Our Mission
We are the catalyst for world-class innovation and entrepreneurship in the Appalachian Highlands -- promoting, coordinating, and supporting existing organizations while building new programs to scale startup growth in a rural setting.
Be a Recognized Leader of World-Class Innovation and Entrepreneurship in a Rural Setting.
We envision a Northeast Tennessee where the Appalachian Highlands are internationally recognized not despite being rural, but because of the unique comparative advantages that region offers -- in talent, cost structure, industrial heritage, and community cohesion.
Our Core Team
Dave Clark
VP FOR ENTREPRENEURIAL ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT
Regional startup and scale-up ecosystem development. Leads the region’s first member-managed investment fund.
Ryan Shipley
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 2681 CORE
Connecting founders across the region to the people, programs, and capital they need to scale. Building a real path to equity financing for high-growth companies moving from research to market.
Core Values
World Class in a Rural Setting
We hold our programs, our founders, and ourselves to the same standard as the world's leading innovation ecosystems.
Integrity
Every decision we make, every promise we deliver on, is grounded in honesty, transparency, and accountability.
Inclusiveness and Collaboration
Great ideas emerge from diverse perspectives -- we build bridges across industries, communities, and backgrounds.
Focus
We direct resources, energy, and attention toward the highest-leverage opportunities for regional startup growth.
Agility
In a fast-moving environment, we move quickly, adapt decisively, and stay ahead of the curve for our founders.
Strategic
Everything we do is in service of a deliberate long-term vision for world-class entrepreneurship in Appalachia.
Powered by ETSU Research Corporation
The Research Corporation is a driver of innovation across the region, connecting university capabilities to regional, national, and global opportunities. We measure success not only in research dollars and patents, but in the culture we've built: one that values collaboration, entrepreneurship, and creative problem-solving across disciplines, colleges, and beyond campus.
Our physical home is the Center for Innovation at Valleybrook in Kingsport, Tennessee -- a purpose-built facility designed to co-locate founders, researchers, and industry partners at the intersection of the region's comparative advantages.
Become Part of the Catalyst
Whether you are a founder, investor, mentor, or regional partner, there is a role for you in building the Appalachian innovation ecosystem.
