Blog

  1. Chattanooga…A Tech Hub? Wednesday, November 11, 2009

    Sheldon Grizzle is the director of SpringBoard, CreateHere’s resource hub for local entrepreneurs. Before joining the team, he spent three years launching and running his own angel funded tech company. Today, he lays out some cool upcoming tech opportunities right here in Chattanooga.

    Throughout the last three years, I have had the opportunity to travel across the country to look at what is going on in the world of entrepreneurship, with an obvious interest in the tech community. In those travels, I was always asked (and still am to this day) “Why are you in Chattanooga? You can’t build a tech company down there.” The common belief in other parts of the country is that Chattanooga does not have the talent needed to produce tech companies that can compete with others based on the coasts.

    I am so sick of hearing this. Especially because I know of a lot of really talented developers, designers and serial entrepreneurs working on some pretty sweet projects that are flying under the national, and even local, radar. So, my answer is this: Chattanooga does not lack talent. The talent is here! What we lack are the entrepreneurial stories to bring some attention to the budding tech community that is growing very rapidly here.

    I could spend hours citing statistics that show the many perks to being based in Chattanooga — from “extending the runway” for tech companies just by locating here, to the fact that investors get a better bang for their buck on companies down here than on either of the coasts. I won’t go that way right now. Instead, I’d like to write about a couple opportunities for techies and entrepreneurs to engage in projects that will tell the story of the Chattanooga tech scene.

    The first is a video competition sponsored by the State of Tennessee’s Small Business Office (BERO) and the Tennessee Main Street Program. This video competition is centered around the topic of “What makes you an entrepreneur?” The winner of the competition will receive a $500 cash prize plus a $2,000 professional marketing package for their business. Finalists will be selected from five business categories: Main Street/downtown; home-based; agri-business; arts and entertainment; and innovation. Videos should be no longer than five minutes. The deadline is December 15th. Complete contest details can be found at the official website.

    The second opportunity is one near and dear to my heart: 48Hour Launch (48HL), which is being held at CreateHere November 13-15th. This event is modeled after the big city model of Startup Weekend, with some modifications that make it easy for any community to host their own 48HL. 48HL is a high-octane event where we hope to launch as many [tech] companies as possible in a 48-hour period. Ambitious? Absolutely! Possible? Most definitely! As we speak, there are teams being put together across Chattanooga and East Tennessee to turn great ideas into the next mobile app or website. In addition to the teams being built, a host of entrepreneurs, writers, designers, and programmers will be coming to pitch their own ideas and/or join other teams.

    Now, I know that this weekend’s 48Hour Launch isn’t going to solve Chattanooga’s reputation as a non-tech friendly place immediately, but it helps building momentum in the right direction. Personally, I can’t wait for Sunday night when we get to see what was created during the 48-hour period. I have a feeling that this 48Hour Launch is going to be a pretty cool event, and I’m excited to show the world what’s happening in Chattanooga’s tech community when it’s over.

    If you’re interested in being a part of 48HL, please visit our site or call 423-648-2195 for more info.

    Posted by Administrator