CMCSS Opens 2-Year Founders Inc. Program With $11 Million Grant at Burt Innovation Center
Updated
Updated · Clarksville Now · Jul 29
CMCSS Opens 2-Year Founders Inc. Program With $11 Million Grant at Burt Innovation Center
2 articles · Updated · Clarksville Now · Jul 29
Summary
Founders Inc. opened Tuesday at the Burt Innovation Center, giving CMCSS juniors and seniors a districtwide, no-cost entrepreneurship program with transportation provided.
Two school years structure the program: juniors complete an incubator focused on problem-solving, prototypes and investor pitches, while seniors move into an accelerator covering company formation, marketing and scaling.
The renovated center offers design studios, woodworking and apparel equipment, media and podcast spaces, conference rooms and presentation areas so students can build and promote real products or services.
$11 million from Tennessee’s Innovative School Models grant funded the renovation and other career-technical upgrades, while top student projects can advance to national judging and a Chicago startup-funding competition.
The launch also recasts a building that opened in 1923 as Montgomery County’s first public high school for Black students, with CMCSS now seeking local mentors, guest lecturers and donations to support the program.
Can a historic Black school site become a startup launchpad for teens—and how will CMCSS prove Founders Inc. creates real businesses, not just classroom projects?
With $11 million and community backing, can Founders Inc. turn free student access into lasting opportunity after the grant money runs out?
What happens when high school students get investor pitches, maker tools, and mentors every day—but no business idea at all?