Venture For America CEO Amy Nelson will be the featured speaker for Innov865 Week’s Startup Day 2018. Venture For America is a nonprofit fellowship program that connects recent college graduates with jobs at startups, forging a community of entrepreneurs committed to building companies that matter and creating economic opportunity in American cities.

“Knoxville has a growing reputation for innovation and entrepreneurship that I’m excited to witness firsthand,” Nelson said. “Venture For America exists to help lower the barriers to building a company for aspiring entrepreneurs. I’m looking forward to seeing how the Knoxville community is building a supportive, high-growth ecosystem for budding entrepreneurs.”

Innov865 Week offers a prime opportunity to showcase Knoxville and its growing entrepreneurial community for Nelson and Venture For America, which is scouting new cities in which to expand and invest. Venture For America trains and connects its Fellows with full-time jobs at early stage companies in cities with emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems. This influx of talent bolsters local entrepreneurship and contributes to lasting economic growth as Fellows become part of a new community.

As CEO of Venture For America, Nelson focuses on supporting aspiring young entrepreneurs and creating a pathway to entrepreneurship for all. Prior to joining VFA, Nelson was an integral part of the team at B Lab, where she helped launch B Analytics, the leading data platform for impact investors. She earned her MBA at NYU’s Stern School of Business and holds degrees in philosophy and government from Claremont McKenna College. After college, she helped grow highly-innovative international development organizations in Cameroon and Cambodia. Nelson currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Startup Day 2018 will take place Tuesday, September 25 at The Mill & Mine in downtown Knoxville. Startup Day will feature a pitch competition, where six East Tennessee startups will be selected to pitch their businesses and compete to win up to $10,000 in cash prizes. The Startup Day pitch competition is the signature event of Innov865 Week, an annual celebration of Knoxville’s entrepreneurial community, held this year September 23-28, 2018.

Nelson will speak before the hundreds of entrepreneurs, startups, business leaders, investors, community leaders and students who attend Innov865 Week each year. This year’s event features a packed week of investor roundtables, educational panels, demo days, and networking.

Startup Day 2018 is free and open to the public. Register today, click here.