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February 20th, 2023

Finale Night announced for What's the Big Idea? Pitch Competition! 

Public voting is closed and the 2023 finalists will be announced on February 22nd, so stay tuned! These finalists will give their pitches to the judges in an in-person finale event on March 5th at Scruffy City Hall. Register today for your spot to see these founders in action, pitching their ideas to win $10,000 for their business!

Big Thank you to our 2023 WTBI sponsors! 
10 Years of KEC!

The Knoxville Entrepreneur Center is celebrating a big birthday this year! It has been 10 years of cheering on entrepreneurs, storytellers, makers, and innovators in our city. Help us celebrate by filling out our 10-year impact survey!

SURVEY >>
 

The waitlist is now open for the 2023 Let Her Speak's Women's Summit!

The 2023 Summit sold out in 2 hours! 

While we wish we could have unlimited tickets for this event, our venue and the intimate experience of the event don't make that possible. We have now opened up a waitlist for anyone to join to be notified if/when tickets become available.

Reminder: 2023 Summit Details
Welcome Reception | Wednesday, March 29th | 6pm - 9pm 
Women's Summit | Thursday, March 30th | 8am - 2:30pm
The Lighthouse Knoxville

How the waitlist works:
Those on the waitlist will be notified through Eventbrite if a ticket becomes available. Once that email goes out, you will have 24 hours to respond and claim your ticket. If you do not claim a ticket within that time, it will be considered forfeited and we will offer it to the next person on the list.

 

Maker Mingle at Crown Upholstery

March 23, 2023 6-8p

Crown Upholstery is opening up their doors to The Maker City for our March Mingle!

Crown Upholstery is more than an upholstery studio. They are an eclectic group of passionate creatives that truly love what they do. Crown Upholstery strives to be a space for creativity and passion to flourish. They surround themselves with things that spark joy and inspiration and hope that translates to their work.

Maker Mingles are casual gatherings to meet up with other makers, check out a maker space, and enjoy a little social time.

Our beer sponsor for the event is Albright Grove Brewing Company — locally brewing thoughtful and well-crafted innovative beers.

#MadeforKnoxville is a storytelling initiative led by Knoxville Entrepreneur Center to shine a spotlight on Knoxville’s diverse entrepreneurial community – ranging from “solopreneurs“, makers, growth stage tech companies, investors, and established institutions. Join us as we share highlighted stories weekly here in the newsletter and continue to collect hundreds of entrepreneur's journeys for the Made For Knoxville site
Jasmine Ball has always had a way with words. As a born writer, she quickly realized that most people don’t have her knack for the skill. So, she saw her opportunity and… wrote with it. Check out Jasmine's #MadeforKnoxville page for more info! 

 
With more than 10 years of experience in photography, Aaron Ingram has developed a creative taste for the art of storytelling.
Check out Aaron's #MadeforKnoxville page for more info! 
 
Catch up with the Big Ideas Welcome podcast!

Eric Dobson, Managing Partner at Sheltowee Angel Network, joins Chris McAdoo this week on the Big Ideas Welcome podcast. Eric works directly with successful business people and exciting high tech startup companies in order to unite both and create incredible companies that will someday be household names and create wealth. 

In this episode Eric and Chris talk money, venture capital, angel investments, what money and capital mean to individuals, businesses and communities but they discuss it through the lens of stories of people investing in people. 

 

2023  The PYA Ballard Innovation Award

 
Applications are now being accepted for the 2023 PYA Ballard Innovation Award. Applications will be accepted through February 24th. The top five finalists will be invited to a live pitch competition on March 21st, during which the winners will be selected. Their pitches will determine which East Tennessee company brings home the $50,000 cash/services top prize and propel their entrepreneurial journey! 
 

Social Media Class taught by Holly Rainey
March 9th 9:00a-12:00

UT Conference Center, downtown Knoxville

Social media can be tricky. What time should you post content, and how often? Should you include video or photos? With a plan for strategic content creation, you'll be able to manage your accounts without letting them manage you. This course covers the basics of hashtags and posting while diving deep into the insights to create a plan that works for your target audience. You'll also create a monthly content calendar so you'll know what you're going to post and when.

Learn More >>

Save the Date for KUB's IT Connection Event for local small businesses to learn more about KUB Procurement process and opportunities. 

Learn More >>

LaunchTN's Innovation Week

Join LaunchTN March 27-31 in Nashville as they host Innovation Week, a 5-day event of innovation, advocacy and connection in Tennessee. The free event will:

  • showcase the state’s innovation
  • include advocacy for Tennessee’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
  • connect lawmakers, startup founders, investors, mentors and other leaders in the entrepreneurial space

If you are a founder, Tennessee legislator, entrepreneur center leader or mentor who wants to be a part of building Tennessee’s entrepreneur ecosystem, register today for free.

Register >>
 

Follow along with us on social media! 
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Copyright © 2023 Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, All rights reserved.


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