{"id":271,"date":"2022-01-28T18:25:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T18:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bosframework.com\/blog\/?p=271"},"modified":"2022-03-08T18:50:46","modified_gmt":"2022-03-08T18:50:46","slug":"ready-set-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bosframework.com\/blog\/ready-set-launch\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready, set, launch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meet 10 local ventures set to take off in 2022, and see where their flight trajectories may take them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Originally published on The Business Journals<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since launching last fall, Nashville Inno \u2014 NBJ\u2019s platform geared toward startups, technology and innovation wherever it may be found \u2014 has expanded its coverage of the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. The following stories highlight startups and founders who are breaking technological ground in their fields, ranging from construction to health care and beyond. Some are at the earliest stages, figuring out how to get off the ground, while others already have significant funding and are ready to scale up. All are worth watching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Townsend,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Domonique Townsend, founder of We Optimize WorkCourtesy of Domonique Townsend<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We Optimize Work<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Domonique Townsend\u2019s company, We Optimize Work, was founded nearly three years ago, but it feels more relevant than ever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, she decided that working moms of color needed extra support when navigating the workplace \u2014 and that their employers needed to learn how to accommodate them. Her startup\u2019s professional development program partners with corporations to shift their focus from hours logged to outcomes earned, thereby giving busy moms more flexibility to set their schedules. We Optimize Work digs into a few questions: How can working moms of color communicate effectively with their managers and co-workers? What do they need to thrive in a corporate setting? How can business leaders more effectively engage these women in workplace conversations and decisions? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe theme for the year is teaching leaders to be more than an ally by equipping their women and moms of color with tools to succeed and thrive professionally and personally,\u201d Townsend said.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea echoes conversations that have sparked during the Covid-19 pandemic about burnout, work-life balance, gender and racial inequality and more. Throughout the past two years in particular, Black Americans have carried a heavy burden as more instances of police brutality became front-and-center, while the pandemic kept decimating normal life and creating new twists and turns of psychological strain. Meanwhile, childcare responsibilities fell disproportionately on working women, leading to many moms quitting the workforce, which Townsend says costs companies millions of dollars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her goal is to make that scenario less likely by increasing awareness and creating a toolkit for the modern workplace. Townsend, an engineer by trade with 12 years of experience, has her own experience with navigating the office as a mother and a Black woman. Even when she had successes, she said she still felt overlooked and undervalued. Luckily, she had a co-worker who consciously tried to include her, hear her voice and mention her name for opportunities \u2014 but when he resigned, she found herself back at the starting line, fighting for a seat at the table. She found a way to survive, but she knows that not everyone is able to make a way for themselves or create a strategy to succeed. That\u2019s where We Optimize Work comes in.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she first launched the company, she participated in an incubator program through the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, as well as one with Pathway Women\u2019s Business Center. Now, she\u2019s raised around $60,000 from grants and pitch competitions, and two employees are working with her. This year, she hopes to partner with five companies and onboard 150 working moms of color into her program for work-life success, as well do more keynote speaking. In the longer term, she hopes to automate more of her approach to reach more companies and more women nationally and internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Drew Hutchinson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Press<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Athlete Licensing Company Executive Vice President Melina Jones (left) and President Bobby Bramhall. Amy Allmand<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Athlete Licensing Co.<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

When the NCAA last year said it would allow college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness, Bobby Bramhall and a small group of co-founders saw a major opportunity. Since these 480,000 athletes formerly weren\u2019t allowed to monetize their images, posts and more, Bramhall, an attorney and former athlete, predicted a wave of chaos and confusion about where to start. After enlisting Melia Jones, who is also an attorney and former athlete, to fill the executive vice president and general counsel roles, Athlete Licensing Co. was born.