Nathan Derrick walked away from Chattanooga’s first-ever Will This Float? competition with a giant life preserver around his neck. The flotation device was the prize that Mr. Derrick won after convincing the audience that his concept would float the best of the five ideas presented.
The event was co-hosted by The Company Lab and Business Chatt and saw over 200 curious attendees pack the CampHouse on Chattanooga’s Southside. Will This Float? was a celebration of all-things entrepreneurial in Chattanooga, showcasing five local innovators to pitch their ideas for new business concepts.
“I was blown away by the diversity of the crowd, as well as the concepts that were pitched,” said Founder of SmartFurniture.com, Stephen Culp. “This was a great event for the start-up community and hope that more events like this are on the horizon for our city.”
In addition to the entrepreneurs’ pitches, Will This Float? had an energetic vibe with great music, local food provided by Meals by Mindy and craft beer from the Chattanooga Brewing Company.
After each entrepreneur presented, votes were crowdsourced from the audience to determine which idea “floated” the best. Mr. Derrick, founder of the soon-to-launch Nopone.com, won the favor of the crowd and in return will receive a package of services from local companies with a total value of over $10,000.
“Our team was blown away by how many people came out tonight,” said Sheldon Grizzle, founder of The Company Lab. “It was so encouraging to see such a wide range of ages, backgrounds and interests represented at Will This Float. This is a perfect example of the kind of excitement that we should have around the start-up community.”
The Company Lab exists to increase the viability of start-ups in Chattanooga by helping entrepreneurs determine their next steps and by connecting them to resources to move their venture forward.
Business Chatt is an aggregator of content for metro Chattanooga business owners, entrepreneurs and professionals looking for ideas and solutions to grow their business.
Nopone.com is a web-based platform to introduce technology into the general contracting and construction supply industry in order to create more efficiency.