These core values will elevate Knoxville as an entrepreneurial hub

Article By: Chris McAdoo, KEC Director of Strategy & Engagement and Knox.biz columnist

April 2022 marks nine years since the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC) was founded in the heart of downtown Knoxville as a nonprofit dedicated to elevating and connecting Knoxville’s entrepreneurial community.

Since then, we’ve been a “center of gravity, without being the center of attention” in our entrepreneurial ecosystem, helping build a collaborative, supportive environment where entrepreneurs can thrive. Every year, we work with hundreds of entrepreneurs and organizations through a mixture of classes, cohorts, communities, events, and direct mentoring. 

Over the past year, you may have noticed a new look, several new faces, and a passionate vision for our region that redefines how we’ll best serve our community for years to come. We are committed to changing lives through entrepreneurship, and we’re working to create a thriving entrepreneurial community that is accessible, diverse, and sustainable.

And we have a big vision: To become the most founder-friendly city in America. 

We take our core values very seriously, and they guide every decision we make.

1. Innovation: We are intentionally “founder-first” and believe that big challenges are best met when creative ideas are allowed to flourish, imagination is rewarded, and “it’s always been done this way” is never accepted as an answer. Founders are the driving force of an entrepreneurial community. They are the ones who inspire and encourage others. They are the ones who invest in the community and its people and recruit others to invest. They are the ones who start businesses, again and again and again. Founders change lives through entrepreneurship, and we as a community, and as an organization, need to be there to support and champion their work.

2. Connectivity: An intentional, engaged network is essential to a successful entrepreneurial community, and the people and companies that “came before” share a calling to lift up those that are “up next.” This is why continued success for KEC, and by extension for the region, will depend on our collective ability to continue addressing three areas critical to any innovative, sustainable community: 1) developing, retaining and attracting talented workers; 2) providing access to new sources of capital; and 3) establishing connections to the broader business community and enabling opportunities for mentors, partnerships and customers to grow from those relationships.

3. Sustainability: A culture of entrepreneurship is crucial to building a healthy community, economy, and environment. Entrepreneurs look at the world a little differently. They see opportunities where others may see obstacles. So they create solutions and work together to put big ideas into action in their businesses, and in their communities. These rich relationships set founders, businesses, and everyone in the region in position for long-term success and growth. 

4. Diversity: A successful community culture thrives in the presence of diversity — of people, experiences, and opportunities. We are working toward an entrepreneurial ecosystem where a broad variety of stakeholders, public and private, for-profit and not, have a seat at the table, each recognizing that it has a uniquely important role to play in ensuring that new businesses have the resources, support and access they need to prosper and grow.

5. Accessibility: We are committed to an inclusive, accessible, entrepreneurial community, where those who are willing to take risks, create opportunities, and turn big ideas into action are supported and given access to the resources necessary to succeed. We don’t often see the years of mastering a craft, Thursday night payroll stresses, and the hundreds of “almost made it” moments that come with being an entrepreneur, and we don’t often see the work that goes on behind the scenes to make founders, companies, and communities successful. By making those seemingly out-of-reach resources and relationships available, we bridge the gaps needed to illuminate the path to real-life, long-term success.

I’ve had the opportunity to talk with hundreds of incredible entrepreneurs over the past year or so as part of KEC’s ongoing #madeforknoxville storytelling initiative, and I’m looking forward to talking with hundreds more. No matter who I talked with, from solo artists and makers, to construction company founders and technology entrepreneurs, I heard a common thread: No one finds success alone, so a strong support network makes all the difference. 

We are The Maker City. We are a hub of world-class technological innovation. We are rich in talented people, collaborative community, and beautiful natural resources. And we are just getting started. 

If you’ve got big ideas, or want to get involved, please visit knoxec.com. We’ve got an awesome weekly email newsletter, we’d love to connect on social media, and we’d love to hear your stories at madeforknoxville.com. 

This article first appeared in Knox.Biz and online at knoxnews.com.