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company \u2014 billed as the \u201csolution to the name, image and likeness ecosystem\u201d \u2014 plans to launch an app this year to help college athletes navigate accounting, branding, taxes, legal matters and royalties. It also offers expertise on creating those trendy non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, a unit of data that allows creators to sell the ownership of virtual assets like photographs. To solve more conventional problems, Athlete Licensing Co. draws inspiration from the music industry, where performers regularly jump hurdles related to pay, copyright laws and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJust like you\u2019d pay Britney Spears to appear in a commercial, now athletes are doing the same thing,\u201d Bramhall said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, the Brentwood-based company consists of three executives, including Bramhall and Jones, and one employee. However, the company aims to make new hires in 2022. Bramhall declined to share the firm\u2019s money raised so far, citing ongoing, confidential negotiations. But his startup has a major backer: University of Tennessee legend Phillip Fulmer, a College Football Hall of Fame coachwho serves as an advising board member. Bramhall also cites Athlete Licensing Co.\u2019s location as a major plus: \u201cIt\u2019sin the middle of the SEC andthe Southeast, which is sosports-heavy and has so many passionate fan bases.\u201d He says he hopes connections from the college football Southeastern Conference will be a valuable asset going forward. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the pandemic, Bramhall and Jones said their operation has sailed relatively smoothly \u2014 though most of their teammembers caught Covid-19 at one point or another (everyone recovered). One of the bigger struggles was education, meaning convincing the public that there were kinks likely to appear from the NCAA\u2019s sweeping reform. Plus, they\u2019re dealing with a lot of different regulations. The company works with sports agencies, universities and individual athletesto organize the confusion and keep the young players\u2019 financial affairs in check. But all of this is complicated by individual state laws, especially as they relate to taxes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, in the midst of launching the business and handling allthe moving parts, Bramhall and Jones said feedback from athletes themselves has been positive \u2014 most of them weren\u2019t aware of how much help they needed until they came in contact with Athlete Licensing Co., Bramhall said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And at the end of the day, that\u2019s the company\u2019s mission: to help young, talented adults turn a profit to set up their futures, help their families and gain certainty in an uncertain world.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Drew Hutchinson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Michael<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Michael Stahl, Integrative Health Centers CEO Photo courtesy of Michael Stahl<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integrative Health Centers<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Three months before the Covid pandemic hit the U.S., Michael Stahl and Integrative Life Center CEO Ryan Chapman went on a road trip through East Tennessee to visit rural health clinics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What they saw and who they met inspired them to create Integrative Health Centers Inc., a behavioral health care services provider focused on underserved rural and urban communities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than two years later, Stahl gets that same inspiration every time he drives into a new community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe need [for behavioral health care] is real, and it\u2019s not understated,\u201d Stahl said. \u201cThe more that we have the opportunity to travel to different states and different communities and the more we grow \u2026 the numbers and the prevalence of the need that\u2019s been reported \u2026 is very, very real.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That need has fueled Integrative Health\u2019s growth from seven clinics in five states in February 2021 to 61 clinics across 14 states less than one year later. The company plans to increase that number in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integrative Health recruits and trains health care workers to work in existing clinics, alongside the facility\u2019s staff. The company credentials the workers, charts the care provided and conducts billing through the clinic\u2019s electronic health record system, creating a \u201cwhite label\u201d partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integrative Health solves three major problems for clinics in underserved markets \u2014 access to services, coordination and continuity of care \u2014 while creating an additional revenue stream for the facility. The company targets clinics that focus on the Medicare and Medicaid population. Stahl said 90% of the company\u2019s visits are through telehealth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ability to offer telehealth services became vital in the early days of Integrative Health, as Covid-19 forced people to shelter at home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stahl said the pandemic exposed more people, more quickly, to telehealth than ever, accelerating the permanent adoption of the technology. The platform further proved itself as behavioral health patients responded well to the new form of care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunities that may not have experienced [telehealth] before or were hesitant, what the pandemic did was \u2026 everybody was basically forced to try telehealth,\u201d Stahl said. \u201cWhat people realized is it\u2019s a really effective way to bridge some of the access gaps, especially for services that lend themselves well to a talk-based service, like mental health services. Especially because we\u2019re providing [mental health services] in conjunction with the clinic, so there\u2019s a lot of good safety, reassurance and best practices that are still present.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Integrative Health, which has 35 employees, has a \u201cvery high\u201d growth trajectory, Stahl said, piquing the interest of several investors. Stahl said he expects the company to raise funds in the coming year but declined to give an amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also declined to say how many clinics Integrative Health expects to add in 2022, except to say the company would be \u201cwise\u201d in its growth. Stahl said the company will double or triple its headcount over the next 12 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the ways we\u2019ve been able to grow is we\u2019ve gotten good reviews from our current partners. Everyone wants to do a reference check. Quality care can never be sacrificed for speed of growth,\u201d Stahl said. \u201cWhile we don\u2019t put hard numbers on it, we expect to continue to grow as quickly or more quickly as we did last year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Joel Stinnett<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"HeadshotJan\"\/<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jan Schluter, CEO and founder of DARVIS Ulrich Schaarschmidt<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

