Startup Day rebrands as a week-long series of events, September 19-23

Contact:

Cortney Piper, cortney@piper-communications.com or 865-789-2669

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The organizers of Startup Day announced the creation of Innov865 Week at the Tennessee Venture Challenge finale today. Innov865 Week is a week-long series of events, taking place September 19-23, 2016 to celebrate and showcase Knoxville as a great place for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses.

Innov865 Week will feature Paul Singh and the North American Tech Tour, kick-off with the Kauffman Foundation’s Mayors Summit on Entrepreneurship and end with the signature event, Startup Day, Thursday, September 22, 2016.

Educational panels, pitch competitions, investor roundtables and social events will be included in event programming throughout the week.

“East Tennessee has plenty to discover, celebrate and invest in when it comes to innovation, hence the name Innov865,” said Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA and member of the Innov865 Alliance. “Innov865 perfectly articulates what makes our region unique.”

Additionally, the Startup Day hosts will now be known collectively as the Innov865 Alliance. The brand represents a commitment to yearlong collaboration to develop, support and promote the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Innov865 Week serves as its signature showcase, but the alliance seeks to coordinate efforts throughout the year that celebrate entrepreneurship, showcase Knoxville as a great place for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses and increase access to capital.

The Innov865 Alliance includes the University of Tennessee Research Foundation, Oak Ridge National Lab, PYA, UT’s Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Launch Tennessee and Knoxville Entrepreneur Center.

With more than 500 attendees at Startup Day 2015, event organizers saw an opportunity to leverage growing interest and momentum by expanding the one day celebration to a week-long series of events for startups, entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, students and the East Tennessee community.

Innov865 Week will showcase the East Tennessee startups and entrepreneurs that continue to spin out new products and processes that change the way we live– from manufacturing the first 3D printed car to fighting cancer with protons and six global cable networks that bring content to more than 100 million homes worldwide.

For more information and to stay updated on events, visit: www.innov865.com