Wesley Pitts is a rising senior business management major at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business. He is also an entrepreneur revolutionizing the lawn care industry through grounds maintenance automation. Pitts, who is currently serving in the Tennessee Air National Guard, became an entrepreneur when he founded KnoxBots to help commercial properties automate and provide the highest quality lawncare services through cutting-edge robotic mowing technology.
“KnoxBots’ true focus is to change the way people see landscaping. Instead of having laborers doing monotonous tasks, our job is to elevate the job of a laborer so they can focus on tasks that are more productive,” says Pitts. The company achieves its mission through creating solutions catered to their customers, allowing robotic mowers to handle the general lawn areas and freeing up the lawn maintenance workers to focus on more difficult tasks.
Pitt’s lawncare business develops innovative, sustainable solutions to automate their client’s most complicated properties. Through their step-by-step process, they ensure their client’s transition to autonomous mowing is as seamless and smooth as possible. Their mowers can mow properties of virtually any size and shape with perfect precision. They boast net-zero emissions in a market that traditionally leads to five percent of U.S. air pollution, and the mowers are also nearly silent.
From an Idea to a Competition Winner
The idea for KnoxBots came to Pitts while he was abroad. Although he was born in Knoxville and finished high school in his hometown, he spent most of his upbringing in Budapest, Hungary. That is where one day he saw a robotic mower go across the lawn. “I spent the next 30 minutes enamored by this robotic mower, and it was then and there that I knew I was going to start a grounds maintenance automation company,” says Pitts.
Like many entrepreneurs, Pitts knew he couldn’t navigate the process alone. As a UT freshman, he got involved in the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEI), where he continues to work closely with the ACEI’s team of mentors. “The Anderson Center has been instrumental in the success of KnoxBots today. Through the competitions, the mentoring and the [Entrepreneurs-in-Residence] network, the help from the Anderson Center has been unparalleled,” Pitts says.
His dedication to working hard and learning from the ACEI has paid off. Pitts has been a winner of the Graves Business Plan Competition, a two-time winner of the Boyd Venture Challenge and a winner in the University of Georgia’s Next Top Entrepreneur Competition.
“It’s not easy, but I love it every single day. It’s only made possible from the people that are walking alongside me to help make it possible,” says Pitts.
Pitts is focusing on growing KnoxBots in the greater Knoxville area to service commercial properties, including golf courses, universities and more. “When people hear robotic mowing, I want them to think KnoxBots,” he says.
About the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is a university-based resource for entrepreneurship in the region and the state of Tennessee. Its mission is to foster an entrepreneurial culture at UT and across the state by developing student skills, providing experiential learning opportunities, conducting meaningful entrepreneurial research and connecting students with mentors and resources that enable them to successfully start and grow new businesses.
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CONTACT:
Brennan Hullett, brennan@utk.edu
