Another Knoxville-focused podcast launching today
One of the recommendations coming out of the Techstars assessment of the Knoxville region’s innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem was to tell more stories about entrepreneurs – past, present and aspiring.
Paul Sponcia, Principal and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The IT Company LLC, is stepping into the mix with a new podcast series that debuts today. Titled “Made Right Here,” the inaugural two-parter will feature Brandon Bruce, the very engaged and connected Knoxvillian who is Co-Founder of “Startup Knox,” where he has his own podcast, and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center.
“For quite some time, I’ve had a yearning to tell the stories of the folks in our region who have built great organizations but don’t always get all the press – both for-profit and non-profit orgs,” Sponcia wrote in a recent social media post. “When I say the stories – I mean the personal AND professional. The good and the bad. The highs and the lows. The guts and the glory. The sweat and the blood.”
It’s an idea Sponcia has been considering for months. He discussed it with both Bruce and me in a meeting in late 2020.
“We are telling the stories of East Tennessee founders, creators, and builders, and their journey to creating successful organizations,” he wrote in the social media post. “From the idea behind it, to the impact it had on the community, their employees and their own lives, we’re taking listeners, and viewers, behind the scenes of the movements they built and the people behind them.”
After the two-parter with Bruce, his next two podcasts will feature Vrondelia (Ronni) Chandler, Executive Director of Project Grad Knoxville, and Misty Mayes, CEO of Management Solutions LLC.
Each episode will be available on the Apple, Spotify, Google and Pandora podcast platforms along with a video version on YouTube.
