| Name | Lindsey |
|---|---|
| Last Name | Cox |
| Home Address | 1506 Bailey Ave Chattanooga, Tennessee 37404 United States |
| Organization Name | The Company Lab |
| Describe Your Role In The Organization | CEO |
| Organization Address | 1100 Market St; Suite 100 Chattanooga, TN 37402 United States |
| Website | |
| Best Phone Number To Reach You | 6158286832 |
| Alternate Phone Number | |
| Email Address | lindsey@colab.co |
| Alternate Email Address | lindsey@colab.co |
| Please Describe Your Project In Detail | The Chattanooga Founders Fund will provide $1,500,000 of direct investment into underrepresented founders. The concept for the fund is based on a variety of similar funds that have deployed funding to directly impact companies, including the Innovate Here program which took place in Chattanooga (via funding of the Lyndhurst Foundation under the direction of Sarah Morgan, now of the Benwood Foundation) in approximately 2008. It is also infused with lessons learned from the greater Memphis area Founders Fund and the LaunchTN Impact Fund. We will be utilizing this $1,500,000 as direct investment into founders and their businesses and using this initial seed to fundraise an additional $3,500,000, making the total fund size $5,000,000 to be deployed. In addition, these funds will be deployed with additional support to the founders. Founders/companies selected to participate in the fund will receive mentorship from the program’s lead Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR), who will not only support them with metric tracking but with metric achieving, acting as a connector on behalf of the businesses. In addition, the Chattanooga Founders Fund will create an advisory board, who in addition to approving deals, will serve as an additional resource to the founders, committing to 10 hours per month to meet with companies and provide support. The program will leverage a $40,000 investment made to the Chattanooga-area Urban League, who received a grant from the Benwood Foundation to provide accounting services to underserved founders in the black community. The program will also leverage the breadth of programming activities underway at CO.LAB already, including GIGTANK for qualifying founders, Office Hours with legal, accounting, and prototyping support, and investor pitch development and deck support with the CO.LAB team. The funds will be deployed over a 3-year period, beginning in March 2022. It is anticipated that we will deploy the funds via 3-tranches to founders, based on business-growth achievements, customized to the selected companies. An initial 10 companies will be selected to participate, and additional companies will be selected if the 10 do not reach follow-on achievements. The 10 companies will be selected by the advisory board and will each receive $50,000. This $50,000 is an investment in the founder - a showing of belief in them, that $50,000 will enable them to show substantial growth and scale within their business. The following $100,000 will be unlocked in two $50,000 increments and will be deployed via a convertible note, showing we believe the company shows substantial opportunity for scale. Each of the founders selected will work with the CO.LAB team, EIR, and advisory board members to set their metrics and grow and scale their business. If the founder is not showing marked improvements in alignment with metrics and goals after the initial $50,000 investment, they will not receive the additional tranched funds, and those funds will become available for other founders to onboard. |
| Please explain how your project meets the requirements of the American Rescue Plan | This program is targeted at direct investment in underrepresented and underserved populations, who have fallen even more behind as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. No funds will be deployed to founders who are not from a traditionally underserved population i.e. a business or founder can not use the COVID-19 pandemic as a sole qualifier for the Chattanooga Founders Fund. |
| Where would your project take place? | Chattanooga, TN |
| How much will your project cost in total? | 1700000 |
| Do you have any matching funding sources from other local governments, private entities, non-profits, or philanthropic entities for your project? | Yes |
| Please describe the source and list amounts of any other funding. | A portion of COLAB's administration cost for this fund is covered by a grant with the Economic Development Administration (EDA). Dollars from LaunchTN, Benwood, and Lyndhurst would all be leveraged. |
| What portion of the project are you asking the city to fund? | We are asking the city to fund $1,500,000 of a $5,000,000 fund raise. We are also asking for $200,000 to retain an EIR whose focus will solely be the companies funded by the city portion. |
| If funded, when would your project start? | March 1, 2022 |
| How long would your project take to complete? | 12/31/2024 |
| What milestones would you use to measure your project’s progress? | Jobs created Follow on funding by company Follow on funding by the fund Revenue growth by company Mentor hours Leveraged dollars by company Leveraged dollars by the fund |
| How would you ensure accountability and transparency throughout the project lifecycle? | This project will be shared and tracked via our website, will have the oversight of the advisory board, and will have the oversight of the CO.LAB board. |
| If successful, how would your project benefit the community? | This project will directly impact underserved founders and businesses. The impacts could be generational in nature. The project will also be evergreen, which is why we are structuring the deployment of these funds as a founder-friendly investment vehicle. As the companies see success over time, the funds will return to CO.LAB as evergreen dollars, earmarked for future deployment into the next set of underserved founders. |
| How will you attract community buy-in for your project? | CO.LAB will utilize our wide-ranging network of entrepreneur support partners, and community support partners to leverage additional support for these founders, and additional support for further funding for the Chattanooga Founders Fund itself. We also will look to the community to provide recommendations for the advisory committee. |
| Name | Charlie Brock |
| Contact Information | cbrock@brockpartnerships.com |
| Name | Hal Bowling |
| Contact Information | hbowling@launchchattanooga.org |
| Name | Rick Hitchcock |
| Contact Information | rhitchcock@cbslawfirm.com |
| Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? | |