KEC’s ‘What’s the Big Idea’ pitch competition finalists announced
Meet the 7 innovators competing for $10,000 and the future of Knoxville’s startup scene.
Every year, the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center hosts “What’s the Big Idea,” a pitch competition with $10,000 on the line. The contest is designed for bright minds who have a concept or a new enterprise in the seed-capital, startup or pre-revenue stage.
This past week, the finalists were announced. Let’s meet the innovators:
The 2026 Finalists
- PrepSolo (Megan Quigley): A modular kitchen system designed for wheelchair users and aging adults who want to cook independently without expensive renovations. By combining affordability, thoughtful design, and beautiful aesthetics, PrepSolo makes accessible kitchens attainable for the 70 million-plus Americans who have long been underserved.
- VeriQual Inc. (Bryan Crosby): A transparent income-qualification platform built for self-employed workers. It allows users to securely upload financial documents and see how lenders interpret their income before applying for a loan. By operating independently from lenders, VeriQual reduces friction, speeds underwriting, and brings clarity to a mortgage system not designed for today’s workforce.
- VACScore (David O’Dell): An AI-powered platform that helps hospital Value Analysis Committees make faster, evidence-based medical product decisions by translating clinical, financial, and operational data into a single, transparent score. By standardizing and automating the procurement process, it reduces bias, accelerates adoption, and improves outcomes for health systems and innovators alike.
- WearReady Tech (Jamal Irby): This venture integrates biometric sensors into athletic apparel to track real-time performance data and deliver personalized training and recovery insights through a connected app. By making elite-level monitoring affordable, WearReady helps athletes train smarter and prevent injuries.
- Aquafer Technologies (Marton Krivan): A patent-pending, drop-in filtration media that removes over 1,000 PFAS “forever chemicals” from drinking water, lasting eight times longer and costing half as much as current solutions. With proven pilot success, Aquafer gives utilities an affordable way to deliver safer water without rebuilding infrastructure.
- SUBI LLC (Marc Willers): The world’s first true human-powered “Surfbike” — a lightweight hydrofoil bike that lets riders lift above the water to carve waves and flat water alike. It creates a new adrenaline-fueled category at the intersection of cycling, surfing, and extreme sport.
- ZestyCoach (Bella Matasic): A personalized health system that uses logged data and ongoing context to deliver tailored nutrition and fitness guidance, replacing fragmented one-off advice with coaching that learns and adapts over time. By combining memory, structure, and biological insight, it turns AI-driven wellness into a continuous, personalized experience.
Expert Judging Panel
The pitches will be evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges, including:
- Tom Ballard, founder of Teknovation.
- Erika Biddix, with Erika Biddix Business Consulting and Services.
- Marc Nabhan, Director of Entrepreneurship and New Ventures at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Join Us for the Finale
Join the crowd on March 22 to see who walks away from the competition with $10,000. Tickets are free. Register now.
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