NASHVILLE Entrepreneur Center announced winners Oct. 20, 2025
Below: 2025 NEXT Award Finalists > Winners in Red
SPECIAL AWARDS
- Darrell Freeman Award: Mignon Francois of The Cupcake Collection
- David H. Furse Mentor Award: Chris Sloan of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz
Startup Entrepreneur of the Year
- Jimmy St. Louis – Agentis Longevity
- Laurel Orley – Daily Crunch
- Edmund Jackson – UnityAI
Growth Entrepreneur of the Year
- Colin Callahan – Acklen Avenue
- Penny Austermiller – Austermiller, Inc Roofing & Construction
- Charles Lusk – DYNTL
Industry, Sector Winners
Healthcare
Startup: Agentis Longevity (Jimmy St. Louis), LIFE COORDINATED Commonwealth PACE Inc, UnityAI
Growth: Care Sherpa, DYNTL (Chaz Lusk), Solace Implant Center and Oral Surgery
Financial Services
Startup: Contractor Financial Services, LLC, SpendCare, Upside Guaranty (Nolen Tuttle)
Growth: Continuum Planning Partners (Andy Fault, Abby Spaulding), One Chance Bookkeeping LLC, Wilmoth Financial
Music, Sports, Gaming & Entertainment
Startup: Brandwood Global Inc. (Stephanie Weir), GIGGS, Nashville Adventures
Growth: Bandwagon Music & Repair, CmdShft, mtheory (Cameo Carlson)
Products & Services
Startup: A ROZE AFFAIR LLC, Curated Automation LLC, Daily Crunch (Laurel Orley, Kenzie Pfeiffer)
Growth: Acklen Avenue, FortyAU (Andrew Kerr), protasec
Real Estate & Construction
Startup: CRE615, LLC, Nashville Maintenance Pros aka YourPros (Eric Schell), Ojas Partners
Growth: Culture Architecture and Design, PLLC, Holladay Ventures (Evan Holladay), Jasper LLC
Hospitality & Retail
Startup: Happenstance Distilling Co., Oye Coffee Co, virsitour (Debbie Garcia)
Growth: Creative Soulz Printing, East Nashville Beer Works, Rolled 4 Ever Ice Cream (Bariangela Segovia + Maliyah Bass)
. Updated 16 May 2026