Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Walk through the doors of Williamson County Schools’ (WSC) Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (EIC), and you might be greeted by one of Tennessee’s most promising future business leaders.

These are not your typical high school students. The 16, 17, and 18-year-olds enrolled in the EIC already own businesses. Some are selling on a national scale and winning funding from adult pitch competitions. Others have built real marketing campaigns for major organizations like the Tennessee Titans. And a handful are growing local customer bases for consumer packaged goods companies.

The program has received national recognition, rivaling some college entrepreneurship programs. And it is about to get significantly bigger.

From 72 students to a waitlist of 300

When the executive director, Jeremy Qualls, took over the EIC in 2019, 72 students were enrolled. Today, the program is capped at 280, with roughly 300 more on the waiting list. Students must apply competitively to get in – and stay in.

Qualls came to the role from an unlikely direction. He played basketball at Austin Peay before building a career in school administration, eventually becoming district athletic director for Williamson County Schools. He was reluctant to make the switch.

“The superintendent called me one day and said, ‘I want you to lead the EIC and the Career and Technical Education programming, because you’re bringing corporate dollars in for athletics, and this program needs more of that,'” Qualls recalled. “I tried to turn him down because athletics was the perfect sandbox for me. But, you see how that turned out.”

Qualls looks back on that moment with gratitude. He said leading the EIC has been immensely fulfilling for him.

The Center draws from all 10 high schools in Williamson County, with district-provided transportation for mid-day blocks. Demand is so high that one cohort starts at 7 a.m., an hour before school, and it regularly fills up first.

“This just shows the power of the program and the caliber of students we accept. So if a kid is on an AP track, maximizing their schedule, they can still make the EIC work,” Qualls said.

Every student builds a Unique Value Proposition and a business plan. The curriculum is provided by Uncharted Learning, a program built by entrepreneurs for future entrepreneurs.

Back-to-back national champions

Each year, Uncharted Learning hosts a National Summit in Chicago with a competitive pitch competition for high school founders. There is $25,000 in prizes up for grabs.

“We’re the reigning champs back-to-back,” Qualls said.

Last year’s first-place prize of $17,000 in non-dilutive funding went to EIC student Abigail Goddard, founder of Spikey. Her trajectory since has been remarkable: she became the first high school student to pitch at Tennessee’s statewide 3686 conference in Nashville, and then the first high school student in history to pitch at South by Southwest. By November 2025, she had presented in 11 pitch competitions at age 17.

Teknovation interviewed Goddard in November, where she credited much of her early momentum to the program’s resources.

“I drive to the center every single morning before school starts. They have this incredible fabrication lab with 3D printing and all sorts of other machines. It’s where I first prototyped Spikey, and then was able to connect with their alumni and mentor network,” she said.

Another EIC alum, Anthony Beckett, is now a student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where he continues to build Markify — an EdTech startup focused on classroom collaboration. The platform now has 12,000 users and is deploying its first premium feature.

“It’s an endless whiteboard for collaboration. Breakout sessions happen within the app, and the teacher can still see in real time what is happening on all the boards,” Qualls said.

A $15.5M expansion on the way

The district’s confidence in the program is reflected in a major capital investment. A newly constructed Innovation Center at the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Campus will begin welcoming students in August 2026, funded by a $15.5 million Innovative School Models grant from the state.

The beautiful new building will add approximately 26,000 square feet of classrooms, meeting spaces, a culinary kitchen, a grab-and-go eatery, and community spaces to the campus.

The new building will house programs in hospitality and tourism, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, and fire management. Partners providing equipment and instruction include the Harpeth Hotel, Thompson Machinery, and the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.

The expanded campus will continue to serve all 10 Williamson County high schools.

Connect with Jeremy Qualls.

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