2015 NEXT Awards finalists share their stories
Hear from the six finalists for Entrepreneur of the Year for the 2015 NEXT Awards. Each finalist had their own take on how they’ve been influenced by the kindness of the Nashville business community. Enjoy their stories in the full mashup below or follow along the post to listen to their individual stories.
The NEXT Awards are an annual event developed by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center to spotlight companies and entrepreneurs who are making a significant impact on the region’s economy.
This year’s awards are taking place on Nov. 19 at the Nashville Renaissance Hotel.
Steve Curnutte is the founder of Tortola Advisors and the Capstan Fund, two companies that help rebuild and revitalize struggling businesses. In this clip, he gives an overview of what it’s like to start a business in Tennessee as compared to other states.
Elliott Holt is the CEO of MediCopy, a company focused on improving health information exchange. Without a doubt, company culture carries an enormous value to him. He views his company as one big family.
Tammy Hawes is the founder and CEO of Virsys12, a technology consultancy company specializing in salesforce for healthcare implementation and development. In the clip, Tammy tells two stories. First, Tammy talks about Virsys12’s culture and what she looks for when interviewing a potential employee. Second, Tammy talks about her experience with collaboration inside the Nashville business community.
Sherry Deutschmann started her company LetterLogic in her basement. Today, it has grown to an annual revenue of $36 million. When asked about the culture at LetterLogic, Sherry emphasized employee benefits including profit share, per-mile payment for walking or biking to work and the opportunity to bring their children and pets into work daily.
Tom Morales has made a lasting impact on the hospitality scene in Nashville with restaurants like Acme Feed & Seed, The Southern Steak & Oyster, and revitalizing Loveless Cafe (just to name a few). Tom also grew up in Nashville, so he has a really unique perspective on the city and what makes it so special. In this first clip, Tom talks about that Nashville culture.
Dan Hogan is the founder of Medalogix, a company that analyzes home health clinical data to identify patient risk. He started Medalogix in Nashville, has kept the company here and his story is the perfect summation of the Nashville business community. In this clip, Dan talks about how vital Nashville was to the start of his company.