Belmont University’s entrepreneurship program, recently ranked a top-10 program nationally by Entrepreneur magazine, has helped the successful launch of a new multimedia company to serve Nashville’s entertainment industry.
Submerge Media is a full-service media company that will provide multimedia services to the greater Nashville area. With specialties in the areas of audio and video production, web and graphic design, and interactive media, Submerge Media aims to be an all-inclusive media provider for its clients offering all services an in-house media department would provide for a larger organization.
“For about a year, we met on a weekly basis with Dr. Jeffrey Cornwall, chair of the Entrepreneurship department,” says Chip Hayner, a May 2004 graduate of Belmont with a degree in Digital Media Studies. “He taught us from ground zero how to think, act, and plan like entrepreneurs. With his help, as well as the help from others at Belmont, we have gone from being simple college graduates to successful business owners in a couple months.”
Hayner, from Madison, Wis., is one of three founders and principals of Submerge Media, and serves as the company’s director of web and graphic design. He says the company is forming ongoing relationships with music industry management companies, independent producers and record labels and supply the media services for all of their clients.
As Submerge Media grows, there are plans to work with Belmont’s audio/video department, art department, and music business department to create an internship program that would allow students to have a positive work experience in the media industry, he says. “We were incredibly impressed with Belmont University’s – and especially the Entrepreneurship Department’s – eagerness to help us gain connections and partnerships in the Nashville area.
“During our senior year, and even in the months since graduation, Dr. Cornwall has worked to schedule meetings with high-level individuals in the Nashville area, as to provide an additional resource for us to use while our business grows, Hayner says. “So far, these meetings have been incredibly educational and beneficial, and some have even led to active business relationships.”
The Principals in Submerge Media are:
Chip Hayner, from Madison, Wis. (BA, Digital Media Studies, May 2004)
Craig Countryman, from Youngstown, Ohio. (BA, Audio/Video Engineering, May 2004)
Josh Davis, from Westminster, Md. (BS in Audio and Video Production, May 2004)
