Knoxville Entrepreneur Center shares stories from startup founders – Knoxville News Sentinel
I’m always proud to curate and host Knoxville Entrepreneur Center’s powerful #MadeforKnoxville storytelling initiative live on stage. On a big night during #Innov865 week in 2022, we brought together four founders with different backgrounds, different skills, and different stories. Each founder spoke about their most impactful “big pivot moments” that led them to start their own thing – or led them to make a big change as an entrepreneur, artist, and founder.
Courtney Jones, Chief Revenue Officer of Boulo Solutions
When Courtney became a mother, everything changed. She yearned for a flexible lifestyle that would allow meaningful investment in both her career and her kids’ lives. As she discovered this longing in other moms, she began to brainstorm ways to connect moms to flexible work. MomSource Network was born in 2016 and acquired in 2022 by Boulo Solutions. Courtney has been featured in Bloomberg, CNN, and Working Mother and has worked alongside hundreds of companies to create meaningful opportunities for tens of thousands of women.
“In January of 2022, she (MomSource Network) joined Boulo Solutions, and that’s where she is now, and I’m proud, I’m having an opportunity to see her thrive and grow, to make new friends and learn things that I couldn’t teach her because I just didn’t know yet.” -Courtney Jones comparing building a business to raising a child during her talk entitled “Now That the Kids are Grown.”
Reico Hopewell, Executive Director of Hopewell Helping Hands, Founder of the Mend House, and Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor
Reico founded Hopewell Helping Hands, Inc. to open up employment opportunities for men with a less than perfect background. Hopewell Helping Hands addresses a key component to fighting recidivism with the simple provision of a job; but Reico’s passion for helping people goes beyond this to offer holistic care at The Mend House, a recovery home for men battling addiction. Reico’s philosophy focuses primarily on equipping and empowering men, so they can break out of the cycles of their past and move forward. He is a graduate of the 2021 Leadership Knoxville class and Winter 2022 100Knoxville cohort.
“Entrepreneurs: I’ve done all of this without any capital, and without a degree. So ask yourself: what can you accomplish in 15 years with a late start through family, faith, and friends. You can accomplish anything your heart desires, so I want to give our community hope, and do it well.” -Reico Hopewell on his life and entrepreneurial journey during his talk, entitled “15 Years.”
Paris Woodhull, Artist and founder of Paris Woodhull Illustrations
Odds are you’ll recognize Paris Woodhull’s artwork – it’s featured all over Knoxville! Paris was born to create, and to share that creativity with others, backed by a fierce determination to reject the “starving artist” model for a life that is fed by artful curiosity, business savvy, and what has now become one of the strongest brands in the region’s art scene. Paris brings a youthful, spontaneous energy to whatever she does, and you can’t help but smile when you drive by large pieces, like the 80-foot #wallsforwomen mural, titled “Victoria” at Print Shop Beer in South Knoxville, or while searching the shelves at her brick-and-mortar location on the 100 block of Gay Street.
“Art and entrepreneurship is for daredevils, people that are crazy enough to know that they can do insane things like open up a storefront on the busiest high rent street in Knoxville. Insane enough to think that it’ll work. I’m here to tell you it can work. You’ll cry, you may need a shoulder to lean on from time to time, but it is possible.” -Paris Woodhull on risk-taking and entrepreneurship during her talk “No Turning Back.”
Abhishek Sastri, Co-founder + CEO of FLUIX Inc.
Abhishek “Abhi” Sastri founded FLUIX in 2019, after years of building and selling PCs to pay for school and rent and losing all his scholarships and interest in academics. He found his true calling in technology sales and entrepreneurship as he left his corporate job as an aerospace engineer working for a government contractor to go full-time with FLUIX in 2021. He came to Knoxville as part of the inaugural Techstars: Industries of the Future business accelerator.
“Ever since I came to this town, the one thing that I learned was: You have a beautiful city, because I hear a lot more ‘yes’ than I hear ‘no’ in Knoxville.” -Abhi Sastri during his talk, “Doing Things the Hard Way.”
#MadeforKnoxville is the most ambitious, entrepreneur-focused storytelling initiative ever launched in our region. Knoxville Entrepreneur Center is collecting stories from hundreds of founders, with a goal of connecting and amplifying the diverse entrepreneurial community in the Knoxville region — ranging from “solo-preneurs,” makers, growth-stage tech companies, investors, and established institutions. If you’d like to watch our entrepreneurs on stage, or if you’d like to share your story with the world, please visit madeforknoxville.com.
Chris McAdoo, chief of strategy and engagement for Knoxville Entrepreneur Center and host of the Big Ideas Welcome podcast, artist and entrepreneurial evangelist. He has spent over 20 years building businesses, forging a successful art career, and speaking all over the country on the power of creativity and challenging assumptions. Connect with Chris at chris@knoxec.net