First ever ‘Founder Friday’ at 121 Tech Hub draws a big, young crowd
Haseeb Qureshi (HQ) has been blending his roles with the university and ecosystem to build a bridge for young people to get involved with local entrepreneurs.
Haseeb Qureshi, better known as HQ, is a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) and member of the 121 Tech Hub downtown. He is building a start-up called Entreheart.Ai, which we recently featured in Teknovation (read story).
One of HQ’s passions is to direct young people to follow their dreams, think big, and take leaps in business. So, he paved a pathway for entrepreneurship students at UTK to get connected with Knoxville’s start-up ecosystem before graduation.
It took a conversation with 121 Tech Hub, and a green light from the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEI) to make it happen. HQ hosted about 40 students for the first-ever ‘Founder Friday,’ as the tech-founder coworking space in the Old City Knoxville.
The first session featured Don DeRosa and his battery-tech start-up Eonix. Teknovation has featured Eonix and its rapid growth a number of times. (Read story here).
DeRosa shared with students how he spent five and a half years of his Ph.D. evaluating two molecules, then spinning out a start-up, only to pivot when he found the innovation was not scalable.
That brings Eonix to where it is now – a leader in the battery-tech space. DeRosa and his team use innovative techniques like robotics, quantum mechanics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly determine the optimal battery chemistry for specific applications and needs.
His systems can test chemicals and evaluate their efficacy in lithium-ion batteries and other energy storage devices, bringing an unprecedented pace to R&D in the battery space.
His innovations have garnered investments, grants, and attention from the U.S. military.
“We have a lot of robots and automation. When it comes innovating, cash flow is key,” he said. “It’s a long game.”
He also offered this bit of advice for students who wanted to explore entrepreneurship.
“Take the advantages that you have and make the most of them,” he said.
The next Founder Friday will be on March 28. It will feature Rob Monday and Joshua Wright with Tenant Text.
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