Teknovations Investor Outlook 7

A final wrap-up from this year’s Investor Outlook series, featuring a panel of investors from East TN who offer insights and answers to current investment strategies and questions. Read the full article through our button below. Here’s what Eric is looking forward to in 2025:

The Knoxville ecosystem seemed to burgeon despite a bad climate for both raising and investing capital. The good news is the angel investment ecosystem continued to expand with new funds, new opportunities, and a fresh outlook for 2025. The “Techstars Industries of the Future Accelerator” is gone, but it had an important impact. It put Knoxville on the map, albeit briefly, on a national and international scale. The question that must be answered is what to do with the momentum that was created by the activity. The new 121 Tech Hub is a great addition to the local ecosystem. I sincerely hope the three Techstars’ sponsors understand how much the community appreciates their investment and that they continue to support the ecosystem with the same enthusiasm and resources. We have come a long way in the last 16 years (when I joined the Knoxville ecosystem). The entrepreneurial environment has made huge leaps. But there is still much to do, and we need more of our community to engage with our entrepreneurs and to become mentors and investors.