DARVIS<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Health-tech startup DARVIS moved its headquarters to Nashville from San Francisco in June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two cities may feel like they\u2019re a world away, but for German-born Jan Schluter, the move to Music City is still shorter than the one he made when he co-founded DARVIS seven years ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DARVIS \u2014 which stands for Data Analytic Real-World Visual Intelligence System \u2014 uses artificial intelligence to automate procedures in the health care industry, such as managing medical inventory, patient hygiene and facility bed availability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has 95 employees in the U.S., 15 of whom work out of DARVIS\u2019 3,500-square-foot Nashville headquarters, at 240 Great Circle Road in Metrocenter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company decided to move to Nashville after participating in the Nashville Entrepreneur Center\u2019s Project Healthcare program, a year-long accelerator that gives health care entrepreneurs access to experts and resources within the industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schluter said the program helped introduce DARVIS to the U.S. health care ecosystem. That was valuable to the company in part because when Schluter moved to San Francisco from Germany to launch DARVIS, he did so with the intention of creating a video gaming company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe started with a completely different story. It was live streaming and gaming in virtual reality. It was completely different than what we do today, but everything that we did in the last seven years is included in the product we have today,\u201d Stahl said. \u201cWe [pivoted to health care] by chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schluter said DARVIS was already tracking boxes and cards for gaming when a friend asked if they could do the same thing with a hospital bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course we said \u2018yes,\u2019 because we\u2019re a young company and everything is an opportunity for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That opportunity opened up the world of health care to DARVIS, where the company saw a need for a better inventory-management platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of DARVIS\u2019 hospital clients are in Germany, but that is about to change as the startup begins to focus on the U.S. market in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, Schluter expects \u201cworst-case-scenario\u201d for DARVIS\u2019 revenue to triple in 2022. He also expects to double the company\u2019s headcount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company, which has raised$8.5 million to date, plans to raisean additional round of funding this year of at least $10 million, Schluter said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe chose Nashville to be our headquarters because of Project Healthcare and because we felt very welcome here. People were very supportive here, and of course, Nashville is the center of health care in the U.S.,\u201d Schluter said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know that Nashville is a hotspot \u2026 of a thriving, growing tech city, but we realized it after the decision we made to come over from San Francisco to Nashville. We haven\u2019t regretted it. The way of living here, the infrastructure and the support has made it outstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Joel Stinnett<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"matt<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Matt Houston, founder of Oversite. Ashley Houston<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oversite<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Matt Houston\u2019s idea for his newest business came when an imposing man stood in his office doorway and said something to the effect of, \u201cI can\u2019t stand you tech guys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That man was a frustrated Chad Collier, president and co-owner of Collier Engineering Co. Inc. He was on his third attempt to have outsourced software developers create a platform for his construction engineering inspectors. Government agencies hire those workers to audit and verify work done on taxpayer-funded construction projects before payment is made to the contractor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houston immediately saw a parallel to his previous Nashville startup: Beachy Co. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That business is far different: Its product is software that beach vendors and resorts use with their guests and customers who are renting beach chairs or buying food, drinks or dolphin tours. