Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

Knoxville Business News Tennessee Mountain Scenery Background
October 16, 2022 | Tom Ballard

Many of this week’s “News & Notes” feature items come from Chattanooga

Much of this week’s “News & Notes” originate from Chattanooga where the articles range from the departure of the top executive at the Chattanooga Area Chamber to several announcements from The Enterprise Center.

From Chattanooga and Knoxville:

It’s truly entrepreneurship at its best! Brewers from East Tennessee took home four medals at this year’s 40th annual Great American Beer Festival. Hutton & Smith in Chattanooga won two bronze medals for Keil’s Oatmeal Stout and Tectonic Session IPA, while two Knoxville brewers captured silver awards – Orange Hat for its Live! At the RYEman, a brown porter, and Xül Beer for Toro y Oso, a contemporary American-style lager.

From Knoxville:

The Maker City organization in Knoxville has announced the return of its Holiday Maker Marketplace that will run each Monday in November and December. At 8 a.m. EST each Monday, the organization will post three items by local makers on The Maker City’s Instagram feed, where viewers can bid for the items. “You (the Maker) set the starting bid and bidders can increase their offer throughout the day,” the organization explains, adding that the market closes at 8 p.m. (You must take the highest bid at 8 p.m., NOT 8:01 p.m.) Those interested in having merchandise listed have to apply by October 26 at this link.

From Chattanooga:

  • Christy Gillenwater, Chattanooga Area Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), has accepted a new position as President and CEO of Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. She began her five-year tenure in Chattanooga in December 2017 after leading chambers of commerce in Bloomington and Evansville, IN. The Chattanooga Chamber Executive Committee will immediately begin planning for the search process. Gillenwater begins her new role in January.
  • Steve Case, who brought his “Rise of the Rest” tour to Chattanooga in 2018 and invested $100,000 in local start-up FreightWaves (see teknovation.biz article here), spotlights the fast-growing company in his new book. It is appropriately titled Rise of the Rest.
  • MY VIDEO VAULT is holding a lunch party next week in Chattanooga, celebrating a 20-year journey by Founder Trent Center from the time he first visualized the idea on the Santa Monica Pier. “To get to finally launch this business has taken over 20 years, been through six business plans, 16 different pitches, three name changes, a pandemic, and technology finally catching up so we could do it,” he wrote on the website. What is MY VIDEO VAULT? It is an app that helps individuals record, store and share all their memories. The launch party runs from 4 to 7 p.m. October 25 at Barrel House Ballroom (former Market South), 1501 Long Street. If you plan to attend, send a text to 423/763-3137. 
  • The Enterprise Center is seeking applicants for several key positions. One is a Strategic Planning consultant for contract work, while the other two are for the organization’s collaboration on the TVA Connected Communities partnership project in Orchard Knob. Those positions are a Project Manager and a Community Liaison. Click here for more details.
  • In another announcement, The Enterprise Center reported that 591 early childhood educators from across the Volunteer State are better equipped to run their businesses and communicate with parents after the first year of the “Tech Goes Home Tennessee” initiative. The participants from this first year represent 270 child care agencies across 42 Tennessee
    counties. Classes began in February 2022 in partnership with Tennessee Child Care Resource & Referral Network (TN CCR&R) and The Enterprise Center. This partnership is an expansion of The Enterprise Center’s “Tech Goes Home CHA” program, which provides digital literacy training and technology to residents across Hamilton County.

From Johnson City:

The final “Beer & Biotechs” of 2022 from Life Science Tennessee will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. November 17 at Tennessee Hills Brewstillery, 458 West Walnut Street, Johnson City. To register, click here.

From Nashville:

According to data compiled by Zillow and reported last week by Axios Nashville, Music City tied with Charlotte for the sixth highest percentage increase in income needed to purchase a house. In 2020, Nashville households had to earn at least $40,348 annually to spend 30 percent or less of their monthly earnings on a typical home mortgage payment, Zillow found. This year, they needed to make $84,111. That’s a 108 percent increase in two years. What city topped the list in terms of percentage change? It was Tampa.


Don’t Miss Out on the Southeast’s Latest Entrepreneurial, Business, & Tech News!

Sign-up to get the Teknovation Newsletter in your inbox each morning!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.


No, thanks!