INNOVATE® Nashville

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)...

Gresham Smith, a leading architecture, engineering, design and consulting firm that has called Nashville home for more than 50 years, is an industry leader in innovation. At Gresham Smith, innovation is not just about adopting emerging technologies—it’s about transforming the design and planning process to create healthier, more connected communities....

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...

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...

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...

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,...

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...

When we founded Lodestone Advisory Group in 2013, business leaders were tired of a management consulting industry that was a stiff, black box offering one-size-fits-all “solutions,” with little accountability on end results. Lodestone, named after the naturally occurring magnetic powder that gave early merchants and tradesmen the ability to navigate...

“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...

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...

In an era dominated by likes, follows, and infinite scrolls, Justin Gray, founder of Potluck, is betting on a different future—one where social technology isn’t about building an audience, but about deepening real-life connections with the people we actually see: our friends, families, neighbors, and coworkers. Potluck is more than...

In a city known for breakout artists and bold founders, Mark Cleveland is building something less obvious but no less revolutionary. Through his Parallel Entrepreneur brand – anchored by a podcast, a growing network, and a forthcoming book – Cleveland is giving voice to a specific kind of business leader:...

Go West Creative. We think about things differently. Not just some things, all things. You see, our company has never seen the word NO as an absolute. There is always a why behind the NO and we want to know why? What went wrong before? What didn’t work? Why NO?...

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...

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...

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...

It’s Time for a Major Change For two decades, the digital economy has been driven by growth at any cost. Platforms built fortunes by selling data first and asking forgiveness later. Success was measured by clicks and likes – often at the expense of genuine value. That playbook is collapsing....

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,...

During your last hotel stay, if your room was clean, the in-room appliances were fully functioning and your request for extra towels was addressed quickly then that hotel was probably using Quore. Our cloud-based operations app supports hotel staff in their day-to-day for better guest experiences, which means smarter teams...

What never changes: Christ-centeredness and transformative experiences.What drives change: Curiosity and courage. For more than 134 years, Lipscomb University has been a Christ-centered academic institution rooted in purpose-driven education. Located in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee, Lipscomb is one of the few institutions in the nation offering educational pathways from...

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...

When business leaders face high-stakes decisions, they don’t have the luxury of time or guesswork. BluWave was built precisely for these moments. Founded by private equity veteran Sean Mooney, BluWave is a groundbreaking market network that expertly connects business leaders with the exact specialized third-party advisory firms, technology solutions, and...

Our Founder Brian Fox’s focus was always to “help the good guys catch the bad guys” through the use of the Confirmation.com service which garnered 7 patents and throughout the years caught billions in financial fraud while processing more than a trillion dollars in confirmation data every year. Suresh, Chris,...