Tasia Malakasis has spent years championing Tennessee startups. Facing a breast cancer diagnosis, she found herself on the other side of the equation, helping bring a Memphis med-tech innovation to East Tennessee for the first time.

The Boyd Venture Challenge is the largest annual grant opportunity available to UT System student entrepreneurs.

The founder of OwnWatt, Yingchen 'YC' Zhang believes awareness is the first step to making better decisions about energy consumption.

“When you look at the amount of people that are getting into the non-W2 income pool, it's just growing every day. We want to support that growth, and break down one of the cons of entrepreneurship: income verification on the borrower and the bank side,” said founder Bryan Crosby.

Now in its second year, the collaborative initiative pairs senior marketing students with deep-tech founders to deliver the real-world campaign assets and business best practices needed to help these young companies scale.

This landmark event further solidifies East Tennessee's reputation as a premier hub for innovation and entrepreneurship.

"Relocating our headquarters to Knoxville positions us for better support to this national footprint, while also aligning with the long-term interests of East Tennessee," said Lee Schreiber, director of field services.

EVRCool was the first place winner of the Ballard Innovation Award and recipient of a $50,000 package, also securing the $1,000 Executive's Choice Award, voted on by attendees.