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But as Collier talked, Houston sensed the same need to simplify work in the field with tablets (he described Beachy\u2019s aim as \u201ctap, rent, go\u201d) while improving all the behind-the-scenes necessities for the business owner, from inventory management to payment processing. There also was a bonus: While Beachy was trying to chart new territory, Oversite would tie into the long-established and heavily regulated realm of publicly funded infrastructure projects (which is getting a $1.2 trillion boost from the federal government under a law passed late last year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was the same pain points as Beachy, repeated on a much larger scale, in a market that is structured,\u201d Houston said. \u201cWe can wash-rinse-repeat, and I\u2019ve already stepped on every mine in this field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contractors on a public project aren\u2019t paid for work until it\u2019s complete \u2014 and double-checked by a site inspector. It can be one month to three months before a payment may arrive. Many small or mid-sized contractors and site inspectors often handle invoices by mail, or they\u2019ll have to create PDFs so numbers can\u2019t be changed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs soon as you have someone PDF-ing a spreadsheet, that\u2019s an opportunity,\u201d Houston said, describing Oversite as a \u201cpaper-to-digital play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After more than a year crafting Oversite and testing it with various simulations, Jan. 10 marked the first day Oversite began to be used for a real project: Collier is using it on $926,000 of roadwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s the beginning of the \u201cproduct\/market fit\u201d stage, in which Houston will solicit other contractors for feedback. He will feel validated if they come back with positive reviews and minor tweaks, as opposed to long lists of changes or defects. \u201cThis is the part where a lot of people fail,\u201d Houston said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Houston has raised just shy of $700,000 so far. The vast majority came from a \u201cfriends and family\u201d raise involving nine locally based angel investors, including Jerry McKamey, Mike Master and Houston\u2019s three fellow co-founders at investment firm Clandestine Capital. He expects to do another round of funding this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will hire a team this year,\u201d he said. \u201cWhether that\u2019s three or 20 depends a lot on the success of the product.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Adam Sichko<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"BOS<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sashank Purighalla, founder of BOS Framework. Martin B. Cherry | Nashville Business Journal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOS Framework<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Summarizing what Sashank Purighalla\u2019s company does is not easy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a technical product intended to be sold to a technology leader,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re a dev-tech company, so everything about us is abstract.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some numbers, though, that show what he\u2019s doing is working. BOS Framework banked $2.5 million of revenue last year, more than doubling 2020\u2019s results. Purighalla expects revenue to double again this year. Customers are signing two-year contracts, at a minimum price of $100,000 and an average of $150,000. Out of more than 1,000 applicants, BOS was among the 0.8% selected for the Techstars Atlanta Accelerator in 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crucially, BOS Framework is cash-flow positive and also profitable, four years after Purighalla founded the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat helps us call our shots,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all positions BOS [Business Operating System] Framework to be a leader in the evolution of Nashville\u2019s tech scene. The company is doing more intensive and intricate work that requires a higher caliber of tech skills \u2014 it\u2019s software for software developers, not something used by consumers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BOS Framework aims to automate a boilerplate framework for the kind of work software developers often custom-create from scratch over and over. That could include security features, compliance features, payment systems, logins and user management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat has traditionally been viewed as a manual process, with experts providing artisanal solutions using niche tools, is now offloaded to an automation platform,\u201d Purighalla said. This allows a customer\u2019s software developers to focus on what Purighalla calls \u201ccreative work\u201d while shedding time-consuming \u201cengineering work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVisualize someone who needs HIPPA compliance. Using BOS, it takes nine weeks to get there, not nine months,\u201d Purighalla said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very strange dichotomy today: We have more tools that are better, faster, more secure \u2014 and we have more problems. It\u2019s antithetical to how you\u2019d think it would be,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about the tools; it\u2019s an ecosystem problem. And an ecosystem problem is addressed not at a patch-specific level, not superficially, but at the bedrock level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purighalla has three interconnected goals for this year. He wants to add more customers, which will allow him to present more thorough metrics to potential investors. Adding customers would propel him toward his revenue target of $5 million, which would tee up what he calls a \u201cvery large Series A\u201d raise. He also wants to build out an executive team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purighalla was born and raised in Hyderabad, India, and came to the U.S. on a full scholarship for a master\u2019s in computer science at the University of South Alabama. BOS Framework is his third startup and evolved out of something he and his team created at his prior company, which was based in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Purighalla wanted what he called a \u201cmore forgiving Tier 2 city\u201d to grow not just BOS