Six finalists will bring their ideas to the big stage during KEC’s ‘What’s the Big Idea?’
Six companies have moved forward to the 48-hour pitch competition on March 2nd at Scruffy City Hall!
After 23 video-idea submissions, a full week of voting, and a lot of excitement from the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC), six founders have been selected to pitch at the annual “What’s the Big Idea?” pitch competition.
This isn’t just any pitch competition. No, this one operates a bit differently. The six selected companies will undergo a weekend of intense business acceleration, led by KEC’s team and a host of industry experts and mentors.
Each founder will be paired up with a couple of coaches, who can help ask the tough questions, flesh out shaky business models, and prepare the idea to hit the marketplace. At the end of the weekend on Sunday, March 2, those six founders will pitch for a chance to win $10,000 and bring their business to life!
Last year, the winner was Preston Garland, the Founder of Human AI (see teknovation.biz recap).
Meet the 2025 participants
- Salubata’s patented CO2-to-O2 decomposition technology (0crb) captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and converts it into breathable oxygen. This groundbreaking innovation transforms footwear and industrial systems into active climate solutions, empowering individuals and industries to combat climate change. The company is founded by Yewande Akinse.
- TeachCraft is a platform that helps teachers create impactful, standards-aligned Project-Based Learning (PBL) experiences. It integrates CASE-compliant standards with localized data (like health, labor, and historical trends) to help educators design engaging curriculum that is deeply connected to their students’ lives and communities. The company is founded by Joel Smith.
- Partnerly was created by a content creator who experienced firsthand the issues of finding the right partnerships as an influencer. Partnerly matches users with the right paid partnership candidate, helps them to negotiate efficiently, ensures all criteria is met, and assists with the payment process to complete the partnership (read teknovation.biz story). The company is founded by Blake Hopkins.
- Modern Day SAHM connects moms with flexible, remote job opportunities tailored to their schedules, offer exclusive discounts to ease financial burdens, and foster a supportive community where they can share experiences and grow together. By partnering with businesses willing to hire talented moms, they are bridging the gap between motherhood and professional growth (read teknovation.biz story). The company is founded by Kimberly O’Neal.
- FibarCode’s big idea aims to address one of the most challenging materials to sort, textiles, by embedding a fiber-based, digital label at the time of manufacture that allows for durable information transfer across the entire lifetime of the item. This fiber-based barcode, or Fibarcode, allows low-cost, handheld detectors to be used, allowing for more widespread adoption (read teknovation.biz story). The company is founded by Brian Iezzi.
- DataRook’s “Big Idea” is footyLab, a groundbreaking program that transforms the soccer field into an engaging STEM learning laboratory. They address the critical STEM education gap by combining the excitement of youth soccer with hands-on data science, making complex concepts accessible and relevant, especially for underserved communities in the Knoxville area. The company is founded by Gustavo Alvarez.
You can register to support these founders at the finale on Sunday, March 2 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Scruffy City Hall.
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