
Mobility will be front and center for CO.LAB in 2025
New initiatives include CO.INNOVATE and the CO.LAB Skills Accelerator in conjunction with gener8tor.
When we talked with Tasia Malakasis just before the holiday break, the Chief Executive Officer of The Company Lab (CO.LAB) in Chattanooga was still celebrating the just completed second cohort of the “Sustainable Mobility Accelerator” powered by gener8tor, but also describing an ambitious workplan for 2025.
And, as might be expected, mobility will be front and center – a tip of the hat to the importance that the sector plays in Chattanooga’s economy, but that’s not all that Malakasis has on the agenda as she begins her 30th month of leading the organization.

“We will follow roughly the same schedule” with the accelerator, she says. That would involve 12 weeks of programming for each of two cohorts plus two separate reverse pitch events. One will be at the Tennessee Smart Mobility Expo in early April in Nashville, while the other will occur during Launch Tennessee’s “3686” event, also in Nashville in September.
Other plans include:
- A national roadshow tour to evangelize Chattanooga and what it can offer entrepreneurs;
- Participation in Launch Tennessee’s “Tennessee House” during the South By Southwest (SXSW) gathering in Austin, TX on March 7-15;
- A significant commitment to rural entrepreneurship; and
- New initiatives named CO.INNOVATE and CO.LAB Skills Accelerator.
The latter is a 10-week training program that propels participants into the world of information technology (IT), including topics on how to manage network systems, hardware, software and master problem solving techniques. Offered jointly with gener8tor as part of the $1 million “Digital Skills, Education, and Workforce Development (DSEW) Grant” provided by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, the program prepares graduates for the CompTIA A+ industry-recognized certification.
“At the end, we want to be matchmakers,” helping those in need of skilled IT workers and those with the skills to do the jobs, Malakasis said.
As far as CO.INNOVATE, she explained that it originated as a pilot program that the entrepreneur center ran for the Tennessee Valley Authority. Unlike its other programs, CO.INNOVATE is focused on intrapreneurship, providing a tool for established businesses to foster a culture of agility and innovation, staying competitive and adaptable in today’s rapidly evolving market landscape.
There are two tracks – one for organizations without a structured innovation process and the other for companies with existing innovation processes.
“It is not dissimilar from CO.STARTERS,” Malakasis said, adding, “It’s all about the lifecycle of innovation.”
Noting that CO.LAB’s charter calls for it to serve 10 counties in Southeast Tennessee, she said, “We have made a significant commitment to rural entrepreneurship that includes hosting a rural entrepreneurship summit in 2025.”
Malakasis added that she has created two teams. One is what she calls the Start Team, designed for those with an idea who might need anything from one-on-one consultation to funding. The other is what she terms her Scale Team focused on growing businesses in mobility or another sector in Chattanooga.
“I’m truly turned on by the work we do,”
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