Framework, but his family as well. He picked up three customers within his first two months in Nashville, as well as key early investors. He\u2019s raised $2 million from investors including: Clint Smith, founder of early Nashville tech darling Emma; Robert Grajewski, now senior vice president at Franklin-based Enexor BioEnergy; Andrew Goldner, who lives in Nashville and is founding partner of San Francisco-based seed investment fund GrowthX; Steve Proctor, co-founder of Edgenet (which sold for close to $100 million in 2019); and Wes Warrington, founder of Franklin-based Resolve Diagnostics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He believes his product is a solution for companies that at once have many kinds of tech jobs open and also face rising attrition. The price of BOS Framework may sound expensive, he said. \u201cBut that potentially offsets the need for four or five people, each of whom would cost you $150,000 to $180,000 \u2014 and then they\u2019re not dependable because they learn one skill and they\u2019re $20,000 more valuable to somebody else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is facing his own battle for talent, both finding and retaining the level of skill he needs. Some of his more recent hires live in Virginia, Denver, Seattle and Los Angeles. For now, he seems determined to stake his claim in Nashville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI chose Nashville to be my home,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is a Nashville play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Adam Sichko<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Traci<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Traci Snowden, founder and CEO of Apto Global Photo courtesy of Apto Global<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apto Global<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Traci Snowden\u2019s business is centered on helping people adapt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But mid-pandemic, it was her business that went through an adjustment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snowden grew up in a bilingual family, eventually taking on German as a third language before studying abroad in Germany.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she came back to the U.S., she landed a job teaching at a small school in Cincinnati that catered to children of Procter & Gamble ex-pats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was there that the seed was planted for what would become Apto Global, a social learning platform that helps users learn language and local culture to help adapt to a new community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snowden said the need for people of different cultures to connect is so large that Apto is in talks with a major cellphone maker to have its app preinstalled on nearly 100 million devices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, when Snowden launched Apto in Nashville in 2015, it was more of a service than software. Apto\u2019s model was then B2B, with Snowden and her team working directly with ex-pat families at companies such as Nissan Motor Co. and Bridgestone Americas Inc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s really where the idea came from,\u201d Snowden said. \u201cMany of the families said, \u2018The way that you teach by combining culture, language, hyper-local knowledge and helping me and my family understand these things within the environment \u2014 I wish I had something like it online and before I came [to the U.S.].\u2019 Because you don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know, and once you get here you\u2019re kind of immediately thrown to the wolves and you learn a lot of things the hard way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After failing to find an online resource for her clients\u2019 needs, Snowden decided to transform Apto from a B2B service into a consumer platform, finishing the new app in December. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apto users fill out a profile when they log on, listing their goals, interests and learning needs: if they are adapting for work, school or to get around town, Snowden said. Apto features a \u201ccommunity\u201d tab that connects users to people from their home country, culture or professional field in the area, as well as locals who may be interested in the user\u2019s culture or work at their company. There is also a \u201cguides\u201d tab that provides specific learning content about the region, from how to fill out a form at the DMV to cultural differences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much of the information is sourced from Apto\u2019s community of creators, who provide information about their hometown or travels. Apto\u2019s team, and the app\u2019s machine-learning algorithm, collects, organizes and moderates the content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Snowden said Apto is launching a series of campaigns in cities around the country to get the word out, beginning with Nashville in April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m going back to my roots of Native American storytelling and the idea that we learn best from each other. Not only from people that are like us, but also from people that are different from us,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apto has 10 employees and expects to round out its leadership team in 2022 with 10 new hires, Snowden said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has raised $1.8 million since it pivoted to a consumer-focused model. Snowden said Apto aims to raise an additional $5 million this year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those numbers could change, however, if Apto\u2019s deal to get its app on nearly 100 million devices in the U.S. and abroad is realized, which could happen as early as the end of the first quarter. She said the parties are finishing terms and conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201c[Closing this deal] is like being Taylor Swift without Universal versus Taylor Swift with Universal,\u201d Snowden said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Joel