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

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...

Launch Tennessee

Advances legacy of innovation

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,”...

HCA HEALTHCARE

How HCA healthcare uses data science to learn, test and deploy solutions to improve patient care

When HCA Healthcare was founded in 1968, we set out to be a different kind of healthcare system. We strived to harness the combined expertise and resources of multiple hospitals to help our frontline caregivers provide high-quality, patient-focused care in a way no single hospital could do alone. Today, that...

OVYL

OVYL-MAKING HIGH-END

MAKING HIGH-END, HIGH-TECH PRODUCTS

THE QUESTIONHave you ever had to throw your best work away? I have. It’s demoralizing, but sometimes things you can’t control go wrong and there’s nothing to do but let it go. You can start to think, “why bother?” I’ve seen it happen to our clients too. As a device...

MEMBERS HEALTH CO

DOCTOR LED PROACTIVE HEALTH & WELLNESS DESIGNED TO SAVE MONEY, TIME, & IMPROVE HEALTH OUTCOMES

The Future of Healthcare is Here At Members Health Co, we believe the future of healthcare looks a lot like its past — when your neighborhood doctor truly knew you, advocated for you, and focused on prevention, not billing codes. By removing the middlemen and restoring direct doctor-patient relationships, we...

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...

JULIE LILLISTON COMMUNICATIONS

WHEN INNOVATION MEETS EXPERTISE

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...

NASHVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

NASHVILLE AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE-Since 1847

Since 1847, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has increased economic prosperity by facilitating community leadership

Since 1847, the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has been working for Middle Tennessee businesses. The Chamber is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating economic prosperity by facilitating community leadership. The Nashville Area Chamber is Middle Tennessee’s largest business federation, representing more than 1,700 member businesses in 10 counties (Davidson,...

FIRST SOUTH FINANCIAL

BANKING WITH FRIENDS

The Story of First South Financial’s Strength, Innovation, and Community Impact. For nearly seven decades, First South Financial has stood as a trusted partner in helping individuals, families, and business owners achieve their financial goals. What began as a modest effort to provide accessible banking services has grown into one...

BAKER DONELSON

FROM STARTUP TO STANDOUT

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...

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...

THE WONDRY

THE WONDRY

From Innovation Ambition to Innovation Capacity- The Wond’ry Anchors a Vibrant University Innovation Ecosystem

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...

MINDFUL

MINDFUL-Add kindness to your tech stack

Add kindness to your tech stack.

Revitalizing a 25-year-old software company is no small task, but can be a pathway towards innovation and compelling value creation for employees, customers, and investors. That’s the story of Mindful, a contact center software company that relocated to Nashville in 2018, which was acquired by Medallia in 2022 after an...

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...

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)...

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...

VENDENGINE

DRIVING INNOVATION IN THE CORRECTIONS INDUSTRY

In 2011, VendEngine started as a simple concept — digitizing financial transactions for law enforcement, jails and prisons while providing easy, safe, and secure methods to transmit money between family members and inmates. Once the company got going however, this simple concept, something that had been done in nearly every...

DALTON GETS PEOPLE

DALTON GETS PEOPLE- AND THAT'S HOW THEY GET RESULTS

AND THAT'S HOW THEY GET RESULTS

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...

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...

Frost Brown Todd

National in Scope. Excellence in Practice and Client Service.

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...

JE Dunn

Delivering Construction Solutions

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...

OZ Arts Nashville

A Radical Stage for Artistic Innovation in the South

“Exciting, thought-provoking work that you won’t see anywhere else.”– Nashville Scene – Just minutes from downtown, OZ Arts Nashville has transformed a former cigar warehouse into a bold platform for contemporary performance, multimedia exploration, and creative risk-taking. As an internationally respected presenter, OZ is known for showcasing adventurous new work...

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...

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,...

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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