Greetings from Chattanooga,

A few events caught my eye recently that reinforced my belief that Chattanooga truly is a special place to live, work and grow.

The first: During the month of January, you may have seen runners running around a small block on the North Shore (think First Horizon / Taco Mamacita). This was the Burrito League, a national competition tracking which city can log the most loops around a specific block. Chattanooga rang up enough to capture a 2nd place national finish. Even in the bitter cold of late January, the crew averaged 2,000 segments a day, effectively running 600 miles every 24 hours to beat out major hubs like Atlanta, NYC, and LA. (And I contributed 10 of those segments, thank ya’ very much. 😂)

And the second: Our inaugural Entrepreneurs Through Acquisition Meetup took place last Friday. What a group of diverse builders, buyers, supporters and investors who came and shared their stories. I’m beyond excited about the future of this group, and other meetups that might come from these events.

These weird, sometimes hard-to-find get-togethers exemplify who and what Chattanooga is about: collaboration and community. We regularly punch above our weight, and these two very different events represent how our community bands together to support, share and grow.

See you around town,

Drew

Have an event? Reply to this email.

Thanks once again to those who came out to our inaugural ETA Collective event last Friday. Our open forum conversation topics ranged from investing to shared stories of successes, failures and the resources around acquiring and selling businesses. I cannot believe I didn’t grab a photo!

I’ve met with a multiple, well-capitalized searchers actively looking to acquire local businesses.

Had coffee with a venture fund manager on the current state of investment, both regionally and nationally.

And a successful local executive on a burgeoning pre-seed idea that could solve several pain points in the home service category.

Seed the South Capital Summit - The Big Pitch at Seed The South showcases the Southeast's most promising venture-scale technology startups. Ten selected companies will pitch to two judging panels—one of investors and one of founders—for a chance to win $50,000 investments from The Charlotte Fund.

TVFCU Idea Leap Loans and Grants - Applications open again in July 2026 - TVFCU's Idea Leap initiative is distributing $225,000 in grants of up to $30,000 each to qualified small businesses. Eligibility requirements include: 2-25 employees (owner included), maximum annual revenue of $2.5 million, at least 12 months of operational history with proven revenue generation, and location within TVFCU's 17-county service area.

InvestTN Regional Seed Fund - This is a $28M Tennessee-focused initiative investing in startups served by 7 Regional Entrepreneur Centers across all 95 counties. Investments range from $25,000 to $250,000.

Small Business Innovation Research Program - Transform your innovations into market-ready solutions with the SBIR Program. This strategic federal funding initiative empowers small businesses to commercialize cutting-edge research and technology. Whether you're developing next-generation solutions or pioneering scientific breakthroughs, SBIR provides the capital and resources to accelerate your journey from concept to commercialization.

📈 Connections + Insights

A Tale of Two Economies is a must-read for anyone looking at acquisitions outside of the coastal bubbles. The article breaks down the "valuation arbitrage" currently available in Middle America (like Chattanooga), where regional deals often trade at 3.7x EBITDA compared to the 5.8x found in major coastal hubs. The takeaway? In "Economy Two" (the Midwest and Southeast aka Chattanooga), trust is the primary currency—you can't just wire-transfer a relationship; you have to put down roots and show up in person.

🔑 Connections + Opportunities

The American Heart Association is looking for its next Executive Director for the Greater Chattanooga market, a high-impact role responsible for leading local fundraising, community health impact, and volunteer board development. This is a "connector" role for someone who can bridge the gap between corporate philanthropy and community health outcomes.

My mission is to cultivate the startup community through connection. I'm a big believer in building this newsletter in public, so if you have ideas on how to further this ecosystem initiative, reply back to this email and let's work on this together.

This community is made up of small business owners, investment bankers, organizers, investors and economic development leaders who all share a belief that a rising tide lifts all boats. Share this email to someone who will provide value to this community.

We are (slowly) building a database for Chattanooga that will be published soon for free. Have you submitted your startup? Help me build this community resource here.

I'm also building a curated database of businesses for sale. I hope to launch Q1, so let me know if you’d like a sneak peek.