Briana Garza pitching at 2019 Will This Float event during Startup Week
Startup Week Chattanooga, an annual showcase and celebration of Chattanooga’s entrepreneurial community, will be hosted virtually this year on Oct. 19-23. The community-wide application for event proposals is open through Tuesday.
CO.LAB, which has served as a lead organizer of the event since 2018, along with other partners in the community, made the decision this summer to transition to a virtual event as a response to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis in the region.
“Across the country, we have seen historically large, in-person events quickly pivot to a virtual format,” said Marcus Shaw, CEO of CO.LAB. “It became clear in recent months that making the leap to virtual is a responsible step to ensuring the health and safety of our community.”
While a virtual event will create a different environment from what attendees normally experience, Mr. Shaw and his team believe the new format will also bring new opportunities.
“In this year’s event we could see featured speakers that would normally not be able to come to Chattanooga, as well as more attendees from our region and beyond as this year’s event will be more accessible than ever,” Mr. Shaw said.
Mr. Shaw said a unique asset of Chattanooga that will help produce a strong virtual event is the city’s gigabit infrastructure through EPB, who has been a premier sponsor of the event since it was founded in 2014.
“EPB is proud to partner with CO.LAB in support of Startup Week Chattanooga again this year,” said Evann Freeman, director of Government Relations for EPB. “Going virtual gives Chattanooga the opportunity to showcase local entrepreneurs and our thriving startup community in support of innovation and job creation.”
According to Mr. Shaw, this year’s event can serve a great purpose, given the challenges the business community has faced in the COVID-19 crisis. He said the community has shown resilience in the midst of the crisis, and with that, a greater interest in topics relevant to current needs and conversations that have been at the forefront of this year.
In a virtual community meeting hosted at the end of July, some attendees expressed interest in hosting events around boosting digital presence for businesses, pivoting to direct-to-consumer sales, and building a healthy work-at-home culture. Also emphasized in the meeting was interest in creating events around diversity and inclusion in the workplace, as a response to the heightened conversations around racial justice this year.
Any individual or group interested in hosting an event during this year’s Startup Week can apply through Tuesday at startupweekcha.com. Event hosts will have the option to pre-record their events or host them live during Startup Week.