January 20, 2026

Greetings from Chattanooga -

After spending the last eight or so months listening to and learning from the leaders across our entrepreneurial ecosystem, I’ve realized there is a need for better support in our community for acquisition entrepreneurship. As a bit of a beta test for a new kind of local resource, I’m officially launching The Chattanooga ETA Collective. (ETA = Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition)

I’m designing this group to connect potential business acquirers with the specialists and local owners who actually make small and mid-market deals happen. Whether you’re an Aspiring Owner looking to skip the startup grind by acquiring an established company, an Investor looking to plant a flag in Chattanooga, a Current Owner thinking about your legacy and succession planning, or a Specialist in M&A law and SBA lending, this group is for you.

Even if you're just curious about Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA), I’d love to have you involved. We’ll be hosting monthly meetups to get the conversation started—be sure to join the LinkedIn Group for all the scheduling updates.

As for connecting founders and entrepreneurs with the resources for startup and scale, I'm still all in. It's all part of my Big Tent Theory, which you can read about here (shameless plug).

Onward!

Drew

Connections + Congrats

CO.LAB announced their 2026 Energy Accelerator, capitalizing on our momentum at the corner of quantum, energy and logistics. Spread the word so we can get more growing companies here to Chattanooga.

Harmony AI is targeting "factory verticalization," and it’s an excellent example of a startup finding its true North by solving unsexy, high-impact problems on the factory floor. They are proving that in a world of generic AI, the real winners are the ones building specific tools for our region's industrial backbone, and putting in the sweat equity to see it through. Harmony AI is currently a Brickyard portfolio company.

River City Co. announced the launch of the Entrepreneurial Networking Resource Group (ENRG™) this February. This peer-led meetup is exactly what we need more of–founders supporting founders–in a low-pressure, high-value environment right here in the heart of the city.

You may have seen Truck Parking Club's strategically placed yellow CyberTruck on the North Shore, but do you know what they do? It's a local company that's tackling the truck parking shortage with smart tech. It’s a massive national logistics headache, and the fact that the solution is being built in our backyard says a lot on how we're positioned to support tech and logistical innovation.

Speaking of logistics, Craig Fuller recently announced FreightWave's intention to build a studio on Market Street to televise a daily "Today Show-style" show on the logistics industry. It will occupy the ground level retailer The Space Store and will bring some much-needed energy to the downtown core.

Our friends over at Chattanooga FC are currently hiring for several roles as they gear up for a big 2026 season. If you’re passionate about soccer and want to help drive the club's community impact, now is the time to get your application in.

And if you know a student or a young professional looking to break into the scene, CO.LAB is officially hiring for their internship program. It’s easily one of the best ways to get a front-row seat to how the city’s entrepreneurial engine actually functions.

Christopher Wink’s piece on scaling founder outcomes is a necessary reality check for cities like ours. He explores how hubs like Kansas City are moving past just "building community" and focusing on the actual exits and wealth-creation that sustain an ecosystem long-term. There's certainly an argument we've been there, done that with previous, well-documented exits in the 2010s, but it's been a few years since we've seen new funds rise from recent exits. Am I wrong? Let me know.

As previously mentioned, Ernie Lopez announced a pre-seed funding commitment from InvestTN, powered by LaunchTN for MergerAI, a SAAS tool with built in AI to support M&A due diligence. He's looking for a matching investor to unlock the funding. I'm happy to facilitate a connection if you'd like to discuss.

It’s worth checking out Mayor Tim Kelly’s feature with Harvard Business School where he discusses how entrepreneurship can actually drive economic mobility. It’s a great look at the "Chattanooga Way"—using innovation not just for profit, but to lift up the entire community.

Brickyard announced the addition of Vamo, a platform for refrigerated last-mile delivery (think pharmaceuticals), to their Chattanooga headquarters, making this startup the 51st in their portfolio.

Connections + Coffee

Jay Shaffer on startup funding, the entrepreneurial ecosystem and updates on local founders.

Jonathan Bragdon on acquiring small and mid-market cash flowing businesses and the local resources supporting these opportunities.

A local pre-seed founder building a primary market for alternative assets—think collector cars and marine vessels—that collects data on the outcomes of real-time public auctions and lets users predict outcomes. Beta is live and operational, and they are seeking a technical partner or strategic investor in Chattanooga to help scale. Reply if you'd like me to make a connection.

A local, funded founder researching customer avatars and verticals for their SAAS product in the B2B mid-market space.

An international entrepreneur raising their Series B for an innovative financial product and accompanying platform.

Footnotes

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. More later.