# Riley Lovingood

> Riley Lovingood is the Nashville-based CEO and co-founder of PAYRA, an ERP-native payments company serving construction suppliers, distributors and other trade businesses. Before founding PAYRA with Thomas Cecil in 2024, he played long snapper for the University of Tennessee and the Pittsburgh Maulers, earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Tennessee, worked as a field representative for U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty and served on the Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals. PAYRA bootstrapped for roughly two years before announcing a $15 million growth-equity investment from Edison Partners in February 2026.

- **Role:** CEO and Co-Founder at PAYRA
- **Organizations:** PAYRA, University of Tennessee Volunteers, Pittsburgh Maulers, Office of U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty, Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals
- **Education:** Bachelor's degree in sport management, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Master's degree in communication studies, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
- **Known for:** Co-founded PAYRA and bootstrapped the company for roughly two years before its first outside investment., Led PAYRA as it raised $15 million in growth equity from Edison Partners in February 2026., Played all 13 games as Tennessee's primary long snapper during the 2019 season.

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Served as long snapper on Beech High School's Tennessee state championship football team.
- **2014** — Committed to the University of Tennessee on a football scholarship.
- **2015-2019** — Played long snapper for Tennessee, including three seasons as the primary punt snapper and all 13 games in his senior season.
- **2016** — Named SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week after downing a punt at Georgia's six-yard line.
- **2018** — Graduated from Tennessee with a bachelor's degree in sport management.
- **2019** — Served as a team captain against Georgia and completed a master's degree in communication studies.
- **2020** — Worked as regional field director in Knoxville for Bill Hagerty's U.S. Senate campaign.
- **2021-2023** — Served as a field representative in Senator Bill Hagerty's Knoxville office.
- **2023** — Played 10 games for the Pittsburgh Maulers in the USFL.
- **2023-2024** — Served as the District 4 representative on the Knox County Board of Zoning Appeals.
- **2024** — Co-founded PAYRA in Nashville with Thomas Cecil.
- **2026** — PAYRA announced a $15 million growth-equity investment from Edison Partners, its first outside capital.

## Achievements

- Co-founded PAYRA and bootstrapped the company for roughly two years before its first outside investment.
- Led PAYRA as it raised $15 million in growth equity from Edison Partners in February 2026.
- Played all 13 games as Tennessee's primary long snapper during the 2019 season.
- Named SEC Co-Special Teams Player of the Week on October 3, 2016.
- Selected for the 2019 Patrick Mannelly Award preseason watch list.
- Earned SEC Academic Honor Roll recognition in four consecutive seasons.
- Named to the National Football Foundation Hampshire Honor Society in 2020.
- Played 10 USFL games for the Pittsburgh Maulers in 2023.
- Earned both bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Tennessee.

## Latest updates

- **2026-08** — Announced that Leigh Gross joined PAYRA as chief revenue officer to lead the company's revenue organization.
- **2026-07** — Announced three Nashville hires to lead implementation, customer success and sales development.
- **2026-02** — PAYRA announced a $15 million growth-equity investment from Edison Partners, its first outside capital.
- **2026-02** — Appeared with co-founder Thomas Cecil on Edison Partners' Electrifying Growth podcast to discuss PAYRA's move into B2B payments and its approach to legacy ERP integrations.

## Links

- Website: https://payra.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/riley-lovingood-9193b7139
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/rileylovingood

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/riley-lovingood
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26