Colab

Sustainable mobility accelerator: our 12-week accelerator program guarantees dedicated growth-focused support. We aim to invest in six companies per program. The cohort can test and scale their mvp through access to the world's only urban testbed for connected autonomous vehicles and the opportunity to work with the world's first commercially available quantum network. The cohort will find product-market fit with opportunities to work with industry-specific corporate partners. The cohort is guaranteed access to a network of 65+ potential mentors, connecting with world-class industry experts, technologists, and business domain experts to help scale their business. The cohort will be connected to top industry leaders who will help them make crucial first customer introductions. There will be a $20k investment for each team initially through the founder's fund with the potential of follow-on funding and introductions to over 50 investors who are currently looking to invest in startups.

Community events:coffee with co.labColabab: coffee with co.laColabab serves local entrepreneurs by providing a consistent networking opportunity with other like-minded and local individuals. It allows small business owners to know they are not alone, share their upcoming business events/news, as well as an opportunity to hear more about co.lab's upcoming events and resources. Cwc will ideally take place once a month in each hub county, equalling to 4 cwc each month.happy hours: during the last year, co.laColabab hosted a monthly happy hour that featured trivia on sustainability and entrepreneurship to engage diverse individuals from investors, founders, students, professionals, and community members. We have decided to discontinue these and fill the calendar with more coffee with co.laColabab and lunch and learns where we feel we can provide better resources to more of the community.lunch and learns: co.laColabab hosts informal training and educational sessions that typically take place during lunchtime. These professional development opportunities allow community members and entrepreneurs to come together to learn something new related to entrepreneurship or innovation while enjoying lunch. The format typically involves a short presentation or workshop followed by a q&a and discussion session.ev ride and drive: as a leading advocate for sustainable mobility co.laColabab teamed up with Tennessee dealerships to bring more electric vehicle awareness to the chattanooga community by hosting the first-ever experiential ev ride & drive at the bend racetrack. This groundbreaking event aims to revolutionize the way people perceive electric vehicles (evs) by offering the opportunity for the local community to test drive a range of cutting-edge ev models, ultimately fostering increased ev sales and reducing the stigma associated with electric vehicles.sustainable mobility reverse pitch: co.laColabab has partnered with tennsmart to host a virtual reverse pitch challenge which is a new event that turns the table on entrepreneurs by asking organizations to pitch the problems they want startup teams to solve and offer a pathway to funding. Entrepreneurs were given the opportunity to collaborate on groundbreaking work that could impact major industries and communities across the nation.chattanooga founders forum: co.laColabab has partnered with venturesouth to provide monthly educational sessions and lunches specifically designed for founders. Topics of the sessions include investing, scaling, marketing, and utilizing tools such as linkedin. Investors have coffee: co.laColabab has partnered with venturesouth to provide a monthly low-barrier option for those interested in investing to meet for networking and learn more about being angel investors in a casual environment.

Co.moblity summit: co.moblity summit: co.laColabab hosted its second annual co.mobility summit to convene industry leaders, researchers, policymakers, and investors with a laser-sharp focus on sustainable mobility to support startup founders and innovators that are working on solutions to the problems that chattanooga's mobility industry is working hard to solve. The goal of the summit is to introduce our industry and research strengths to startups across the region to highlight chattanooga as one of the leading places for mobility businesses. The desired outcome is to bring burgeoning businesses here to leverage our strength, provide solutions to our corporate partner's most challenging issues, and bolster our communities' tech ecosystem and economy.

Intrapreneurship workshop:co.lab is developing a custom-made workshop aimed at helping innovators within a large organization learn more about the necessary business tools needed to ideate, refine, and implement organizational innovations. This is a full-day workshop tailored to each organization based on their specific internal needs, keeping in mind the nuances within change management. The first pilot program had a fantastic reception from tva with 60 participants.co.starters:we offer a program to ten counties, providing entrepreneurs with a supportive community, an organized framework, and a sense of responsibility as they transform their ideas into reality. This program facilitates the journey from conceptualization to business launch through a series of bootcamp sessions guided by co.laColabab and respected local business professionals, who impart valuable knowledge on various business concepts to the participants.kiva:co.lab is the only kiva hub in the state of Tennessee. Kiva is a nontraditional online lending platform that uses crowdfunded microloans as a force for good. Kiva creates a space where people can have a tangible impact on each other and ultimately financial access for all. Entrepreneurs can be connected to lenders across the globe and can apply for crowdfunded loans of up to $15,000.00 at 0% interest for terms up to 36 months.