Stinnett<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Alexis<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alexis Jones, founder of Noted Returns. Katie Andres<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Noted<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Alexis Jones knows about those bags in your bedroom corner or your closet, or especially, the trunk of your vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re those clothes or shoes or other items you\u2019ve been meaning to return to the store or ship back to the retailer. But you just haven\u2019t done it. That\u2019s where Jones, who speaks from experience, wants to step in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI realized I was making excuses \u2014 \u2018Oh, it\u2019s only $20\u2019 \u2014 or I\u2019d miss return windows. How much money in the course of a year am I losing and leaving on the table by not returning items?\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones is a former hospice nurse who left the profession after having her daughter at the end of 2019. Her online orders skyrocketed, sparking the idea for a business. She spent most of 2020 and the majority of 2021 developing the concept and learning about business. (\u201cNursing and business are complete polar opposites,\u201d she said.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The result: Jones and her business partner, Ryane Pamphile, co-founded a digital platform named Noted (stylized as noted). It\u2019s a Google-approved application that scans a customer\u2019s Gmail and notifies them when a return window is closing. Or, customers can upload purchase information into their Noted account. The tracking and reminders are free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They officially launched the business in August 2021 and now have 205 active email users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a one-time fee of $15, Noted will come get your items and make the returns on your behalf, no matter how many stores are involved. So far, Noted has done five paid pick-ups; Jones or Pamphile are usually the ones driving. If items aren\u2019t returnable, Noted will donate them to a nonprofit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has logged the return policies of more than 100 retailers in its database, including Amazon, Target, Nordstrom and Macy\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones and Pamphile, whose husbands formerly played for the Tennessee Titans, have self-funded the business. Jones put in $500,000 and is majority-owner; Pamphile added another $100,000. Their only other full-time employee is a chief operating officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones is raising money now, with a goal of $1.5 million. \u201cWe\u2019re looking to reach angel investors. We\u2019re hoping not to go the venture capital route, because I don\u2019t want my little voice to be diminished by what they have to say,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones believes the company\u2019s existing funding can last through February. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe biggest hiccup is you thinking you know what everybody else wants,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s been the hardest battle: pacing yourself and finding what a consumer wants, instead of what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jones has ambitious goals for the year beyond that seed round. She wants to forge partnerships with retailers or places such as condo buildings or apartment complexes. She wants to expand to two additional cities, noting that people from places such as New York, Houston and Charlotte have enrolled for the free service. Jones is creating more payment options, including a subscription rate as well as prices for buying a group of nine or 15 pickups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The pandemic altered shopping habits, leading to a surge of online buying and also prompting people to overbuy in stores, with dressing rooms closed. But pandemic or not, Jones said, \u201cthe hassle of returning has always been there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Adam Sichko<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Michael<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Michael Frazier, founder and owner of Reverence Bourbon. Reverence Boubon<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reverence Bourbon <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Starting a business takes a lot of spirit. Especially when that business is bourbon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Departing from the tradition of Tennessee whiskey, Memphis native Michael Frazier took a cue from Kentucky when he founded Reverence Bourbon. The company\u2019s product won\u2019t officially launch until the end of January, but has already been generating buzz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 31-year-old firefighter said he\u2019d always wanted to start his own business. He considered opening a gym or going into real estate, but decided to focus on what he loved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a bourbon drinker, so I thought, \u2018Why not create my own bourbon?\u2019 I\u2019ve been studying and developing my tastes for about three years now. I\u2019ve been doing whiskey trails and going to different distilleries, trying over maybe 200 different types of bourbon and whiskey just to develop my palate,\u201d Frazier said. \u201cThe last three years have been a labor of love for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a handful of Black-owned whiskey distilleries or brands in Tennessee, but Frazier said Reverence Bourbon is the state\u2019s first Black-owned bourbon brand. As a born-and-raised Tennessean, he said he\u2019s proud to be writing his part of the state\u2019s story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company\u2019s name is a tribute to Frazier\u2019s youth. