Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Knoxville Business News Tennessee Mountain Scenery Background
May 23, 2021 | Tom Ballard

Here are some news items that might be of interest

Here are some snapshots of news and notes that might be of interest.

  • Knoxville-based Mollenhour Gross LLC has announced that Dusty Holcomb has been hired as the new Chief Executive Officer of Red Stag Fulfillment, LLC, one of its subsidiaries. He comes from the Carolinas where Holcomb was associated with AAA for 20 years.
  • Lirio, the Knoxville-based company whose Precision Nudging solution improves health outcomes through artificial intelligence-powered behavior change, has named Marten den Haring as new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). As part of an executive transition, Mike West, who has served as Lirio’s CEO since 2018, will continue to lead the board as Executive Chairman. den Haring moves up from Chief Operating Officer.
  • The History Center of Lake Forest – Lake Bluff, which used the platform developed by Chattanooga-founded Pass It Down, is one of six finalists in the “Best Use of Digital – International” competition of the Museums+Heritage Awards.
  • Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) da Vinci Center for Innovation is launching a new multifunctional retail space. Named the SHIFT Retail Lab at VCU, the space will be dedicated to past and present VCU students so they can showcase their work to gain insights and test products, services and ideas with real world customers. Construction and final details of the space are almost complete. The SHIFT Summer Showcase kickoff event will be in August.
  • Separately, the da Vinci Center has announced that it is awarding $5,000 scholarships to defray the cost of its 13-month program, a cross-disciplinary course of study for students interested in its “Master of Product Innovation” program. You can find more information here.
  • The Community Creators Fund is one approach the Hampton Roads start-up ecosystem has taken in recent years to spur innovation in a region known for its expansive geographic coverage, which extends from Virginia Beach and Norfolk up to Newport News and Yorktown. Through the end of the month, individuals and organizations in Hampton Roads can apply to receive up to $1,000 for an idea, event or programming that makes a positive contribution to the ecosystem. The initiative is funded by the Hampton Roads Techstars program.

Don’t Miss Out on the Southeast’s Latest Entrepreneurial, Business, & Tech News!

Sign-up to get the Teknovation Newsletter in your inbox each morning!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.


No, thanks!