The Nashville Entrepreneur Center is looking for a new leader.
Jane Allen will step down as CEO of the nonprofit organization upon completion of its board of directors’ search for a new top executive, according to a news release.
Founded in 2010, the Entrepreneur Center is often viewed as the epicenter of Nashville's recent entrepreneurial boom. In the last 10 years, the center has worked with more than 10,000 entrepreneurs, according to the organization’s website, including 800 alumni who have raised more than $319 million in funding, generated $417 million in revenue and created more than $100 million in exits.
Allen is the fourth CEO in the organization’s history.
“CEO Jane Allen is an inspiring leader, a pioneering female entrepreneur, and a market disruptor herself who has played a key role in building a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nashville,” said Janet Miller, chair of the Entrepreneur Center board of directors and CEO of Colliers International | Nashville, said in the release. “Her contributions to entrepreneurship and the business community have made a lasting impact, particularly to the many thousands of emerging entrepreneurs that have benefitted from the NEC over the last several years. I look forward to working closely with Jane as we recruit a new CEO.”
Allen was named CEO in 2019, following her own career as an entrepreneur. A former attorney, Allen founded on-demand legal services firm Counsel on Call in 2000 and grew it into a national business now known as Legility. She also co-founded a handbag company named Hanner Clarke.
As CEO of the Entrepreneur Center, Allen launched the city-wide competition Pitch for Good and Renew Nashville, a program aimed at addressing challenges small businesses and entrepreneurs face as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The organization is also in the process of launching Project FinTech to help startups in the fintech world.
The Entrepreneur Center now interacts with more than 2,000 entrepreneurs a year, according to the release. In 2022, seven Entrepreneur Center startups saw exits, some in the nine-figures.
“These exits and program growth are exciting for us and the founder community we serve,” Allen said in the release. “The NEC is poised for continued growth and I am committed to continuing to support our programs and founders, especially as we launch Project Fintech. It's been an honor to serve as the leader, to work with our strong team and board, and we are grateful for the many business partners who join us to serve our amazing Nashville entrepreneurial community. I am confident in the Board’s ability to conduct a thorough search for my successor as I support them in this process every step of the way, ensuring a smooth transition of leadership and continued success for the NEC.”
