KEC now looking at program offerings from a calendar year perspective
Tweaks are being made to some offerings including "The Works" while there's also a renewed effort with another program known as the “Local Executive Access Program.”
As the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC) began 2025, Jim Biggs said the organization is now looking at programming across the calendar year even though its fiscal year runs from July through June.
That’s just one of the changes that entrepreneurs can expect going forward, according to KEC’s longtime Executive Director. Now entering his 12th year leading the organization, Biggs is the second longest-tenured chief executive of entrepreneur centers among the five in the eastern half of Tennessee, eclipsed only by Jeff Brown at The Biz Foundry in Cookeville.
Long-established programs, such as “The Works” start-up accelerator and “What’s the Big Idea?” pitch competition, continue to evolve to meet the opportunities for the entrepreneur community head-on.
And, as Biggs noted, KEC now offers its own early stage cohort-based programming. “Starting Your Business 101” is a five-week class offered for those who are exploring starting their own business, or very early in the process of having started it. “Growing a Business 201” is the complementary program for existing businesses who are working through growing pains. As they become established, KEC hopes to offer both programs multiple times per year.
Another initiative is 100Knoxville. Launched in 2021, the program has a goal of growing Black-owned businesses in Knoxville by $10,000,000 in five years. Biggs said that 11 grant cohorts have been offered thus far, and their combined revenue growth through 2023 was $2.9 million with an average employee count of four per participant.
Starting in 2024, KEC offered two new programs to prepare those who wanted to apply for its 100Knoxville flagship grant cohort program. One was “Idea to Reality,” which is modeled after the new“101” program; and the other is now called “Positioned to Profit,” which uses the new “201” curriculum. While those classes are not limited to those who are ultimately interested in going through the 100Knoxville flagship grant cohort program, both courses are highly recommended for those considering applying. They will be offered in the first six months of 2025, ahead of two cohorts of the100Knoxville flagship grant program that are scheduled for the last two quarters of the calendar year.
Kandis Troutman, who runs the 100Knoxville program, has also developed what Biggs described as a “graduate-level program for those (previous) participants who have good traction.” It will meet once a month for five months with a focus on building out new customer opportunities.
KEC’s growth-oriented programming for technology start-ups will also be a big focus in 2025. “The Works,” KEC’s long-running accelerator program, will return this summer, coming off a very successful 2024 cohort. Under the guidance of Chris McAdoo, KEC’s Chief Experience Officer, the summer accelerator will be a laser-focused eight to nine weeks on go-to-market strategy, customer experience, and product market fit.
“The Works” will be complemented by several multi-day intensive workshops focused on areas of greatest need for start-ups and growth-stage companies, such as capital intelligence and operations. The summer portion of the program will likely be shorter than in past years, but it will be complemented by several multi-day intensive workshops focused on areas of greatest need for start-ups and growth-stage companies such as capital readiness, operations, and marketing.
“We will be looking at companies that are building a platform or services related to AI (artificial intelligence) and SaaS (Software-as-a-Service),” Biggs says, adding that applied AI could expand into areas that include media and commerce, supply chain and logistics, advanced manufacturing, and nuclear, which is obviously a significant emerging opportunity in the region. “We believe there is a density of companies here that are leveraging AI and ML (machine learning) for specific applications, and we want to help ensure they can grow and thrive here by tapping into our regions industry strengths.”
There will also be a push for the third version of the LEAP program, an acronym that originally came from local entrepreneur Lee Martin and was known as the “Local Early Adopter Program.” Now known as the “Local Executive Access Program,” the idea is to connect start-ups to established companies for mentorship and as early customers.
“For 2025 we want to do three things,” Biggs said. The first is to develop an updated list of companies interested in working with start-ups. The second will be to identify a person in an established company that is willing to serve as what he says is the role of connector – to mentors, to the leadership of the company, and to how the business might help in adopting the technology the start-up is offering. Finally, KEC plans to develop a system to help manage those interactions.
KEC has also been working to reboot of its mentor program, with more than 20 individuals agreeing to hold office hours and more coming online in the coming months. Other programs that will continue include:
- Coordination of The Maker City initiative that will enter its 10th year in September, and that will include a celebration of the maker community, a redo of the website, and an emerging collaboration with MakerUSA; and
- Continuation of the long-standing relationship with Memphis-based AgLaunch that has included a Launch Tennessee-supported Ag Mentor Network, and programming such as “ValueAg” and the regional summer bootcamp, “Cultivate Appalachia.”
KEC’s greatest need is funding for a Capital Navigator to help start-ups understand their funding options; help ensure a robust continuum of capital exists in our community; and help connect the right person to the right capital at the right time.
And, perhaps most important as the Knoxville ecosystem evolves was this question: “How do we (KEC) support other community organizations focused on entrepreneurship?”
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