GIGTANK draws global startups to Chattanooga
By Laura Baverman, Upstart Business Journal
GIGTANK promised startups the fastest Internet speeds around, unique corporate partnerships, dollars and mentors—and all in the outdoorsy, artsy setting of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
And they responded, coming from France, Bulgaria and the Cayman Islands to join a class of seven startups this summer in the Tennessee town. Two hometown companies even made the cut.
Chattanooga has worked hard over the years to overcome its image as a dirty, industrial town. The one-gigabit-per-second fiberoptic network, the first-of-its-kind in the nation, was installed in 2011 by Alcatel-Lucent. Chattanooga is still one of few communities in the U.S. to boast the fast Internet speeds (Google Fiber is slowly changing that), making it attractive for companies building technologies that require lots of data to be delivered in real-time. GIGTANK hopes to become a hub for “Internet of Things” startups across the nation.
The companies that set up shop at the GIGTANK accelerator this week are all tackling industries where fast Internet will be transformational: retail, education, health care, manufacturing and financial services.
HutGrip of Bulgaria is developing a tool for small and medium-sized manufacturing companies to automate processes and collect more product feedback.
Both Chattanooga companies are tackling the healthcare industry. FwdHealth is a social wellness platform that aggregates other fitness and health apps and tracking systems in one place and allows you to share goals and achievements with your wellness team (group of supporters, accountability partners).
WeCounsel Solutions is made up of three recent college graduates, one from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Delving into the trend toward telemedicine, they’ve developed an online network and video conferencing tool for therapists and their patients.
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