Project Music

What Project Music does

The Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2010 and headquartered at 41 Peabody Street, Nashville, Tennessee. It operates a portfolio of entrepreneur-support programs built around three flagship accelerators—TakeOff (idea to launch), InFlight (revenue to scale, targeting companies with $100K-$1M revenue), and Project Healthcare (health-tech)—supplemented by Twendé for underrepresented founders and Project FinTech. The EC differentiates itself by not taking equity from participating founders, instead relying on a hybrid revenue model combining program fees ($1,000-$6,000), tiered memberships ($49-$300/month), space rentals, event fees, and contributed revenue from corporate partners, foundations, and an annual giving society.

The EC's primary customer segments are Middle Tennessee and Nashville-area entrepreneurs across four stages: early-stage founders with validated business plans, growth-stage companies scaling operations, health-tech entrepreneurs seeking access to Nashville's healthcare ecosystem (home to 7 of the 11 largest U.S. health systems, including HCA, Lifepoint, and Ascension Saint Thomas), and underrepresented founders (women, founders of color, veterans, LGBTQ+), who already constitute 65% of accelerator participants. As of 2025, the EC has served 537 founders; 244 alumni companies collectively generate $256M in revenue and have raised $146M in capital. The organization is led by CEO Sam Davidson with a team of 11-50 staff, a board of directors, 200+ volunteer advisors, and major sponsors including JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, Pinnacle Financial Partners, and HCA Healthcare.

Distribution is primarily direct through online applications (members.ec.co), in-person coworking at the historic Trolley Barns campus, and signature events including Nashville Entrepreneur Day (1,100 attendees, Spring 2026, sold out at GEODIS Park) and the NEXT Awards & Entrepreneurs' Hall of Fame. The go-to-market motion is community-led and event-driven, with cohort-based programs, founder referrals, and ecosystem partnerships rather than paid acquisition. The EC maintains a $5M+ EC Endowment funded by exited entrepreneurs and awards Impact Grants ($40K distributed in Spring 2026 and Winter 2025), creating a recycling mechanism for Nashville's entrepreneurial exit wealth. Project Music is a music-industry-focused program operated by the EC, leveraging the same accelerator, membership, and event infrastructure to serve music-driven startups in Nashville.

Name

Project Music

Legal name

Nashville Entrepreneur Center

Website

https://ec.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Nashville Entrepreneur Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit operating accelerator programs, tiered memberships, coworking space, and signature events in Nashville, TN, serving early-stage, growth-stage, health-tech, and underrepresented founders without taking equity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Accelerator Programs

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

akta.pro primary industry

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)

Keywords

• Music startup accelerator
• Entrepreneur support services
• Music industry innovation
• Startup mentorship programs
• Music business incubation

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Accelerator Program Fees: Each accelerator program (TakeOff, InFlight, Project Healthcare) charges tuition based on program depth and design. InFlight costs $1,000 (pay in full or $250/month x 4 months). Project Healthcare costs $6,000 (pay in full or $1,500/month x 4 months). Twendé is fully sponsored and free. Pricing varies by program.
2. Membership Dues: Three-tier membership model: Connect at $49/month, CoWork+ at $149/month, and All Access at $300/month. Discounts available for 6-month (5%) and 12-month (10%) plans paid upfront.
3. Space Rental: Revenue from renting EC facilities including the Chase Studio (podcast/video production), Learning Center (up to 100 people), Ingram Board Room (up to 18), Meeting Rooms (6-8 people), and DIY Studio.
4. Event Fees: Fees from events including Nashville Entrepreneur Day (free, public), NEXT Awards (ticketed), and various workshops and networking events. Some events are free for entrepreneurs.
5. Contributed Revenue: Funding from state and local partnerships, corporate partners, business community partners, individual contributions, foundation giving, and the McWhorter Circle annual giving society. The EC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

Project Music is a music-focused startup accelerator program run by the Nashville Entrepreneur Center that fosters innovation in the music industry by supporting music-driven startups through structured cohort programming, mentorship, capital connections, and community building. The program operates within the broader Nashville Entrepreneur Center ecosystem and targets founders building companies across the music value chain.

