LeanKit honored with Nashville Company of the Year

LeanKit was recently named Nashville Company of the Year at the NTC Awards, hosted by the Nashville Technology Council. Chris Hefley shares his excitement for the Nashville technology community, the growth of LeanKit, early stage growth support from the EC, and his vision for the next years in Nashville & LeanKit. Congratulations LeanKit! We couldn’t be prouder.

Listen to the full conversation above or read some of the highlights:

When asked to talk about how he feels about the Nashville tech community, he replied “it’s a great example of a lot of people working really hard to make Nashville a great place for tech companies. It doesn’t happen by accident.”

“Well, it’s a great example of a lot of people working really hard to make Nashville a great place for tech companies. It doesn’t happen by accident and people like Bryan in the Tech Council are a big part of that. People have been working tirelessly on this for a long time and it’s beginning to see some fruits of their labors. It’s great to be one of the tech companies started up here recently. We’re beginning to see some more non-healthcare tech companies, not to say healthcare tech companies aren’t great, they are, but we want to be a big story for the tech community in Nashville that continues to bring more into Nashville.”

Hefley also spoke about their time at the EC, including the entrepreneur advisor resources they utilized when they were growing LeanKit in early 2011.

“We got involved with the Entrepreneur Center and we started figuring out how to turn our little software project and a spreadsheet into a real company. They helped us figure out how to tell the story, how to look ahead and plan for what the eventual life of the company could be, and how to talk to investors.”

“I had the opportunity to talk to several CFOs. I got to talk to legal attorneys for free because they’re mentors at the EC. It’s a great resource for early stage companies to get off their feet and start building.”

Hefley’s advice for budding entrepreneurs looking to bring their idea into reality

Being persistent. I think that’s one of the biggest things in being successful: persistence. Just keep at it.”

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2015 NTC Awards winners

Company of the Year: LeanKit

Early Stage Company of the Year: Medalogix

Innovator of the Year: Dan Hogan, Medalogix

Marketing Innovator of the Year: John Farkas, Golden Spiral Marketing

Data Scientist of the Year: Damian Mingle, WPC Healthcare

Software Developer/Architect of the Year: Alan Scott, HCA Healthcare

CIO of the Year: Barry Vandevier, Asurion

CTO of the Year: Haden McWhorter, Premise Health

CISO of the Year: Scott Mackelprang, Asurion

Team of the Year: HPA – Trizetto

Volunteer of the Year: Meg Chamblee, CTS

Technology Educator of the Year: Stacey Kizer, Williamson County Schools

Technology Student of the Year: Steven Bell, Belmont University