Meet the KEC team
Our team is made up of experienced entrepreneurs, mentors, and community-minded professionals that are ready to help take your big idea to the next level.
Jim Biggs
Executive director
Jim is a former attorney with decades of experience in building businesses, raising capital, and forming impactful communities. Jim is a tireless advocate for entrepreneurship, and has helped KEC be the “center of gravity without being the center of attention” since 2015.
Courtney Hendricks
director of maker initiatives
Courtney is a versatile marketing and design veteran with extensive leadership and event planning experience. She is focused on facilitating connections, promoting a culture of inclusivity, and aiding in building a strong support system for Knoxville’s Makers.
Chris McAdoo
director of strategy & engagement
Chris has spent over 20 years building brand-focused consulting and content businesses, forging a successful creative career, and speaking all over the country on the power of community, creativity and challenging assumptions.
Catherine Porth, MBA
Director of insights & development
Catherine has been a strong part of the KEC ecosystem for several years, serving as lead facilitator of CO.Starters, founding Let Her Speak, and helping lead Knoxville’s Women in Entrepreneneurship group.
Richard Dapaah
exec-in-residence, capital connections coordinator
Richard brings extensive global investment and startup capital experience to the KEC community. Having recently authored the Knoxville Chamber’s Access to Capital report, Richard is focused on the role capital plays in a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Lilly Tench
AgLaunch team lead
Lilly believes in using innovation to address the world’s most pressing problems and heads up teh entrepreneurship team at AgLaunch to support the agtech entrepreneurs that will lead us into a more sustainable and equitable future of agriculture.
Kandis Troutman, MA
100knoxville facilitator
As the Creative Architect, Kandis is an experienced strategic consultant who believes in aligning entrepreneurs’ purpose and prosperity. She sees what most people miss and creates simple and efficient solutions for individuals and businesses across the world.
