New cohort builds on last year’s success, will have access to critical resources to grow and scale their businesses
Nashville, Tenn. (November 18, 2021) – The Nashville Entrepreneur Center (NEC), a nonprofit dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs and business leaders, today revealed its new cohort of business leaders entering the 2021-2022 InFlight Program. InFlight addresses the unique challenges of startups looking to grow and scale in Nashville. Members have access to more than 290 of Nashville’s top advisors, plus personalized, hands-on attention from this year’s Entrepreneurs-In-Residence (EIR) – Beth Chase, founder, and Katherine McElroy, career start-up executive, c3/consulting – along with a supportive community of fellow entrepreneurs.
“The companies and founders in this cohort are remarkably unique. With hands-on support from the EC, there’s no limit to their success, and last year’s cohort is proof of that,” said Beth Chase, board member of the EC and 2019 Entrepreneur Hall of Fame Inductee. “This is a fantastic group of founders with phenomenal business potential. We look forward to seeing them take their entrepreneurial journey to the next level and the accomplishments and growth this cohort will achieve.”
InFlight has helped companies develop new partnerships, ramp up their workforce, and land new business opportunities. These 12 new Nashville-based businesses are reshaping a variety of industries, and the cohort kicked off this month:
- Apnatomy LLC | Jason White – Apnatomy provides enterprise project management, DevOps, ITSM consulting services, and Atlassian tools to support almost any business process.
- Blu Chip Analytics | Christopher Spencer – Blu Chip Analytics platform is a platform that uses AI technology to provide sports teams detailed insight on fan engagement and player insight.
- Flowerz | Chad Frey – Flowerz was developed as a way to connect communities to responsibly sourced hemp-derived products so that they can have access to more cost-effective alternative medicines that help promote anxiety relief, pain reduction, sleep, and a healthy lifestyle.
- LearnROI Inc | Jackson Taylor – Learn ROI turns e-learning into a hypercompetitive environment, where students compete to earn back their class investment and more by outlearning their peers.
- LNCsearch | Lindsay Baier – LNCsearch is a national executive search and recruiting firm that partners with companies to help drive growth by strengthening the depth of their internal organization in Accounting and Finance, Healthcare, Human Resources, and Supply Chain.
- Mimconnect | Netta Dobbins – Mimconnect a digital network for professionals of color to excel in their careers and diversity consultancy helping companies recruit, retain and develop diverse talent.
- Nash Law PLLC | Brian Lee Nash – Nash Law is a criminal defense law firm located in Downtown Nashville.
- One of None | DeShone Kizer – One of None is a marketplace for creators and collectors to search and find limited edition NFTs.
- Piper Key LLC | Dan George – Piper Key is an HR consulting firm specializing in services to optimize teams and workforces via people analytics, workforce planning, and org network analysis.
- Punches n’ Bunches Boxing & Fitness | Tramaine Crook – Punches n’ Boxing is a fitness boxing company specializing in teaching the art of boxing to combat mental health issues.
- Quantum Branding | Staeven Frey – Quantum Branding helps create authentic and memorable brands that grow and sell through proprietary, evidence-based metrics of brand research, strategy and design called BrandScience™.
- We Optimize Work | Domonique Townsend – We Optimize Work is a consulting firm that empowers executives to optimize their approach to meet operational and organizational goals by engaging and equipping their employees to reach their fullest potential.
In addition to this year’s newcomers, InFlight welcomes back four companies for a second year in the program: Bluestem Wellness, founded by Megan Zarling and Nan Kingsley, CUE Audio, founded by Jameson Rader, Ira Akers and Blake Picquet, Leverage Creative Group, founded by David Loy and Chase Neely, and Songfluencer, founded by John Cloherty and Louis O’Reilly. Since graduating year one, CUE Audio landed deals with the Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators. Other past InFlight successes include Songfluencer, Possip, and Pivot Tech Technology, all reaching new heights in revenue.
This year’s InFlight program looks to continue the momentum of last year’s success which saw several businesses cross over the $1 million in annual revenue mark. The NEC will host an event graduating last year’s class and inaugurating this year’s class on December 14. For more information about InFlight, click here. To see a full list of last year’s cohort, click here. To register for the December 14 event, click here.
About Nashville Entrepreneur Center
The Nashville Entrepreneur Center (NEC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) founded in 2010 by business leaders who wanted to support the next generation of entrepreneurs and to celebrate the spirit and tenacity of the entrepreneurial community. The NEC serves as Nashville’s center for entrepreneurship, supporting visionaries—from every background, in any industry, and at all phases—by connecting them to critical resources and championing their desire to change the world. Learn more about the NEC by following @entrecenter on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and at www.EC.co.
