Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and key partners celebrated the opening of the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center (KEC) today with a traditional red ribbon-cutting ceremony.

KEC is a business accelerator in downtown Knoxville that will help budding entrepreneurs turn ideas into reality. "A significant component of Knoxville's future economic success depends on our ability to attract, develop and retain talented people," Mayor Rogero said. "This space will encourage those people and help them to collaborate on ideas that will translate to jobs and a stronger tax base."

The Industrial Development Board, through the City of Knoxville, helped to fund the project along with generous donations from Randy and Jenny Boyd, the Clayton Family Foundation, the Haslam Family Foundation, the Cornerstone Foundation, and a grant from Launch Tennessee. The Knoxville Chamber of Commerce and Tom McAdams with Bernstein, Stair & McAdams LLP were instrumental in developing and establishing a business plan and charter for KEC.Located on Market Square, KEC will host meetings and networking events focused on small business startups and growth. It offers small private meeting rooms and a conference room, along with free Wi-Fi service.

Knoxville businessman Michael Carroll is the center's Executive Director. The center will feature boot camps and competitions, development programs, and have a roster of mentors and investors to advise upstart businesses.

"KEC will be a front door to entrepreneurial resources and help companies succeed and grow," Carroll said. "We will have a culture that is supportive and nurtures the 'can-do' philosophy most entrepreneurs have."

Workspace Solutions, Design Innovation Architects and Messer Construction contributed materials and time to make the KEC opening possible. For more information about KEC, visit http://knoxec.com.