The rooms you can't get into on your own.
Nashville is the healthcare capital of the country — and over 12 weeks, Project Healthcare puts you in front of the people inside HCA Healthcare, Ascension Saint Thomas, Ardent Health, LifePoint Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and AMSurg who decide what gets bought, then shows you exactly how to sell to them.
Apply for Fall 2026 — applications are open See what past cohorts did →
A Project Healthcare immersion visit — the cohort inside a major health system.
Self-reported by founders at program exit · Spring 2025, Fall 2025, and Spring 2026 cohorts · 32 responses
Is this you?
This is built for one kind of founder.
You're selling to health systems, payers, employers, provider groups, or life sciences organizations. You know your clinical or operational problem cold. What you don't know is who signs, what procurement asks for, or how reimbursement actually works.
You'll fit if
You have a B2B product — live or near launch — aimed at healthcare organizations, and getting in front of the people who buy is the thing standing between you and your next stage.
You won't — and here's where to go instead
Direct-to-consumer, general wellness, or still validating the problem? You want TakeOff, InFlight, or PreFlight — EC programs built for exactly that stage. Apply there; come back when you're selling into healthcare.
The four questions everyone asks
Answered up front, not in a footer FAQ.
Do you take equity?
No. The program costs $6,000 — a fixed cost. Most accelerators take six percent equity instead: a cost that grows every time you win.
Do I have to live in Nashville?
No — the program runs primarily virtual. You'll come to Nashville three times: September 15–17, October 19–20, and December 2–3. Seven on-site days total.
How much time does it take?
A 90-minute session every Thursday afternoon, optional Friday webinars, and the three immersion visits. Built around founders who are still running their company.
Is the access real?
Keep scrolling. The next two sections are the mechanism and the proof.
How the access actually works
"Access" is a word. Here's the mechanism.
You're in the room
A CIO or VP of innovation from a major system spends about an hour with the cohort. Not a panel. Not a mixer.
You ask about your company
Every session ends with Q&A on your specific business model — not general advice.
Some take the follow-up
Executives have taken one-on-ones with founders after these sessions. That's where customer discovery turns into a pilot conversation.
The executive sessions are on the program calendar — every founder sits in every room. The follow-up one-on-ones have happened in every recent cohort, but they're earned in the room, not guaranteed by the program. That distinction is why executives keep saying yes.
Why you can't do this alone: you don't know who to ask for, and cold outreach to a health system CIO has roughly the success rate you'd expect. Project Healthcare does the curation so the executive's hour isn't wasted.
On the Fall 2026 immersion agenda
Ardent Health · Ascension Saint Thomas · HealthStream · Vanderbilt University Medical Center · AMSurg · Shore Capital · Nashville Health Care Council · Belmont Simulation Center · Global Health Innovators Summit
Sample agenda — final immersion schedules are shared with the cohort ahead of each visit.
The proof
Hear it from the founders.
Spring 2026 founders on camera, unscripted — and exit-survey quotes going back to Spring 2025. Meet every company in the most recent cohort on the Spring 2026 cohort page.
Loren & Andrew Hogue
Neurofit
Kay Ward
Lanyard Health
Andy Tomaswick & Amber Jennings
ChromatoCare Innovations
Annie Alvis
VoluMetrix
Othman Ouenes
Fidari
"InvestTN committed $1M in our raise!"
"Really good meetings with Vanderbilt — which was our #1 goal for the program."
"I had a great conversation with Ascension Saint Thomas after meeting them through the NEC. They gave great feedback on our product and may be interested in a pilot."
"We formed a relationship with Vanderbilt — real value in collaboration with their value analysis teams."
"During my participation in Project Healthcare my development team and I completed my SaaS platform, Care Nexus! We are officially ready to launch and onboard new customers."
"The introduction to HCA was helpful — we've had one meeting and look forward to the next step."
"Grateful to connect with so many wonderful investors and cohort members." Raised $500K during the program.
"New investors, new customers, new partners and new friends!" Raised $500K and created 4 jobs during the program.
"Connection with a partner — HealthStream — that we think will really accelerate our business."
"The crowd-favorite award at Entrepreneur Day validated our product — people love the idea and want it adopted."
"The access to the people and perspectives within the healthcare innovation ecosystem — insight that would have taken years to gain independently."
Emily Daviss — AVRwell, Spring 2026The capstone
The program culminates with investors and a stage.
The final immersion visit is built around capital: a day of curated investor meetings, then Nashville Entrepreneur Day — where the city's entrepreneurial ecosystem shows up to see what you've built.
The Investor Rounds — curated investor meetings
Every founder meets with 3–5 vetted investors in curated 30-minute one-on-ones, matched to your stage and vertical. Last sprint that meant 13 participating investors — 12 in the room, one reviewing offline. The goal isn't a check in one meeting; it's earning the next conversation.
Impact Grants at Nashville Entrepreneur Day
Non-dilutive cash awards — $12,000 for first place, $8,000 for second — judged by the EC program team, board members, and community partners. Finalists pitch on stage at Nashville Entrepreneur Day; every founder hosts an expo booth where investors, customers, and partners come to you.
The program
Twelve weeks. Built around the access.
Curriculum
- Navigating the healthcare ecosystem
- Interacting with healthcare enterprises
- Procurement, GPOs & value analysis
- Regulatory pathways: HIPAA, FDA & getting to yes
- Moving beyond founder-led sales
- Investor pitch practice & feedback
Included
- 75+ vetted healthcare mentors
- Dedicated program manager
- The Investor Rounds & Impact Grant eligibility
- Expo booth at Nashville Entrepreneur Day
- EC membership, workspace & alumni community
Dates
September 10 – December 3, 2026
Thursday sessions, 2–3:30 PM CT · Immersion visits Sept 15–17, Oct 19–20, Dec 2–3 · Graduation at Nashville Entrepreneur Day
Cost
$6,000
or $1,500 × 4 months · No equity
Two ways in
Ready now — or want to hear it founder-to-founder first.
Apply for Fall 2026
Applications have re-opened. The cohort kicks off September 10. No equity, ever.
Apply nowTalk to a founder who's done it
We'll set you up on a call with a graduated Project Healthcare founder — ask them anything about the program, the access, and whether it's right for you.
Request a founder callProject Healthcare is a program of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.