Ep. 21: Sam Davidson: How the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s New CEO Plans to Level-Up Music City’s Growing Entrepreneur Class

Climbing the Charts with Angie Lawless and Brandon Miller

For the launch of Episode 1 of Season 3, Climbing the Charts sat down with Sam Davidson, who on June 28, 2023, was announced as Jane Allen’s successor as the next CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center (EC). Sam hit the ground running in this high visibility, high impact new role, which he describes on his Linkedin profile as: “Working to make Nashville the most entrepreneurial city in America.”

For more than a decade, the EC has connected entrepreneurs with critical resources to create, launch, and grow businesses, and has become a centerpiece of the connective tissue and business ecosystem of Music City. Sam provides us with an overview of the EC’s current programs and services, as well as provides some truly fascinating metrics about its impact and successes in a city that now boasts 2 million people and 53,000 businesses.

During our conversation with Sam, we learn about his path as a four-time entrepreneur, author of three books, and noted speaker, as well as some of the unique experiences, both business and personal, that have shaped him and the thinking he brings to bear in his new role. Sam also has some incredible insights and advice for would-be entrepreneurs, as well as those trying to scale their businesses. Learn why Sam believes adaptability is the thread that unites the most successful entrepreneurs, and how the single most critical factor for success is “access to a mentor” (that’s where the EC comes in). Sam also offers some fascinating insights on the role community plays in personal and business successes, and explains what he means that the height of his success is “directly related to the depth of my community.”

We promise you will learn some very interesting things in this inviting conversation, as well as learn more about Sam’s vision and future plans for the Nashville EC. Music City was ranked as the 4th best city for starting a business by Inc in 2020, so we still have work to do to achieve Sam’s vision of Nashville as the most entrepreneurial city in America!