Writer: Joey Garrand
2 min read August 2021—Nashville is known by many monikers, such as Music City USA, the Healthcare Capital of the U.S. and the ‘It City’. Within all of its industries, there is a common thread weaving together the fabric of Nashville’s economy: technology. Technology is one of the primary factors driving the robust growth of Nashville’s economy, and it seems as if everyone is trying to get in on the action.
“More companies are interested in relocating to the Nashville area now than they were before the pandemic,” Jane Allen, CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center told Invest:. “Healthcare, entertainment and music have been here and continue to grow. However, almost every company we work with is a tech company. Tech is just where there seems to be snowballing growth, especially with the Oracle and Amazon announcements. It’s not so much the industry, whether that’s retail, logistics, and so forth, but rather a growth in the tech products and services in this region.”
Brian Moyer, president and CEO of the Greater Nashville Technology Council, also shared this sentiment in his interview with Invest:, “The four key economic drivers for our region are music, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, and tourism. In reality, every company is a tech company, and we position technology horizontally across those four industries. With Amazon, Oracle and a steady stream of other tech companies announcing relocations or expansions to Middle Tennessee, we see technology leading Nashville’s economy and continuing to be a key driver of prosperity.”
In reflection of Nashville’s tech growth, the Greater Nashville Technology Council’s membership grew by 14% throughout 2020, adding 64 new members.
Why exactly are technology companies taking the leap to Nashville? Moyer says the No. 1 reason is talent. “If you ask any of the companies that have recently expanded or relocated here why they chose Nashville, the first thing they talk about is talent,” Moyer explained. “We have a rich tech talent pipeline that has been growing and strengthening over the past decade and culminates with 125,000 college students spread over 20 area colleges and universities. And that doesn’t count the growing number of tech-focused boot camps that graduate hundreds of students each year.”
Moyer also detailed how recruiting tech talent to Nashville is much easier than recruiting to other cities. He noted how the state’s lack of income tax, cheaper average cost of living, world-class entertainment and excellent schools are helping to make Nashville a desirable and sought-after destination.
Moyer noted that the tech workforce has grown 36% in the past five years, making Nashville the fastest growing region in the nation with regards to tech.
Nashville’s friendly, welcoming business environment is another primary reason why firms decide to relocate to the region. Darvis, an international technology firm, decided to make the move for this reason.
Jan Schlueter, founder and COO of Darvis, explained to Invest:, “It all started with our involvement in Project Healthcare, hosted by Nashville’s Entrepreneur Center. That was the trigger to the idea of moving our headquarters here.” He also highlighted their warm welcome to the program and city. “Working closely with the Entrepreneur Center is a particularly enriching experience because they invite great leaders and successful entrepreneurs from the healthcare industry, hospitals and all sorts of relevant contacts in Nashville to participate in brain-picking sessions.”
Schlueter continued to say, “Going door-to-door with every single hospital is a more difficult strategy compared to going to the people who already work with them, who like what we do and would like to team up with us. It then becomes about being deployed in a structure that is already there.”
