question transitioned to “It’s not a matter of if, but when it will take hold?” Now the key question being asked is “who is using it and how?” To answer that question, you must understand that Web2 and Web3...

DTB Advisors

Sports Entertainment & Hospitality Speciality Advisory

SpykeFire: Pioneering Autonomous Fire Detection in Challenging Environments David Buttrey, a Nashville native, a co-owner of SpykeFire, joined by two other Nashville natives among the company’s leadership and early supporters of founder and Veteran Todd Melcher and 30 year CA Fire Captain Robert Rowe. This connection underscores how Nashville’s burgeoning...

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...

BUILD IN SE

Is a collaborative network of startup founders, funders, and ecosystem supporters who build in the Southeast. #BuildInSE

In 2018, Build In SE was launched with a mission to increase the number of startup success stories in the Southeastern U.S. by leveraging a collaborative, cross-regional network. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Build In SE defines the Southeast as a collection of 10 states including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi,...

ATIBA

ATIBA-TECH IS HARD. BITS

TECH IS HARD. BITS, BYTES, ACRONYMS, AND BUZZWORDS— OH MY!

When we started our Nashville-based technology consulting firm Atiba all the way back in 1992, the tech services world was relatively simple. When a business needed tech help, they simply opened The Yellow Pages and looked under “Computer Consultants” to hire any one of the dozen or so Nashville IT...

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...

Brock Family Center

Accelerating the translation of Vanderbilt discoveries through commercialization and industry partnerships

The Brock Family Center for Applied Innovation was established at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2023 through a $10 million gift from the Brock family, including John F. Brock III, his wife, Mary, and their three adult children – Rebecca Brock Dixon, John F. Brock IV and Major Brock. The...

THE TABLE

THE TABLE-TAKES ACTION TO BRING EQUITY AND INCLUSION TO NASHVILLE

TAKES ACTION TO BRING EQUITY AND INCLUSION TO NASHVILLE

A new membership organization started in Nashville is growing rapidly. The Table is resonating with the business community because the goal is bold – to make Nashville the model city for equity and inclusiveness by taking action to create opportunities to grow prosperity for people of color. Started in October...

Bradley

The Legal Architects Behind Innovation

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...

All American Sitters

Redefining Childcare

In an industry often viewed as a basic necessity rather than a specialized service, All American Sitters has emerged as a true innovator in the world of childcare. Founded by Mrs. Teresa Bowens, a professional with more than two decades of hands-on experience, the company has transformed the way families...

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...

Nashville Health

Building a Healthier City, Together

NashvilleHealth’s story begins with a paradox. In 2015, Nashville was rising rapidly as one of America’s most dynamic economic engines, an “it city” defined by innovation, creativity, and growth. Yet beneath this momentum lay an alarming truth: Nashville’s residents were among the least healthy in the nation. Former U.S. Senate...

GraphiteRx

GraphiteRx-HEALTHCARE PROCUREMENT & DISTRIBUTION

HEALTHCARE PROCUREMENT & DISTRIBUTION, REIMAGINED

After spending several years in the San Francisco Bay Area as a consultant for a pharmaceutical distributor, GraphiteRx Founder and CEO David Zilberman resolved to tackle some crucial challenges facing the healthcare industry: high distribution costs and limited access to critical medications. Many small- to medium-sized pharmaceutical manufacturers sell their...

Polsinelli

What a law firm should be

Companies in Nashville and across the country turn to Polsinelli for more than skilled legal representation. With Polsinelli by their side, they have a strategic partner who brings business-first solutions. Shaped by executive perspective, Polsinelli – a national law firm with over 1,200 attorneys across 25 offices – provides commercially...

CELERO COMMERCE

CELERO COMMERCE

WAS FOUNDED WITH ONE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVE: TO HELP SMALL AND MID-SIZED BUSINESSES WIN

We know that we can deliver that by leveraging our investment in FinTech and our commitment to partnerships with community /regional banks. It is this combination that truly empowers local businesses in a way that enables them to compete and win in this ever more complex and competitive market.  ...

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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