NOVA Entrepreneur Center

What NOVA Entrepreneur Center does

NOVA Entrepreneur Center (NOVA EC) is a non-profit entrepreneurship support organization founded in 2025 and headquartered at Makeshift, 110 N 2nd St, Pulaski, Tennessee. It serves as the Launch Tennessee (LaunchTN) designated entrepreneur center for Southern Middle Tennessee's 13-county region, operating under the pillars of Connection, Commercialization, and Capital. The organization supports new and existing entrepreneurs, small and medium businesses, agricultural producers, and high school, TCAT, and university students through mentoring programs, pitch competitions, boot camps (such as the NOVA Entrepreneur Boot Camp for TCAT), and educational partnerships focused on advanced manufacturing, agriculture and agtech, and the space and aerospace economy.

NOVA EC's core methodology is the Rural Frontier Entrepreneurship (RFE) framework, which combines community assets, experiential educational partnerships, advanced technology, and localized manufacturing to build sustainable rural enterprises. Programs are delivered through a network anchored by UT Southern, TCAT Pulaski, UT Research Foundation, UT Space Institute, UT Center for Industrial Services, and the Makeshift co-working space. The center has engaged over 100 students across two semesters and serves a regional market of approximately 12,433 businesses along the Highway 65 corridor.

The business model relies on a Tennessee state grant awarded and stewarded by LaunchTN, with no disclosed fee-based services or alternative revenue streams. The organization is not venture-backed, has no M&A activity, and owns no proprietary technology platform. Its value proposition is positioned around community-led engagement, regional exclusivity within Southern Middle Tennessee, and integration with the University of Tennessee system and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology.

Name

NOVA Entrepreneur Center

Legal name

NOVA Entrepreneur Center

Website

https://novaec.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NOVA Entrepreneur Center is a non-profit, LaunchTN-designated rural entrepreneurship center in Pulaski, Tennessee, supporting entrepreneurs, SMBs, agricultural producers, and students across Southern Middle Tennessee's 13-county region through mentoring, pitch competitions, boot camps, and the Rural Frontier Entrepreneurship (RFE) framework.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Support Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Venture Creation Centers (EDAHAHAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK), Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB), Entrepreneurship & Small Business Workforce Programs (EDAAAOAM)

Keywords

• Rural entrepreneurship support
• Business mentoring services
• Startup incubation programs
• Entrepreneurship education
• Small business development

Headquarters

HQ city

Pulaski

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: NOVA EC is supported by a Tennessee grant awarded and stewarded by LaunchTN. The center operates as a non-profit entrepreneurship support organization, relying on state funding to provide services to entrepreneurs in Southern Middle Tennessee.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

NOVA Entrepreneur Center is a non-profit rural entrepreneurship support organization serving the 13-county Southern Middle Tennessee region through LaunchTN's pillars of Connection, Commercialization, and Capital. Its core offering is the Rural Frontier Entrepreneurship (RFE) framework, delivered via mentoring programs, multi-day boot camps (such as the NOVA Entrepreneur Boot Camp for TCAT), startup pitch competitions, and student entrepreneurship collaborations with high schools, TCATs, and universities.

Product overview

NOVA Entrepreneur Center operates as a multi-service entrepreneurship support organization offering programs through three interconnected pillars: Connection, Commercialization, and Capital. The center's core methodology is Rural Frontier Entrepreneurship (RFE), which is delivered through training boot camps, pitch competitions, mentoring services, and student collaboration programs. The center also provides newsletter subscriptions to keep the entrepreneurial community informed about events and opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rural Frontier Entrepreneurship (RFE) Rural Frontier Entrepreneurship (RFE) is the core methodology and framework developed by NOVA EC for creating and developing innovative and sustainable rural enterprises that leverage community assets, experiential educational partnerships, advanced technology, and localized manufacturing to strengthen economic resilience.
• NOVA Entrepreneur Boot Camp for TCAT A multi-day intensive entrepreneurship boot camp conducted in partnership with TCAT Pulaski that provides aspiring entrepreneurs with foundational business skills, training, and mentorship over a 4-day period.
• Startup Pitch Competition A competitive event where emerging founders pitch their rural entrepreneurship ideas to judges for feedback and recognition, held at the Makeshift venue in Pulaski, TN, with a $500 prize awarded to the winner.
• Mentoring Program One-on-one and group mentoring services connecting entrepreneurs with experienced mentors, educators, and peers across the 13-county Southern Middle Tennessee region, accessed via sign-up through the NOVA EC website.
• Newsletter Subscription Email newsletter subscription service providing subscribers with updates on events, opportunities, and news from NOVA EC and the Southern Middle Tennessee entrepreneurial community.
• Student Business Collaboration Program Partnership program with high schools, TCATs, and universities that helps students understand entrepreneurship, create businesses from scratch, and learn pitch skills. Has engaged 100+ students over 2 semesters.

