SJS Alumni Spotlight – Evan Knowles

Evan Knowles grew up in Elizabethtown with his parents Matt and Paula Knowles and his little sister, Anna. He was brought up in the St. James community and went to St. James Catholic School, starting Kindergarten in 2001 and graduating from 8th grade in 2010. He continued his high school education at St. Xavier in Louisville. 

“My parents and SJS set the foundation for who I am today. Having morality and ethics be a core part of my curriculum was very important and has helped me make good decisions throughout my life,” said Evan. “The teachers really invested in me and my classmate’s success and well-being.” 

Since his freshman year of college, Evan has been an entrepreneur. He and some friends started a business in their dorm rooms. After his sophomore year, he dropped out of college to help build a company called Fooji. He also started investing in real estate in 2018. He loves business and finding new problems to solve with technology. Evan plans to continue working in the startup space and investing in real estate for the foreseeable future. 

Most recently, Evan and his business partners received a $100,000 investment award from Render Capital to help fund and grow their startup Symba. Symba is the real estate industry’s only mobile-first customer relationship management (CRM) platform that allows real estate agents to close more business and provide better customer service.

Evan said that going to Catholic schools meant the standards were higher, challenging him academically. He found college to be easier because of the challenging nature of his Catholic school background.

“Everyone in the SJS community expected excellence from an academics and moral perspective, and I loved that. It shows in the community outside the school and church as well. Many of my friends from SJS are leaders in their companies or communities. That’s not a coincidence.” 

Evan said his time at SJS were some of the best years of his life. He is still very close with many of the friends he made there. The classes are small and extremely close, and he values the community SJS has built.  

While at SJS, Evan played basketball, soccer, ran cross country and participated in academic clubs, and his favorite was basketball.  

“We just had fun. Our basketball teams weren’t very good, so we focused on having fun. A lot of memories were made during those years. Most athletes would be embarrassed or angry when a teammate scores on the wrong goal or hits the ceiling with the basketball on a three-point shot, but we just laughed.” 

Evan’s favorite teacher was Mrs. Wiseman, and he still enjoys seeing her in church when he is in town. 

“I had her twice, and she knew I was a little trouble maker. I always felt like she did a good job keeping me under control without being too harsh.” 

To read more about Evan’s grant visit: