Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

When you’re dealt a certain hand in life, you have two options – put your head in the sand, or learn, grow, and pave your own path. Katy Daniels, a doctoral candidate at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), chose the latter and has spent her teen years and early adulthood proving that with the right mindset, she really can “do it all.”

Daniels started a business called the Henry BnB, with the vision of transitioning her historic family property into an operational bed-and-breakfast with an Appalachian lifestyle theme. Before the recession in 2008, the property was lush with crops, livestock, and identity, but due to financial hardships and a lack of time, the home is in the shadow of its former glory.

The property was gifted to Daniels when her grandmother and great aunt passed away. She saw a big opportunity.

“They left it to me because they knew how much it meant to me. Growing up, I loved watching the cows in the field, picking the blackberries and honeysuckle,” she said. “When the recession happened, we had to sell all of our livestock, and that really devastated me. I made a promise then and there. I was going to revive my family farm and make it back to the way it once was.”

When life gives you lemons

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Daniels has focused on a restoration project. On the last day of seventh grade, Daniels lost her house to a fire. She spent that entire summer working with her hands alongside family, friends, neighbors, and contractors, rebuilding a home, swinging hammers, and learning how structures come together and fall apart.

You get a Ph.D in Biosystems Engineering

That experience, Daniels said, inspired her to become an engineer. She originally pursued industrial engineering before pivoting to biosystems, drawn by the agricultural roots she’d never fully left behind. She now studies under Dr. Lori Duncan at the University of Tennessee’s Herbert College of Agriculture.

Her research focus is as specific as it is ambitious: tracking cotton from crop to garment and beyond, mapping where greenhouse gas emissions accumulate along the way, and identifying where the process can be made leaner, more profitable for farmers, and more sustainable overall.

You become a brand model

After losing her home, Daniels also discovered the generosity of others. Neighbors, friends, and community members showed up in spades to provide her family with clothing and home items.

“One of those items was a Torrid sweater. It was the most comfortable thing I had ever owned; it fit perfectly, and I ended up wearing that sweater until it had holes in it,” she recalled.

Years later, having never forgotten the impact, Daniels applied to be a Torrid model on a whim. She made the top 15 of the brand’s modeling competition and flew to Los Angeles for a campaign shoot. She finished third in her bracket.

So yes, you may soon see Daniels in Torrid marketing materials.

You become a volunteer firefighter

And, on a sweet, heroic beat, Daniels serves as a volunteer firefighter with the Seymour Volunteer Fire Department. She has been doing so for several years. It’s her way of giving back to the agency that served her family all those years ago.

“See– It’s all connected,” Daniels said. “I know my various ventures seem really random, but it’s all connected. Life is so short, you never know what’s gonna happen, you may as well go after what you want.”

Bringing the cows home

Amidst all of her ventures and opportunities that she has created for herself, Daniels still has her sights set on saving her family farm by turning it into a bed and breakfast.

“I made a promise to bring the cows back to the farm, and I plan to deliver on that promise,” she said.

Daniels said the two-bedroom farmhouse features a fireplace, fenced yard, and a sprawling property where guests can pick berries, tend a garden, and learn hands-on homesteading. Daniels has already brought goats back to the property; however, eventually, she also wants to add a Highland cow named Millie, who guests can groom, feed, and watch roam.

Her business plan has already garnered recognition on–and off the UTK campus. Daniels got involved with the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, where she won prize money from pitch competitions, accessed mentors, and found new resources.

To date, Daniels has placed in all three on-campus entrepreneurship competitions: Vol Court (Idea Stage), Graves (Plan Stage), and the Boyd Venture Challenge (Operational Stage), where she most recently took fourth place.

Additionally, she won the 865Fest Emerging Entrepreneur Pitch Competition last fall.

Still, the path to opening isn’t without friction. Daniels said her next major milestone is getting a new roof on the farmhouse, which Daniels estimates will run around $30,000. She’s chipping away at interior renovations herself to cut costs, but the roof requires professional work.

“Just getting that house open is my big hurdle,” she said. “A lot of other businesses I’ve competed against just need maybe $5,000, and they’re up and running. Mine just requires so much more overhead.”

Daniels projects that, once open, her profit margin will exceed 50%, giving her cash flow to fund larger projects planned for the property.

As of now, her target opening is 2027.

The girl who can ‘do it all!’

As a doctoral candidate, entrepreneur, firefighter, and model, keeping all of it moving requires discipline and, Daniels will tell you, a very good planner.

“It’s hard to juggle it all. It really is, but having passion helps,” she said.

Her goal is to ultimately fulfill the promise she gave her family: restore the piece of Appalachian land that’s been in the family for decades, and bring that culture to others.

“I want people to know that I am going to see this through to the end, no matter how long it takes,” Daniels said.

Learn more about the HenryBnB.

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