The Nashville Entrepreneurs’ Organization chapter has grown 185 percent since 2010
Since the start of 2013, 21 new members have joined the Nashville chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), ranking Nashville as the fastest growing EO chapter in the world.
According to EO Global, EO Nashville has the most new members in all 122 chapters, including other high-growth areas such as Toronto, Edmonton, Los Angeles, the Netherlands and Dallas.
“Nashville’s vibrant and growing entrepreneurial community, and our accomplishments as a chapter give us all energy and proof that our work is worthwhile,” said Andy Bailey, EO Nashville president and entrepreneur coach at Petra. “There were a lot of folks who helped in this effort: John Kepley and Jackson Miller as the membership chairs, along with many, many members that worked to make this growth possible.”
The Nashville EO chapter has a total of 131 members. To join, an entrepreneur must be a founder, co-founder, owner and controlling shareholder of a company with gross annual sales exceeding $1 million. The chapter added 19 new members in 2010, 29 in 2011 and 23 new members in 2012. The chapter’s membership almost doubled in that timeframe, growing 185 percent since 2010.
The 21 new members are:
- Evan Austill, COO, Patient Focus
- Blake Chaffin, President and Owner, Nashville Event Lighting
- Jason Childs, President and Co-Owner, Onora Group
- Duan Coqui, Owner, Stone World TN Inc.
- Stephen Epstein, Founder, DollarCamp C&B LLC
- Aaron Fitzsimmons, Co-Founder, Amputee Associates
- David Frederiksen, CEO, Patient Focus
- Ashlyn Hines, Founding Principal, Bristol Development Group
- Boris Jordanov, Owner, FrontGate Technology Solutions
- Dan Maddox, President, Maddox Enterprises Wine and Liquors
- Julie May, CEO, bytes of knowledge
- Mike Murphy, Founder and Principal, Holland Square Group
- William Newman, Proprietor, Edley’s Bar-B-Que
- Christopher Redhage, Co-Founder, Provider Trust
- Martin Renkis, Founder, Smartvue Corporation
- Mark Scrivner, Partner and COO, SnapShot Interactive
- Stephen Tallent, President and Owner, Mercury Intermedia
- Amy Tanksley, Owner, Uncle Classic Barbershop
- Drew Trapnell, President, NCA Alarms
- Johnny Weber, President, Weber & Jones Development
- Pat Whelan, CEO, Paskr
Austill, Chaffin, Frederiksen, Jordanov, Redhage and Tanksley all join EO Nashville as alumnae of EO Nashville’s inaugural Catalyst class, a program that includes classes, peer-to-peer forum groups and mentorship that is designed to help entrepreneurs grow their companies past the key benchmark of $1 million in annual sales.
“Members of the first Catalyst class grew an average 53 percent last year, and increased hiring anywhere between 30-100 percent,” said Bryan Ansley, president and CEO of FNB Merchants and EO Nashville board chair responsible for the Catalyst program. “This is certainly welcome news in our current economy. We couldn’t be happier to welcome this inaugural class of Catalyst graduates into the EO family.”
The second Catalyst class kicked of in August 2012, and applications are currently being accepted for the third Catalyst class, which will begin in August 2013.
Last month, EO Global also added its 1,000th female member for the first time in the organization’s history. EO Nashville’s three new women members helped the organization achieve this milestone.
“Based on our chapter’s excellent history of retaining new members, this solid growth will add significant value to the chapter for years to come,” Bailey said.
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization is a global business network of more than 8,700 business owners in 122 chapters and more than 35 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO enables small and large business owners to learn from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life. The organization’s vision is to build the world’s most influential community of entrepreneurs, which aligns with its mission of supporting entrepreneurial education and engaging entrepreneurs to learn and grow.
For more information about Catalyst or EO Nashville, contact Sameera Lowe, executive director, at eo@eonashville.com.
