UT students, faculty, and staff, as well as members of the local community, are encouraged to pitch their business ideas at Vol Court, a semiannual pitch competition and speaker series presented by the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in UT’s Haslam College of Business.
The series begins January 22. Winners may receive up to $1,500 in prize money and space in the UT Research Foundation Business Incubator along with legal and accounting services and other prizes.
The series and competition are open to the public. There is no charge to participate in the event, and anyone interested in entrepreneurship is invited to attend.
Designed to introduce participants to entrepreneurship, series topics provide a starting point to help advance business ideas into reality.
“If you have questions about entrepreneurship, this is the place to start,” said Shawn Carson, Vol Court director. “Expert entrepreneurs will share their knowledge each week. We encourage participants to bring questions and gather information as they move through the program.”
The spring 2020 series includes five interactive entrepreneurial speaker sessions with local entrepreneurs and UT alumni.
The program culminates February 26 in a pitch competition where attendees put what they’ve learned into practice. All pitch competition participants are eligible for cash prizes awarded to first-, second-, and third-place winners.
Vol Court meets from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. every Wednesday from January 22 through February 26. All speaker sessions will be held in Haslam Business Building Room 201. The pitch competition will be held in Student Union Room 169 on February 26.
Anyone who plans to participate in the February 26 competition must attend four of the five speaker sessions:
January 22: Life Hacks for Entrepreneurs
January 29: Trademarks, Patents, and Copyrights
February 5: Service Providers for Entrepreneurs
February 12: Social Media Marketing for Small Businesses
February 19: How to Prepare Your Pitch
See the Vol Court schedule for session and location details.
Vol Court is made possible by donated funds and services from partners. Past partners include first-place-prize partner Red Stag Fulfillment, the UT Research Foundation, PYA, Morehous Legal Group, Three Roots Capital, Innovative Design Inc., and Make Me Modern. Spring 2020 partners will be announced at the first Vol Court sessions.
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CONTACT:
Carrie McCamey (865-974-9964, cbaker14@utk.edu)