Entrepreneurs, city leaders and community members gathered Oct. 1 at the Mill and Mine in downtown Knoxville for Startup Day 2024, the flagship event of Innov865 Week. Innov865 highlights the efforts of the Innov865 Alliance to develop, support and promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the Knoxville region.
Startup Day is an annual pitch competition for local startups, including student entrepreneurs. The importance of collaboration and community were emphasized throughout the afternoon, from Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon thanking Knoxville-based entrepreneurs “who are taking risks, willing to innovate and bring your ideas to fruition … in order to address the needs of our community,” to calls for attendees to share ideas with and learn from one another.
Alumni and advisors to Innovation Crossroads, a Department of Energy Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory that offers a two-year fellowship for researchers working to address and solve energy and manufacturing challenges, were represented at all parts of the event, whether pitching cutting-edge companies or offering advice to other entrepreneurs and makers.
Dan Lee, chief executive officer and co-founder of Perseus Materials and Innovation Crossroads alumnus, Maya Roman-Rivera, chief logistics operator of Algaeo, an Innovations Crossroads company, and John Derrick, Innovations Crossroad advisor, pitched their respective startups and answered questions from a judges panel in two rounds. The winner of the Startup Day 2024 Judges’ Choice Prize, a $10,000 prize, was awarded to Andrew Hanna, chief product officer of Safire Technology Group, an ORNL licensee on a mission to revolutionize lithium-ion battery safety.
This Oak Ridge National Laboratory news article "Startup Day 2024 celebrates entrepreneur ecosystem" was originally found on https://www.ornl.gov/news
