New NOVA Entrepreneur Center in Pulaski to Support Startups Across 13 Southern Middle Tennessee Counties
Launch Tennessee opens the NOVA Entrepreneur Center in Pulaski, serving 13 Southern Middle TN counties with startup hubs, resources & support.
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Tennessee entrepreneurs now have nine physical hubs to go to for “Capital, Commercialization, and Connections.”
Launch Tennessee recently announced it is adding another entrepreneur center to its portfolio. This one will be located in Pulaski, located in the south-central part of The Volunteer State. The center, named the New Opportunities, Venture, & Advancement (NOVA) Entrepreneur Center, will serve Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Lincoln, Marshall, Maury, Moore, Perry and Wayne counties with local programming.
South-central Tennessee has been home to advanced manufacturing, agriculture, and AgTech businesses, but also includes companies working across forestry, nuclear energy, and wireless communication.
The center will operate under the University of Tennessee Research Foundation umbrella. Its early director will be Shelley Sarmiento. Entrepreneur and founder Payson Johnston will serve as NOVA’s Entrepreneur in Residence.
Linking The State
The effort to launch a new center in Southern Middle Tennessee started in spring of 2025, when Launch Tennessee started looking at brick-and-mortar locations in the region that could support budding entrepreneurs.
The NOVA Center joins a strong and growing number of entrepreneur centers across the State of Tennessee looking to foster early-stage founders.
Other centers include:
Epicenter, Greater Memphis Region
Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, East Region
Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Northern Middle Region
Sync Space, Northeast Region
The Biz Foundry, Upper Cumberland Region
theCO, Southwest Region
The Company Lab, Southeast Region
The Mill, Northwest Region
"The University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) is proud to partner with Launch Tennessee on the NOVA Entrepreneur Center,” said Maha Krishnamurthy, Ph.D, MBA, and President of the UTRF. “This partnership allows the acceleration of innovation, equipping and support of founders and drives lasting economic growth throughout Southern Middle Tennessee."
