Knoxville is made for Entrepreneurs…like you. “Made for Knoxville” is a campaign designed to showcase, connect, and empower our diverse entrepreneurial community — ranging from “solo-preneurs,” makers, growth stage tech companies, investors, and established institutions.
Pictured: Creator + Visionary, Eugenia Almeida
A special thanks to our presenting sponsor, FirstBank.
We may tend to forget that Knoxville, Home of the Vols, Gateway to the Smokies, headquarters of TVA, etc., is also a city with a manufacturing heritage — and one also known for entrepreneurial innovation. Famed author Jack Neely takes us deep into Knoxville’s history, and even deeper into the rich cultural heritage that has spawned big ideas, world-renowned companies, and long-lasting legacies.
Pictured: Author Jack Neely
Knoxville Entrepreneur Center is a business accelerator located in the heart of downtown Knoxville. Since 2013, we’ve empowered and educated entrepreneurs of all kinds – and connected them with resources to help make Knoxville, TN, the most founder-friendly city in America.
Pictured from left to right at Startup Day 2019: Tom Ballard, PYA; Jim Biggs, KEC; Lynn Youngs, UT Anderson Center; Tom Rogers, UT Research Park; Leah Winter, Winter Innovations; Amy Henry, TVA; Dan Miller, ORNL; Jonathan Sexton, Bandera; Stacey Patterson, University of Tennessee; Maha Krishnamurthy, UT Research Foundation; Grady Vanderhoofven, 3Roots; Derren Burell, Veteran Ventures […]
Pictured: Chris McAdoo, Maranda Vandergriff, and Jordan Peltz on set at Phillips Forged, November 2020 By Chris McAdoo, artist, entrepreneur, and director of strategy & engagement for Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (This article originally appeared in the Knoxville News Sentinel) An entrepreneur is defined by dictionary.com as: “a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, […]
By Jack Neely, Knoxville History Project We may tend to forget that Knoxville, Home of the Vols, Gateway to the Smokies, headquarters of TVA, etc., is also a city with a manufacturing heritage — and one also known for entrepreneurial innovation. Much of its growth — reflected today in many of the old buildings downtown, […]
By Carol Z. Shane Etsy was the first to notice, and that was almost five years ago. When Native Maps’ David Harman, Knoxville Entrepreneur Center’s (KEC) Joy O’Shell and Rala’s Nanci Solomon took off for Brooklyn, NY in May of 2016 to attend the first-ever Etsy Maker Cities Summit, they were already part of an […]
