“Startup Week Chattanooga” offers a varied mix of roughly 100 sessions over five days
By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA
It’s difficult to imagine a topic or type of event that the organizers of the upcoming “Startup Week Chattanooga” haven’t anticipated and planned.
In a schedule released earlier this week, there are small group sessions, larger events, several pitch competitions, tours of technology companies, and the annual “Startup Awards” event that is combined with a social/networking opportunity. We did a hurried count and found about 100 activities planned over the five days beginning October 18. Some are repeats the same day or over multiple days.
A number of sessions fall under the communications and marketing rubrics. Right off the bat the first morning are sessions titled “Get Your Local Products Recognized,” one that is a Q&A with the SASHA Group on branding, and others with titles such as “All Press Is Not Good Press,” and “Attracting Business from Residents and Visitors.” There’s a session on October 20 titled “Using Story to Share Your Mission.” The next day, we noted a session titled “Leveraging Your Local Ecosystem for Growth.”
As you might imagine, there are sessions focused on the all-important matter of money. Four on the first day are “Raising VC Funds During the Pandemic,” “Raise Money for Your Non-Profit by Gamifying,” “Getting Your Angel (Investor) Wings,” and “The Future of Capital – Raising It, Accessing It.” On October 19, there are sessions titled “Finding Your Funding” and “How to Pitch an Angel (Investor).”
There are several sessions focused on what many term underrepresented groups. They include: October 18 sessions titled “Women in Start-up: Make Room, She’s Speaking (All Things Money and Resources)” and “Calling All Founders of Color” which will be offered twice that day.
Competitions include the annual “Will This FLOAT?” on October 18 and the inaugural “Sustainability and Recycling Pitch & Pilot Competition” and “TVFCU Idea Leap Pitch Competition,” both on October 19. The “Start-up Social and Start-up Awards” event is set for the evening of October 21 at Finley Stadium.
As previously noted, “Startup Week Chattanooga” organizer CO.LAB has arranged a job fair for October 20.
We took particular note of five tours including one on October 21 at something called Brickyard. Described as “built and funded by the founders of Bellhop and Lamp Post Group, Brickyard recruits world-class founders from all over the country to exit the rat-race, and build unencumbered alongside others in it, and those who’ve been through it.” The other four are on October 22 and include 3D construction firm Branch Technology, the MLK Testbed that is a key component of the internationally-recognized “Smart Cities Community Collaborative,” Stove Works, and The Kitchen Incubator of Chattanooga.
Just for good measure, the Chambliss Legal Group is holding office hours the first four days where entrepreneurs can gain insights into their legal issues. There are also two co-working locations the first four days at the Waterhouse Pavilion and The Chattery.
The week draws to a close with a number of afternoon social events on October 22 including consecutive happy hours at CO.LAB’s Edney Innovation Center location that are hosted by Solas Bio and Big Self School as well as a limited attendance “Chatt Taste Food Tour.”
That’s just a sampling. To see the complete list of events, click here.
