Vanderbilt University & the Nashville Entrepreneur Center
This document outlines a $100,000 annual partnership that delivers four committed services Vanderbilt is currently sourcing piecemeal or not at all, plus a seat on the Entrepreneur Center board. The current $25,000 sponsorship significantly under-represents the scope Vanderbilt is already receiving across Owen, the Innovation Alliance, and the regional spinout pipeline. This proposal re-bases the relationship at fair value and consolidates it under a single MOU.
The Partnership
Four committed services for Owen, the Innovation Alliance, and Vanderbilt's commercialization pipeline — plus a board seat at the Entrepreneur Center.
What Vanderbilt Receives
Curated, qualified founders placed into the Owen Health Evaluation Lab class on an annual cadence. EC is the only pipeline in the region capable of delivering vetted health-tech founders at this volume, on Owen's academic calendar. Formalized as an annual cohort commitment under this agreement.
Year-round presence for the Innovation Alliance: presenting booth at Entrepreneur Day, continued integration into the Co-Create campaign featuring EC founders, and named placement across EC's regional communications. Anchors the Innovation Alliance as the visible university partner of Nashville's founder community.
Directly addresses the Owen MBA summer-internship gap. EC sources, screens, and matches four Owen MBAs into paid summer roles inside vetted EC portfolio companies. EC manages the host-company side end-to-end; Owen's career office is not asked to staff the search.
Continued top-tier sponsorship of the NEXT Awards. Refreshed Innovation Alliance branding in the logo cloud, 10 Owen/Vanderbilt student tickets, and dedicated stage acknowledgment. The single highest-visibility night for Nashville's founder and capital community each year.
Adjacent Opportunity — Commercialization & Tech Transfer
Distinct from the four committed services and the largest unrealized value in the relationship: routing Vanderbilt's ~20 annual spinouts through the EC accelerator network, and connecting EC portfolio companies to licensable Vanderbilt healthcare IP. Scope to be co-designed with Tech Transfer once the partnership is in place.
Board Representation
Included at $100,000: a dedicated Vanderbilt seat on the Entrepreneur Center board. Structure (term length, naming convention, voting vs. observer) to be defined jointly with Vanderbilt's general counsel prior to MOU execution.
Historical Context
This proposal returns the Vanderbilt–EC partnership to historical engagement levels last seen in prior years, reflecting the current scope and cadence of delivery across Owen, the Innovation Alliance, and the Co-Create campaign — none of which existed at the time the current $25,000 figure was set.
Partnership Levels — For Internal Reference
- NEXT Awards sponsorship (refreshed logo, 10 student tickets)
- Innovation Alliance booth at Entrepreneur Day
- Continued Co-Create campaign use of EC founders
- Everything in Visibility Partner
- Owen Health Evaluation Lab pipeline — annual cohort committed
- MBA Innovation Fellowship — 4 paid summer seats
- Year-round Innovation Alliance brand integration
- Everything in Strategic Innovation Partner
- Vanderbilt seat on the EC board
- Tech transfer / spinout commercialization access
- Multi-year MOU eligibility, named partnership
Build-vs.-Buy Comparison
| 4 paid MBA summer placements at market stipend | ~$60,000 |
| Owen-side founder recruiter (fully loaded, partial FTE) | ~$70,000 |
| Comparable regional brand-activation sponsorship package | $35,000–$60,000 |
| Single Vanderbilt-IP license closed via EC portfolio | $100,000+ event value |
Stewardship & Reporting
Quarterly impact reporting aligned to Vanderbilt's published innovation priorities: startups placed in Owen, Vanderbilt-affiliated founders activated, spinouts processed, and MBA seats filled. EC manages the reporting cadence; the Vanderbilt development office is not asked to chase.