Nashville Entrepreneur Center
Board briefing
Fall 2026 cohorts

Who is coming
through the door.

The Fall 2026 accelerator cohorts, prepared for the board and growth partners.

111
Companies
3
Concurrent cohorts
14
Idea-stage companies in PreFlight
Sept 1
Kickoff, 2026
The cohorts

Three programs, twelve weeks, running concurrently.

September through December 2026. Total 111 companies, 120 named founders and co-founders.

TakeOff
70
companies

Early founders building a working product and first customers.

InFlight
26
companies

Growth-stage companies scaling revenue, operations, and team.

Project Healthcare
15
companies

Healthcare innovators, all stages.

PreFlight, 14 idea-stage companies, runs alongside as the on-ramp.
Who they are
73%
First-time founders. 76 of the 104 who answered at intake.

The on-ramp for people starting their first company.

First-time founders sit next to experienced operators on their second and third companies.

76 first-time
28 on their second or third
Founder experience at intake, n=104
Where they start

These are working businesses, not ideas on napkins.

69 have launched or are past launch, and 83 already have pilot, paying, or repeat customers.

Exploring an idea
1
Problem and customer defined
9
Building a prototype or MVP
24
Launched with early users
39
Paying customers and growing traction
22
Consistent revenue and scaling
8
Stage at application, n=103
What they build

Healthcare is a quarter of the cohort.

And that is before counting Project Healthcare's dedicated track. Fifteen industries in all.

15
industries represented
Healthcare
28
Professional services
17
IT and technology
14
Education
6
Food and beverage
6
Retail
5
Hospitality
4
Entertainment
4
Financial services
3
8 more across transportation, real estate, nonprofit, manufacturing, and construction.
Primary industry at application, 111 companies
The AI picture

30 of 111 companies use AI, split two ways.

27%
of the cohort
Building with AI
23 companies, 21%

AI is the product itself.

An AI security gateway for hospitals. AI voice receptionists. An AI tutor with guardrails. AI back-office automation for skilled nursing.

Augmenting with AI
7 companies, 6%

A traditional business using AI as one capability among several.

An addiction-recovery platform with an AI recovery coach alongside human coaching.

TakeOff
19 of 70
14 building, 5 augmenting
InFlight
5 of 26
3 building, 2 augmenting
Project Healthcare
6 of 15
All 6 building, 40%, the highest AI-native rate of the three
Classified from each company's own product description at application and onboarding. Companies whose founders merely use AI tools personally are not counted.
Where they come from

Nashville is the core. The reach is national.

57
Nashville
More than half the cohort, from one city.
Franklin7
Murfreesboro5
Brentwood4
Clarksville4
Goodlettsville2
Madison2
Smyrna2
One each
BartlettCordovaDickson GallatinHendersonvilleKnoxville La VergneLebanonMcMinnville MemphisMt. JulietNolensville Old HickorySanta FeSpring Hill
Out of state, one each
Boulder COElkton KYLouisville KY New York NYParkland FLProvidence RI Redwood City CASan Juan PRWilmington NC
Founder-reported location at application. Providence RI is Mycel Medical.
Capital picture

Founders arrive with capital already at work.

$11.3M
Investor capital already raised
$7.0M
Founders' own cash invested
$4.2M
Current annual revenue across the cohort
$741K
Grant funding secured
Self-reported by founders at intake, summer 2026. Floors, not totals.
Cohort-wide aggregates. No individual company's finances appear.
Six to watch

Two from each program.

Described in the founders' own words at application.
Project Healthcare
SCRUTARI AI
Boubacar Barry

A security gateway governing every AI and cloud interaction in healthcare, with PHI redaction.

Project Healthcare
Beyond Lineage
Jay Zigmont, PhD, CFP

Serves the 25% of the US without children, making medical and financial decisions when they cannot.

InFlight
Avenue.co
Matthew and Heather Utzig

Modern tools for surgical instrument identification, education, and tracking.

InFlight
Velotoro
Mike Donoghue

Equips MedTech field sales teams with AI expertise and customer intelligence.

TakeOff
Amara Bitters
Sophia Deahl

Clinically formulated herbal remedies for people living with digestive complaints.

TakeOff
Renuiam
David Whaley

A digital integrative wellness platform bringing functional health to your doorstep.

Where to look next

The full directories are live, searchable, and filterable.

Any filtered slice can be shared as a direct link.

Questions and introductions
Rob Williams
rob.williams@ec.co
Nashville Entrepreneur Center
September 2026