KEC’s WORKS Accelerator wraps its 2026 cohort with a September 9 Demo Day
The Knoxville Entrepreneur Center caps its 2026 cohort on September 9 at The Square Room, with founders working in energy, healthcare, AI, and industrial software.
The Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC) will close out its 2026 WORKS accelerator with a public Demo Day on Wednesday, Sept. 9, when six early-stage companies pitch to a room of investors, mentors, and ecosystem backers at The Square Room.
The event caps a nine-week program that paired each founder with a lead mentor and a rotation of subject-matter experts. This year’s cohort spans a wide range of the region’s growth sectors, from energy intelligence and healthcare to AI and industrial operations software.
Doors open at 5 p.m. Programming runs from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and includes a kickoff from KEC, a “Where Are They Now” fireside chat with past WORKS graduates, and five-minute pitches from each company followed by audience Q&A. A happy hour and networking session follows at 7 p.m. Admission is free with an RSVP through Tickettailor.
Since 2013, according to KEC, more than 100 companies have gone through its accelerator programs and have collectively raised more than $160 million in private capital.
The 2026 cohort
VeriQual — Founder Bryan Crosby, paired with lead mentor Patrick Slain. VeriQual builds VOSE, a rules-based income verification platform for borrowers without traditional W-2 income. It targets mortgage companies, auto lenders, and community banks that want a faster, auditable alternative to manual tax-return review for self-employed applicants.
Equipment Locker — Founder John Nelson, paired with lead mentor Bill Broussard. Equipment Locker connects manuals, procedures, troubleshooting data, training, and parts information directly to industrial equipment through QR-code access, with AI-assisted guidance built in. The company aims to help maintenance and operations teams cut downtime and preserve institutional knowledge at the point of work.
VACScore — Founder David O’Dell, paired with lead mentor Kevin Stewart. VACScore is an independent evidence-scoring framework built for hospital and health-system Value Analysis Committees, intended to bring more structure and transparency to how medical devices are evaluated without replacing committee judgment.
Raina Ventures — Founder Raymond Decker, paired with lead mentor Chris Van Beke. Raina is a real-time verification and trust layer for newsrooms, election authorities, and universities, built to assess authenticity, provenance, and corroboration before misinformation spreads.
Green Routine — Founder Ryan Ebanks, paired with lead mentor Lilly Tench. Green Routine is an energy-intelligence platform offering cost optimization, tariff analysis, operational efficiency, and infrastructure planning for commercial and industrial businesses.
DhyanaTech — Founder Steve Dickens, paired with lead mentor Tommy Nguyen. DhyanaTech builds DhyanaERP Precast Edition, a mobile-first enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform for precast concrete manufacturers.
Details to know before you go:
What: The WORKS 2026 Accelerator Demo Day
When: Wednesday, Sept. 9. Doors at 5 p.m.; program 5:30 to 7 p.m.; networking at 7 p.m.
Where: The Square Room, Knoxville
RSVP: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/knoxvilleentrepreneurcenter/2314063
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