Business alum named Nashville’s 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year
College of Business alumnus honored in October with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s NEXT Award for 2023 Emerging Entrepreneur.
From staff reports |
College of Business alumnus Luke Benda (BBA ’17) was honored in October with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s NEXT Award for 2023 Emerging Entrepreneur. Together with Braden Davidson (BS ’16, MM ’17), he founded a tech start-up called Healing Innovations Inc, which also won the Nashville Technology Council’s Tech Startup of the Year Award in 2021.
When a friend was involved in a car accident, Benda and Davidson saw firsthand the challenges that patients face as they recover. Motivated to develop solutions to enhance the recovery process, they co-founded Healing Innovations to focus on the development and commercialization of technology that positively impacts the lives of people recovering from neurological injuries.
“We were on a mission to develop something that made sense within the U.S. health care system, and so we developed the Rise & Walk, which is kind of like a 3-in-1 neuro rehab station, like a Swiss army knife for PT,” said Benda.
Launched in 2018, a core team worked through the development process of ideation, prototyping, commercialization, FDA approval, team building and fundraising that led to a full commercial launch of the Rise & Walk.
But the foundation of that success goes back to an entrepreneurial spirit Luke has always possessed. He started a business in high school and another with fellow students at Lipscomb (Ed Pack Global) with the support of a community of peers and professors invested in his success.
“I don’t think Healing Innovations would have happened without Lipscomb,” said Benda.
As a third generation Lipscomb student and one of six siblings to attend the university, Davidson had plenty of reasons for joining the Herd and gives it credit for his success.
“Lipscomb offers a great opportunity to form a tight network in a booming Nashville market that will lead to plenty of career options going forward,” Davidson says. “My professors always cared about me and were a helpful resource during and after my time there.”
“Being a contributing member of Nashville’s growing tech boom is something we’re passionate about. Our mission is to transform lives, and Nashville’s community growth is the kind of tide that raises all ships,” said Benda.