Healthcare Startups are Flourishing in Nashville

The healthcare scene is thriving in Nashville with an astounding impact of $38.8 billion on the regional economy last year. Vic Gatto is the founder and CEO of Nashville's Jumpstart Foundry, a healthcare–focused investment platform that graduates 10 startups from its 14-week accelerator program each summer. Over the past 6 years, Jumpstart has graduated 48 companies that have raised more than $31 million in funding.

InvisionHeart joined Jumpstart Foundry's program in 2014 and has raised $3 million in funding. The startup created a compact FDA-approved ECG machine that fits in the palm of your hand and operates via a Wi-Fi connection.

Nashville's startup density number increased from 128.5 startups per 100,000 residents in 2014 to 132.5 startups in 2015. Among many things attracting entrepreneurs to Nashville is The Nashville Entrepreneur Center, which is part of a statewide initiative to boost entrepreneurship. The Center is also a Google for Entrepreneurs Tech Hub and works alongside a program called Launch Tennessee. President and CEO Stuart McWhorter said they've graduated more than 200 companies in the past 5 years.

In the near future, Nashville will also receive Google's gigabit Internet service, Fiber, which gives entrepreneurs even more reason to flock to Nashville for mentorship and growth opportunities. Another reason many entrepreneurs are setting up shop in Nashville is due to such low business costs, which rank 5% below the national baseline among cities with populations of 1 to 2 million.

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