News & Events
Six start-ups selected to pitch at next month’s “Startup Day” in Knoxville
The Innov865 Alliance has announced the six entrepreneurs who will pitch for dollars during next month’s annual “Startup Day” in Knoxville.
Scheduled for September 20 at The Mill & Mine in Downtown Knoxville, the six represent the region’s growing ecosystem as well as the diversity in terms of types of new ventures that are starting here. They are:
- Alex Weber whose D3D VR Studios was spotlighted in this recent teknovation.biz article.
- Douglas Mapp whose ThinkUp start-up was also featured in this recent teknovation.biz post.
- Don DeRosa who brought Eonix LLC to the region as a participant in the “Innovation Crossroads” program and most recently made headlines for an exclusive collaboration with Schrödinger Inc. The work, as described in this teknovation.biz article, will accelerate the discovery and design of materials for safer, energy dense lithium-ion batteries.
- Femeika Elliot who won the 2022 edition of the “What’s the Big Idea?” pitch competition for the Lotus Program that operates under the umbrella of her Meik Meals business that provides private dining and catering. We spotlighted her passion for helping women with postpartum in this teknovation.biz article.
- John Phillips of Primeaux who also founded Phillips Forged, well-known in chef circles for its high-end knives. As described in this 2020 teknovation.biz article, Primeaux is the brand name for what Phillips says will be “the world’s finest cookware,” made from carbon steel.
- Ryan Ginder of Windfall, a start-up with ties to the University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) and a participant in the inaugural cohort of the “Spark Cleantech Accelerator.” The UTRF News spotlighted Ginder’s work in this November 2021 article.
Registration opens August 9. The event is scheduled for 2 to 4:30 p.m. September 20 as the signature event of “Innov865 Week” that runs September 16-23.