Startup Knox Podcast

Today we talk with, Maranda Vandergriff, founder of Vagabondary and Creative Director at The Knoxville Entrepreneur. We discuss the future of the Maker City and the culture surrounding Knoxville’s growing community of creatives. We also touch on pricing, logistics, and the ins-and-outs taking your passion projects to the next level. 

Today I'm talking with Alaina Smith, founder of Cold Gold. We discuss the journey from side project to full-time jewelry making, along with pricing models, design evolution, and getting the courage to take the next step. We also touch on differentiating yourself in a crowded market and using the right platform to promote your work.

Today I'm talking with John Phillips, founder of Phillips Forged.  John is a blacksmith, artist, and entrepreneur, whose work has received numerous national and international awards, and been featured on the History Channel's Forged In Fire.  We discuss John's initial risk to hop out of construction and into his creative pursuits full-time, what it takes to scale a custom cutlery business, and next steps.  

Today I’m talking with Paris Woodhull, artist, designer, maker, and entrepreneur. Her designs and work have been featured at prominent Knoxville landmarks and become a part of a distinct Knoxville aesthetic.  We discuss focusing on multiple revenue streams, growing your brand online, and what it takes to make it as a working artist.

Today I’m talking with founders that pitched for $10k at this years What's The Big Idea? competition. We speak with Rume Akong from Crwdn, Brandon Schrieber from Leviathan Aquarium Automation, and Ben Ribera from Ear Buttons.  We discuss the journey that each  took to get to WTBI, what they learned, and what they have planned for the future.

We continue our series of interviews with Black founders in partnership with 100Knoxville.  I’m talking with Angela Elder, founder of Smiles Professional Cleaning Services which offers janitorial cleaning services for companies. We discuss pivoting careers, starting a cleaning company during a pandemic, and the difficulty of keeping all the various pieces of a business intact, while scaling to the next level. 

I'm talking with Jorge Sanabria founder of  ExpoQuip, a worldwide distributor of quality heavy equipment replacement parts and components. We discuss the explosive growth his company has experienced as an essential service provider and supplier during the COVID outbreak, how he developed the key relationships that helped his company go international, and the importance of high-quality accounting. 

I’m talking with, Meg Davis, Founder of Telling More Stories, a company that writes memoirs for families. She launched the company after her extensive work with Kreis Beall, founder of Black Berry Farms. We discuss the process of story telling and it's unexpected emergence for the everyday experiences we share. What it's like to explain personal memoir as business model, and the importance listening.

I’m talking with, Drew McKenna, Founder of Knox Pro Soccer. Today, we discuss how similar the formation of professional soccer team is to a startup, and what it really takes to bring such an ambitious project to life. We also touch on the power of shared experience and how to translate the global language of soccer to East Tennessee. 

We continue our series of interviews with Black founders in partnership with 100Knoxville. Today, we talk with Peejay Alexander, Founder of Purple Mouse Smart House, an IOT automation company.  We discuss a serendipitous conversation with his daughter, the increased connectivity of our world, and the importance of solid tech infrastructure in a post-pandemic world.