As part of her summer internship with KEC through LaunchTN’s Internship Program, Riley caught up with KEC alumni and program participants to learn where their entrepreneurial journeys have taken them. In this story, she shares how Megan Quigley found the confidence and community to begin building PrepSolo.

An Idea Worth Pursuing

For Megan Quigley, PrepSolo began as an idea she wasn’t sure was worth pursuing. She had a vision for a product that could make cooking more accessible, but she didn’t know where to begin—or whether she could turn that vision into a business.

That changed after a conversation with KEC’s Kelsi Walker, who encouraged her to apply for the What’s the Big Idea? competition.

“But it’s probably not, like, business worthy,” Meg initially said while discussing her idea. She soon learned that an idea was enough to enter the competition and begin exploring what it could become.

At the beginning of the experience, Meg wasn’t sure what her next steps should be.

“I didn’t know how to take the steps to start a business, how to pitch a business, or even how to describe your business in a concise way to be able to get people on board with that,” she said.

Turning an Idea Into Action

What’s the Big Idea? gave Meg the opportunity to take her initial concept and begin developing it into something tangible. With help from her mentors, she learned how to communicate her idea, develop the product’s design and think through the different pieces involved in building a business.

One of her biggest challenges was learning how to explain her vision clearly. Meg knew what she wanted to create, but putting that idea into words was another matter.

Joel Smith, founder of TeachCraft and the previous year’s competition winner, helped her refine her pitch into something more polished and understandable. Other mentors offered guidance on design, branding and marketing, giving Meg a group of people she could turn to while developing PrepSolo.

The experience also helped Meg become more comfortable with entrepreneurship itself. She had never pitched a business and initially expected to feel out of place among the other participants.

“I thought I was walking into a room of, like, Wall Street financiers,” she said. “I was like, ‘I can’t do this.’”

Instead, she found herself surrounded by entrepreneurs experiencing many of the same nerves and uncertainties. That realization helped her see entrepreneurship as something she could participate in, too.

Finding a Community Through KEC

For Meg, one of the most valuable parts of the experience was not only what she learned, but also the people she met. Her mentors became people she could continue turning to for feedback, advice and encouragement.

“Just being able to bounce ideas off of people who are so willing to listen and help you is just fantastic, and you really cannot find that in many other places,” Meg said.

That support helped her move beyond the uncertainty surrounding PrepSolo. What began as an idea she wasn’t sure was “business worthy” became a product she could confidently pitch, develop and continue building.

Meg also learned that getting started is often one of the hardest parts of entrepreneurship.

“The barrier to entry with just getting started is huge, and once you’re past that—I mean, I’m not saying it’s gonna be easy—but it seems much more attainable than before,” she said.

Looking Toward the Future

As Meg continues her education in Austin, she plans to keep building PrepSolo while maintaining her connection to Knoxville. Although she will spend much of the year in Austin, she expects to return to Knoxville during summers and breaks and continue working on the business from both places.

For Meg, this next chapter is about continuing to turn an idea into something real. The encouragement, mentorship and network she found through KEC gave her the confidence to take those next steps.

“I definitely could not have done it without the encouragement from KEC, but also the resources and the network that they provide with that,” she said. “It’s a game changer.”

What began as a passing conversation in a coffee shop and an idea Meg wasn’t sure was “business worthy” has become the beginning of a business. The biggest step may have simply been giving that idea a chance.