All Posts from 2010

The Company Lab Tuesday, November 02, 2010

This week, we’re pleased to announce the opening of The Company Lab, a new entrepreneurial initiative that exists to increase the viability of high-growth start-ups in Chattanooga by helping entrepreneurs determine their next steps and by connecting them with resources to move their venture forward.

“The entrepreneurial programming at CreateHere has taken on a life of its own,” says Sheldon Grizzle, founder of The Company Lab. “We’ve embraced that new life and we’ve brought all of these programs under a single brand called The Company Lab. We now have a much stronger focus, specifically on the high-growth potential start-up community.”

One of the many entrepreneurs for whom The Company Lab’s programs have had a positive influence in the past is Tim Kelly of Kelly Auto Group. “The creation of The Company Lab is a key step toward reviving Chattanooga’s entrepreneurial culture and supporting its growth in the future,” said Kelly. “I’m really excited to know that we will have an organization focused on fostering innovation and helping those innovators flourish.”

One of the most popular entrepreneurial programs CreateHere has offered is the SpringBoard business planning class. The first SpringBoard class was launched in January of 2008 and has since graduated over 250 entrepreneurs over the course of 20 classes, resulting in the creation of at least 60 new ventures.

Though SpringBoard is still up and running, many of the other entrepreneurial initiatives at CreateHere have taken a new direction. Many studies show that revenue and economic growth come from high-growth ventures and much of The Company Lab’s new programming and events will focus on the high-growth sector. These new initiatives include Peer Roundtables, a monthly meeting for high-growth CEOs; Panel Discussions, bi-monthly seminars geared toward the start-up community; The Accelerator, a systematic process for preparing a high-growth start-up concept for equity capital investment; 48Hour Launch, a 48-hour event to launch as many start-ups as possible; and the upcoming Will This Float? event on November 16, 2010, a business idea pitch competition that offers its winner $10,000+ in valuable in-kind services from local companies.

Each of these programs will now run under the single identity of The Company Lab, a new venture driven by the philosophy that creativity drives innovation, innovation drives entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship drives sustained economic growth.

“We have to create an ecosystem of entrepreneurship in Chattanooga in order to increase the viability of start-ups,” Grizzle says. “Access to knowledge, mentorship, and debt and equity capital are just a few of the many things that an entrepreneurial ecosystem needs in order to be vibrant. We’re trying to do our part to make that happen.”

The Company Lab operates adjacent to CreateHere and is an open space for entrepreneurs to work while determining the next steps for their business. For more information about The Company Lab, visit www.colab.is.

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TAC’s Individual Artist Fellowships for 2012 Thursday, October 28, 2010

The Tennessee Arts Commission has announced the availability of Individual Artist Fellowships for Fiscal Year 2012 (July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012). This award provides fellowships to outstanding artists who live and work in Tennessee. No matching funds are required and no specific project has to be carried out with the funds. The Commission anticipates that each fellowship will be $5,000.

In the coming year, the TAC may award up to two fellowships in each of the discipline categories. Categories include: Craft, Dance (performance and choreography), Literary Arts (fiction/creative nonfiction and poetry), Media (film, video, and photography), Music (vocal performance and composition), Theater (acting), and Visual Art (two-dimensional).

Guidelines, application forms, and other information on Individual Artist Fellowships are available on the Commission’s Web site. Applications must be submitted electronically, and received by Monday, January 24, 2011 at 4:30 p.m. (CST). The printed application and required documents must also be postmarked or hand delivered to the Tennessee Arts Commission on that date.

For more information, contact the appropriate program director:

Music, Dance, and Theater
Hal Partlow – (615) 532-9801
e-mail: hal.partlow [at] tn.gov

Visual Arts, Craft and Media
Julie Horn – (615) 532-9798
e-mail: julie.horn [at] tn.gov

Literary Arts
Lee Baird – (615) 532-0493
e-mail: lee.baird [at] tn.gov

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Halloween at Young Monster Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Just in time for Halloween, Young Monster is releasing the first collaboration between MakeWork grant recipient Nick DuPey and Zach Hobbs.

In honor of the October holiday, these two graphic artists designed original masks and have produced hand made collages and four-color process screen prints of them. Only 25 of these 18"x18” fellows have been produced and each one is signed by the artists and numbered. They’re currently going for $25 a piece at Young Monster’s etsy store.

Additionally, Young Monster has been updating their Frazier Avenue shop with new prints for BBQ, Superchunk, Pavement (see below), Of Montreal, Tobacco, and Girl Talk. These prints are from small runs and are each signed by the artist. All orders received before Halloween will receive some free Xeroxed goodies from the Young Monster collection.

To sweeten the deal even more, Young Monster will have posters on sale for great prices at both Normalpalooza on Saturday and The Chattanooga Market on Sunday. As always, be on the lookout for other unexpected goodies and posters galore.

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Moose On the Loose at The Camp House Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Phil Wallis, a 2008 ArtsMove grant recipient, fine craft woodworker, and the artist behind Moose on the Loose Rustic Furniture, will have a one-man art show on display next month just a few streets over from CreateHere at The Camp House (1427 Williams Street).

In addition to receiving an ArtsMove grant, Wallis was one of the artists chosen for the 4 Bridges Art Festival here in Chattanooga, the Tennessee Association of Craft Artists in Nashville, and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC. His work has also been shown at a number of art galleries in Chattanooga, Nashville, and Georgia.

Wallis will have a number of his functional artistic pieces on display ranging including vases, lamps, wall hangings, and furniture. Using woods from around the world, Wallis’ woodworking bears resemblance to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and can be described as elegant, rustic, organic, and oriental.

His work will be on display Tuesday, November 9 through Saturday, November 13. Hours for the art show are 2-7 pm on Tuesday and Wednesday, 2-8pm on Thursday and Friday, and 11am-5pm on Saturday. There is no attendance fee and all pieces on display will be available for purchase.

For more information, visit the Moose On the Loose website or call (423) 432-6687.

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Talk about violence in your community Friday, October 22, 2010

Violence prevention is the focus of a new grant-funded initiative for Hamilton County. Forthcoming discussion groups throughout the county will exchange ideas on the types of violence that are having the greatest effect on the lives of Hamilton County citizens. The community feedback will be used to develop a violence prevention program.

According to the 2010 State of the Region report, “91% of Hamilton County residents identified safety from crime as very important to quality of life.” Violent crime (murder, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault) is more prevalent in the City of Chattanooga, but the numbers are declining. However, the numbers are increasing in the statistical areas outside the city limits, including the remainder of Hamilton County.

A series of community meetings will be facilitated in eighteen different locations throughout the county to bring together residents, businesses, churches, and agencies. Current facts about violent crime in these communities will be presented. Open forum discussions will follow to reach a consensus on the most passionate concerns.

The next two community meetings this year:
Hixson: Thursday, October 28th, 5:30 – 7:00pm
Ooltewah-Collegedale: Thursday, November 4th, 5:30 – 7:00pm

Reservations are required and healthy snacks will be provided. If you are interested in attending one of the eighteen community meetings, call (423) 316-3495 or email kevelin.kinamoresr [at] gmail [dot] com. Look for the 2011 meeting schedule in late December.

This initiative is made possible through a partnership between Memorial Health Care System and the East Side Task Force. The primary funding source is the Mission and Ministry Fund of Catholic Health Initiatives, the parent organization for Memorial Health Care System.

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