Mike Carroll

Ken Woody

MIKE CARROLL, a Knoxville-based serial entrepreneur who was instrumental in founding the Knoxville Entrepreneur Center, has aligned with PYA Analytics, licensing PYA's media platform for hyperlocal streaming audio websites that will air Indie cuts in up to 15 markets Carroll plans to develop. He told VNC that Ken Woody, who is president of VC Innova Memphis and lives in the Knoxville area, is an advisor. Carroll's Downtown Knoxville Radio soft-launched nine months, and his Nashville and Memphis sites are slated to become operational in 2016. New York City is also among the targets eyed by Carroll, 58. PYA Analytics President/CEO Brian Worley recently confirmed for VNC that PYA Analytics, itself, plans to take the platform into dozens of markets by licensing it to media entrepreneurs, and might raise capital to support that effort. PYA, itself, may market the platform for use within healthcare settings and possibly other verticals.

Joy Fisher

JOY FISHER, the former CEO of IP-driven startup Clodico, which gained backing from Solidus' Venture INCITE and others before being essentially shuttered earlier this year, is now consulting on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville Institute for Agriculture's research divison. Working in coordination with University of Tennessee Research Foundation (UTRF) and others, Fisher, 56, has already identified for UT a handful of possible monetization or commercialization opportunities on the campus. Fisher would only divulge one project: ALL VOL CHEESE, which is available for purchase. Fisher is operating at full speed, after dealing with illness for several years. In her spare time, she also supports ministries and charities. Earlier in her career, she held marketing posts with Accenture and Motorola, and worked with UTRF and with the UT-based Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Fisher's LinkedIn is here.

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