Quantifiable outcome

• 12,433 businesses served across the region
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• UT SoutherncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUT Southern hosts the UT Southern Entrepreneur Center and partners with NOVA EC on student entrepreneurship programs. Collaboration includes working with students across multiple semesters on business creation and pitch development.
• TCAT PulaskicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTCAT Pulaski partners with NOVA EC to host the NOVA Entrepreneur Boot Camp. Technical College collaboration provides vocational training pathways and entrepreneurial education for students.
• UT Research FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUT Research Foundation is listed as a key collaborator supporting NOVA EC's mission of commercialization and technology transfer in the region.
• UT Space InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUT Space Institute collaborates with NOVA EC, supporting the space and aerospace economy focus of the entrepreneur center's regional development strategy.
• UT Center for Industrial ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUT Center for Industrial Services partners with NOVA EC to provide expertise in optimizing supply chains, streamlining manufacturing processes, and supporting advanced manufacturing in Southern Middle Tennessee.
• MakeshiftcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakeshift is the co-working and event space that hosts the NOVA Entrepreneur Center in Pulaski, providing the physical location for programs, mentoring, and community events.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EPIcenter Memphis: Sister LaunchTN regional entrepreneur center covering the Memphis/Shelby County area; directly comparable as another regional LaunchTN affiliate providing mentorship, events, and commercialization support to entrepreneurs in Tennessee.
• Sync Space: Knoxville-area LaunchTN-affiliated entrepreneur hub offering coworking, accelerator programming, and founder community; comparable as another Tennessee regional LaunchTN partner with a similar service mix.
• Center for Rural Entrepreneurship: National nonprofit focused specifically on rural entrepreneurship development, providing research, advisory, and program design support to rural communities; comparable as a thought leader and program model for NOVA EC's rural-focused RFE framework.
• The Biz Foundry: Cookeville, TN-based entrepreneur center serving the Upper Cumberland region under LaunchTN; directly comparable as a rural-adjacent Tennessee entrepreneur center providing similar coworking, mentoring, and small business development services.
• The Company Lab (CO.LAB): Chattanooga-based entrepreneur accelerator that is part of LaunchTN's network; directly comparable as a regional Tennessee entrepreneur center offering boot camps, mentoring, and pitch programming for early-stage founders.

Others

• Launch Tennessee (LaunchTN): Statewide parent organization that awarded and stewards the Tennessee grant funding NOVA EC; comparable as the overarching state-level entrepreneurship network that all regional Tennessee entrepreneur centers belong to.
• Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC): Federal economic development agency covering parts of Southern Middle Tennessee and 12 other Appalachian states; comparable as a regional ecosystem funder and policy partner that NOVA EC may engage with for grants and rural economic development programming.

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Global accelerator network running mentorship-driven programs for early-stage startups; comparable as a larger incumbent that founders in NOVA EC's region may eventually migrate to once outgrowing local support.
• ICIC (Initiative for a Competitive Inner City): National nonprofit focused on entrepreneurship in under-resourced communities, including rural and distressed geographies; comparable as a broader incumbent supporting entrepreneurs in underserved markets with research and capacity-building programs.
• gener8tor: National venture accelerator and entrepreneur support organization operating across multiple U.S. regions; comparable as a broader incumbent offering accelerator programming, mentor networks, and capital connections that overlap with NOVA EC's Commercialization and Capital pillars.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NOVA_EntCenter
• Facebookfacebook.com/NOVAEntrepreneurCenter
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nova-entrepreneur-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/NOVA_Entrepreneur_Center

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about NOVA Entrepreneur Center