KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Innov865 Week begins Monday, September 28 with a Facebook Live talk from Randy Boyd, President of the University of Tennessee, and culminates in the Friday award ceremony featuring a fireside chat with the inaugural winner of the Innov865 Impact Award, presented by Verizon. The Innov865 Impact Award recognizes an inventor who has made a positive impact in the fight against COVID-19.
Startup Day, the annual pitch competition hosted by the Innov865 Alliance, is the premier event of Innov865 Week, and will be held virtually at 2 p.m. Tuesday.
See a full calendar of events here. All events are virtual this year. Highlights:
Monday, 11 a.m. on Facebook – Innov865 Week Kickoff with Randy Boyd
Tuesday, 2 p.m. – Startup Day pitchfest; register to
Wednesday, 5 p.m. – Vol Court
Thursday, 5:30 p.m. – Virtual happy hour and conversation with the area’s Inc. 5000 businesses; for UT entrepreneurs
Friday, 11 a.m. – Startup Day Awards Ceremony and fireside chat;
There will be some media availability for various participants in the week’s events for those outlets who wish to make interview requests ahead of time.
Hosted by the Innov865 Alliance, Innov865 Week spotlights Knoxville as a great place to start and grow businesses and connects the entrepreneurs planting roots here with support systems to succeed. The week’s events bring together local leaders, investors, entrepreneurs, and the public to support local economic development and celebrate Knoxville’s entrepreneurial spirit.
The six startups competing in Startup Day’s pitch competition were selected by the Innov865 Alliance for their extraordinary potential and investability. They include:
Electro-Active Technologies Inc. – Electro-Active Technologies Inc. is developing a modular system to convert food waste and renewable electricity into low-cost hydrogen. Their system keeps food waste out of landfills and provides a zero-emission fuel to offset gasoline and diesel use.
Cofounder and CEO: Alex Lewis
490 BioTech – 490 BioTech makes bioluminescent human cells capable of continuously producing a visual light signal that adjusts in real-time to represent changes in cellular health. The company’s glowing cells can be used by pharmaceutical companies in their efforts to develop safer, more effective, and less expensive medicines.
Cofounder and CSO: Dan Close
Quantum Lock – Quantum Lock is developing a smart lock system that is more secure than many current smartphone-based key systems. Quantum Lock’s technology uses quantum physics to generate keys that are random and untraceable.
Cofounder: Erica Grant
Qardian Labs – Qardian Labs develops innovative artificial intelligence-based software solutions for evaluating heart disease risk. The company is dedicated to reducing the occurrence of Sudden Cardiac Arrest by improving screening for people in high stress environments.
Founder: Sofia Tomov
PowerUp Fitness – PowerUp Fitness certifies wellness champions as youth fitness instructors and provides them with the training and support needed to empower youth through fitness, education, and fun in their communities.
Founder and CEO: Stacy Baugues
Songboarding – Songboarding is a subscription-based platform that combines music with safety training, providing employers with a fun and memorable alternative to traditional training methods.
Cofounder: Mike Benn
Learn more about Innov865 Week by visiting https://innov865week.com/. The events calendar will be updated as events are added throughout the week.
Contact: Cortney Piper, cortney@piper-communication.com ⎜865-329-0553
ABOUT INNOV865 WEEK AND THE INNOV865 ALLIANCE
Innov865 Week is a weeklong celebration of Knoxville’s entrepreneurial spirit that brings together startups, entrepreneurs, makers, investors, business leaders, students, and community leaders from across East Tennessee for a week of educational panels, pitch competitions, investor roundtables, and social events. It is presented by the Innov865 Alliance, a coalition that develops, supports, and promotes the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Innov865 Alliance’s mission is to make Knoxville a “nationally recognized” hub of innovation and entrepreneurship by leveraging the region’s world-class research, creative, and technological capabilities to build the most connected and diverse startup community in Tennessee. Founding members of the Innov865 Alliance include the University of Tennessee Research Foundation, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, PYA, UT’s Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Three Roots Capital, Tennessee Valley Authority, Launch Tennessee, Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, UT Research Park at Cherokee Farm, and Bunker Labs Knoxville. To learn more, visit www.innov865.com/.
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