A CEO who just sold his startup for $250 million and the leaders of two software coding bootcamps headlined the award-winners at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center's annual NEXT Awards.
The Oct. 25 event, which drew a crowd of hundreds to downtown's Schermerhorn Symphony Center, also honored four new inductees to the EC's Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame.
Here's who else was recognized as among the region's top founders, startups and entrepreneurial-minded businesses. Most categories recognized an "emerging" awardee (less than $1 million annual revenue) as well as a "market mover" (north of $1 million in annual revenue):
Entrepreneur of the Year: Travis Messina, CEO, Contessa Health (acquired for $250 million mid-summer)
Emerging Entrepreneur of 2021: Joshua Mundy, CEO and co-founder, Pivot Technology School
Technology
Emerging: CodeX Academy (co-founders Phil Henry, Christian Morsing, Byron Sommardahl)
Market Mover: Stratasan (co-founders Jason Moore, Brian Dailey)
Health care
Emerging: Advocatia (co-founders Ryan Brebner, Laura Robbins)
Market Mover: MediCopy (founder Elliott Noble-Holt)
Real estate, Hospitality and Construction
Emerging: Pillars Development (founder Ed Henley)
Market Mover: Certified Construction Services (co-founders Jared Bradley, Ashley Bradley, Scott DeLano)
Products, Services and Retail
Emerging: Granite Test Prep (founder Grantly Neely)
Market Mover: Thistle Farms (founder Rev. Becca Stevens; CEO Hal Cato)
Music, Sports and Entertainment
Emerging: Bauer Entertainment Marketing (founder Brian Bauer)
Market Mover: mtheory Nashville (founder Cameo Carlson)