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, his mother, who served in the military at the time, was called up to duty and relocated to Maryland for over a year. Frazier, who was then 12, was left in the care of his older brother, who gave up playing high school football to care for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frazier said the experience is the foundation of his work ethic and taught him to endure hardship in the pursuit of a goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe name \u2019Reverence\u2019 is a way to pay homage to my past experiences,\u201d Frazier said. \u201cThe journey I\u2019ve had through life has made me who I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frazier raised money by leveraging his personal credit to get a credit card for the company and invested his own money on his dream. All in, the operation took about $34,000 to get off the ground. He\u2019s the sole employee, but said his brother has volunteered to help as needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the biggest hurdles to developing an alcohol brand is finding space to distill it. Frazier contracts with Nashville Craft Distillery, whose president is Bruce Boeko, whom Frazier said has been a key figure in helping him learn the world of producing spirits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frazier said one guiding piece of advice is to stay patient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMake progress every day. Time is your most valuable asset, so utilize it and remain productive. There\u2019s no finish line, every day is another step. Success is a process, not a destination,\u201d Frazier said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His goal for the coming year is to make Reverence Bourbon available across the state. Frazier has a distribution deal with a Nashville-based company that will deliver to eight Middle Tennessee counties once the product launches. He also hopes to work directly with cocktail lounges and cigar bars to get Reverence Bourbon on their shelves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Ian Bradley<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Mary<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mary Pillow Thompson (left) and Halle Hayes are launching a new platform to help solve the restaurant industry’s workforce shortage. Courtesy of FOH & BOH<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foh&boh<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The days of walking into a restaurant and asking for a job application could be numbered, thanks to a Nashville-based startup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Halle Hayes and Mary Pillow Thompson are the founders of Foh&boh (stylized as foh&boh, which is shorthand for industry terms \u201cfront-of-house\u201d and \u201cback-of-house\u201d), a digital platform that simplifies the hiring process to help employers find workers, instead of placing a \u201chelp wanted\u201d sign in the window or placing individual digital ads across a variety of platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foh&boh lets employers contact candidates, schedule interviews, hire and onboard, all via text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn under two minutes, a restaurant or hotel can create a profile and post open positions. We match them with our candidate base, which are passive candidates that already have profiles in our system. We also send their jobs to over 65 digital jobs boards and act as an aggregator across all those boards for their applicants, so they\u2019re housed in one place,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayes and Thompson started the company in late 2019. The two were operating a recruiting firm at the time and saw an opportunity after realizing how much restaurants were willing to pay to find new employees. The coronavirus pandemic began shortly after they founded Foh&boh and turned the hospitality industry upside down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has raised just under $2.5 million to date, raised through investments from Claritas Capital and Clandestine Capital. The company has 17 employees spread across the country \u2014 Hayes said she and Thompson didn\u2019t want to limit themselves to hiring within the Middle Tennessee area. As such, the company doesn\u2019t have an office; Foh&boh is an entirely work-from-home operation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking to 2022, she and Thompson are going to double down on the company and focus on growing their sales, customer support and engineering teams. While Foh&boh is available across the country, Hayes said they want to grow their presence in major markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really focused on getting analytics out to our customers and giving them the tools to be successful, whether it\u2019s video tools to highlight why prospective employees should choose them, or analytics of what they need to pay to be competitive or just recommendations for job description optimization,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cWe are focused on building tools to help them be more successful and more competitive.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Foh&boh hasn\u2019t been spared from the upheaval of the hospitality industry caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The industry\u2019s already high employee turnover rate has increased dramatically, which Hayes said has been a \u201cblessing and a curse.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe conceptualized this platform for standard industry turnover, which is around 75% annually. Covid fueled that fire immensely, so now turnover rates have more than quadrupled,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cIt\u2019s cutthroat right now because restaurants are all fighting over the same reduced pool of candidates. People come to us thinking we\u2019re a magic bullet, and we\u2019re not. We\u2019ve had to have tougher conversations with our clients to really educate them on what workers are needing, what they want right now to come back to work and how to compete with other industries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Ian Bradley<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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