Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

The Nashville Entrepreneur Center has announced the finalists for its annual NEXT Awards presented by Amazon. The gala event will be held, starting at 5:30 p.m. CDT on October 20 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Tickets can be purchased here.

There are six categories of awards, reflective of the vibrant ecosystem in Nashville, and two subcategories for each: start-up and growth. The finalists by industry are as follows:

Healthcare:

1. Start-up: Agentis Longevity, LIFE COORDINATED Commonwealth PACE Inc, and UnityAI.
2. Growth: Care Sherpa, DYNTL, and Solace Implant Center and Oral Surgery.

Financial Services

1. Start-up: Contractor Financial Services, LLC, SpendCare, and Upside Guaranty.
2. Growth: Continuum Planning Partners, One Chance Bookkeeping LLC, and Wilmoth Financial.

Music, Sports, Gaming & Entertainment

1. Start-up: Brandwood Global, Inc., GIGGS, and Nashville Adventures.
2. Growth: Bandwagon Music & Repair, CmdShft, and mtheory.

Products & Services

1. Start-up: A ROZE AFFAIR LLC, Curated Automation LLC, and Daily Crunch.
2. Growth: Acklen Avenue, FortyAU, and protasec.

Real Estate & Construction

1. Start-up: CRE615, LLC, Nashville Maintenance Pros, and Ojas Partners.
2. Growth: Culture Architecture and Design, PLLC, Holladay Ventures, and Jasper LLC.

Hospitality & Retail

1. Start-up: Happenstance Distilling Co., Oye Coffee Co, and virsitour.
2. Growth: Creative Soulz Printing, East Nashville Beer Works, and Rolled 4 Ever Ice Cream.

The NEXT Awards will also honor two innovative founders across all industries with the Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year Award (less than five years in business) and Growth Entrepreneur of the Year Award (more than five years in business). The finalists are:

Start-up Entrepreneur of the Year:

1. Jimmy St. Louis of Agentis Longevity;
2. Laurel Orley of Daily Crunch; and
3. Edmund Jackson of UnityAI.

Growth Entrepreneur of the Year:

1. Colin Callahan of Acklen Avenue;
2. Penny Austermiller of Austermiller, Inc Roofing & Construction; and
3. Charles Lusk of DYNTL.

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