Product overview

The Nashville Entrepreneur Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering a portfolio of accelerator programs, membership tiers, and workspace rentals. Its core accelerator programs include TakeOff (early-stage), InFlight (growth-stage), and Project Healthcare (healthcare-specific), all providing mentorship, curriculum, and community without taking equity. The organization also offers three membership tiers—Connect, CoWork+, and All Access—providing escalating levels of workspace access and resources. Additional offerings include event spaces (Chase Studio, Learning Center, Ingram Board Room, DIY Studio), the Founders Circles community program for underrepresented founders, and podcasts (Circle Back, Friends of Project Healthcare, Twende).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Graduates raised $1M+ in Spring 2026 cohort
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• EO NashvillecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEO Nashville (Entrepreneurs Organization) partners on programming and events. EO Nashville's Catalyst program info sessions held at EC. Shared programming for growth-stage founders with $250K+ revenue.
• Launch Tennessee (LaunchTN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLaunchTN partners on programs and capital. EC is a Regional Seed Fund partner for InvestTN ($28M Tennessee initiative). LaunchTN invested in alumni companies and reinvested in follow-on rounds.
• Life Science TennesseecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Life Science Tennessee on Project Healthcare Commercialization Subcohort, pairing EC curriculum and connections with LST's life sciences network to move Tennessee healthcare startups to market faster.
• HCA HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHCA Healthcare/ TriStar Health sponsors the Healthcare & Life Sciences category at NEXT Awards and provides HCA Scholarship for Project Healthcare. Alumni Circle Partner supporting ongoing curriculum and community.
• 4FocusminorStrategic or Co-development Partner4Focus is listed as a guiding partner for the InFlight accelerator program.
• Healthcare CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a program partner for Project Healthcare, providing industry connections and expertise in the Nashville healthcare ecosystem.
• Greater Nashville Technology CouncilminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEC team member John Anderson serves on the board of the Greater Nashville Technology Council. NTC membership included as benefit for InFlight participants.
• Vanderbilt UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVanderbilt connections through alumni network and Healthcare Sessions partnership. Site visits to Belmont simulation center included in Project Healthcare.
• Lifepoint HealthminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLifepoint Health is mentioned as one of the health systems for site visits in Project Healthcare, along with HCA, Ascension Saint Thomas.
• Ascension Saint ThomasminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAscension Saint Thomas is included in Project Healthcare site visits for healthcare startup immersion in the Nashville ecosystem.
• JPMorgan ChasecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of Nashville Entrepreneur Day (both Spring and Winter 2026), the twice-yearly showcase event at GEODIS Park featuring 80+ founder booths and Impact Grant pitches.
• AmazoncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPresenting sponsor of the NEXT Awards & Entrepreneurs' Hall of Fame (Hero level). Amazon logo appears on all event materials as the presenting sponsor.
• Pinnacle Financial PartnerscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerGrowth Partner providing expertise in banking and financial services for entrepreneur solutions. Listed among founding teams inducted into Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame 2026.
• Baker DonelsonminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLaw firm Growth Partner providing legal expertise and support for entrepreneurs. Included in NEXT Awards sponsorship.
• LBMCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAccounting and business advisory firm as Pathfinder sponsor for NEXT Awards. Provides expertise for entrepreneur solutions.
• Austermiller RoofingminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPathfinder sponsor for NEXT Awards.
• Music City PrEP ClinicminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInvested in Xuron's seed round and deployed Xuron's platform in their clinic networks. Strategic investor providing clinical deployment partnership.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Capital Factory: Austin-based entrepreneur center combining coworking, accelerator programming, mentorship, and a signature demo event. Closely comparable as a city-anchored entrepreneur hub with corporate sponsorships and an in-person coworking + accelerator stack.
• Rev1 Ventures: Columbus-based startup accelerator and investor combining capital, programming, and coworking. Comparable as a regional entrepreneur support organization coupling accelerator cohorts with fund management and corporate partnerships.
• gener8tor: US accelerator network running cohort-based programs across multiple geographies. Directly comparable structure (multi-program, cohort-driven, investor demo days) with similar scale and similar equity-taking model that contrasts with NEC's no-equity approach.
• Techstars: Global accelerator network running cohort-based programs with mentorship and investor demo days. Directly comparable as a multi-sector accelerator model with structured programming, though Techstars takes equity where NEC does not.
• MassChallenge: Global nonprofit accelerator running equity-free cohort programs for early-stage startups. Closest analog by structure: nonprofit, equity-free, cohort-based, mentor-driven — directly comparable to NEC's model and mission.
• Village Capital: Nonprofit venture fund and accelerator focused on underrepresented founders and impact-driven startups. Comparable on mission (equity-free, diversity-first) and on cohort-based accelerator design targeting healthcare and other verticals.
• Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC): Operator of large-scale innovation campuses offering coworking, accelerator space, and venture programming across multiple US cities. Comparable on the coworking-plus-community-plus-programming model that NEC replicates at smaller scale.
• JumpStart Health: Cleveland-based venture development organization supporting healthtech and other high-impact startups. Closely comparable to NEC's Project Healthcare given a shared health-system access thesis and regional nonprofit structure.
• 1871: Chicago-based nonprofit tech hub and incubator offering coworking, programming, and community for early-stage founders. Highly comparable as a regional nonprofit entrepreneur center combining coworking, accelerators, and events for an in-metro founder base.

Broad incumbents

• Y Combinator: Premier global startup accelerator with the largest alumni network and standardized investor demo days. Comparable as a benchmark for accelerator economics and brand power, though YC is for-profit, equity-taking, and Silicon Valley-anchored.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NashvilleEntrepreneurCenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/ProjectMusicNashville
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nashville-entrepreneur-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/entrecenter
• Xx.com/ProjectMusicEC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments30 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Project Music