Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s 2021 Entrepreneurs’ Hall of Fame class features a businessman turned politician, a musician turned chef and an executive who turned her family business into one of the nation’s most successful Black-owned design and construction firms.
Former Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen and country music icon Trisha Yearwood headline the class, which will be inducted at the EC’s annual NEXT Awards on Oct. 25 at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. They will be joined by former McKissack & McKissack CEO Leatrice McKissack and Burch Investment Group Chairman and CEO Lucius Burch III, according to a news release.
The NEXT Awards recognize Middle Tennessee’s top entrepreneurs, startups and entrepreneurial-minded businesses. Previous hall of fame inductees include country music star Dolly Parton, Zycron Inc. founder Darrell Freeman, C3/Consulting founder Beth Chase and Vanguard Health Systems founder Charlie Martin.
“These are some of the most accomplished legends in their industry and in our Nashville entrepreneurial community,” EC CEO Jane Allen said in the release. “Through their drive, perseverance and vision, this year’s Hall of Famers are incredible examples who inspire the future generation of entrepreneurs in the world, and as an organization built to support Nashville for years to come, we at the EC are thrilled to honor them and their accomplishments.”
Prior to becoming mayor of Nashville and then governor of Tennessee, Bredesen was an entrepreneur, founding HealthAmerica Corp. and selling it in 1986 for approximately $400 million, according to the release. Bredesen’s latest ventures have been in the solar-energy sector, founding Nashville-based Clearloop and Silicon Ranch, which raised $225 million from investors last year.
Yearwood is a country music singer who has three bestselling cookbooks and an Emmy Award-winning Food Network series, according to the release. She also has her own line of pet products, a dinnerware collection, as well as furniture and home accessories.
McKissack took over as CEO of architecture firm McKissack & McKissack, which was founded in 1905, in the 1980’s and won contracts for projects at Fisk University, Tennessee State University and the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. Today, McKissack & McKissack is the nation’s oldest Black-owned design and construction firm, according to the release.
Burch is a prolific Nashville venture capitalist, specializing in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions and management consulting, according to the release. Burch was an early investor in HCA Healthcare Inc. and later ran a venture capital firm with HCA co-founder Jack Massey.
The NEXT Awards will also honor two founders with the Emerging Entrepreneur of 2021 Award and Entrepreneur of 2021 Award, according to the release. Below are the finalists for those awards:
Emerging Entrepreneur of 2021 Award
- Deanna Meador, Couture Technologies
- Joshua Mundy, Pivot Technology School
- Karen Williams, MinTech Agency
- Luke Benda, Healing Innovations Inc.
Entrepreneur of 2021 Award
- Deeannah Seymour, pH-D Feminine Health
- Joan Butters, XSOLIS
- Silas Deane, VendEngine Inc.
- Travis Messina, Contessa
