Chattanooga named in list of best cities for entrepreneurs
Under30CEO.com listed Chattanooga as one of the top 30 best cities for young entrepreneurs this week.
Chattanooga is listed No. 1 in the small cities category, which ranks cities with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The website notes the presence of UTC and Chattanooga State Community College and the work EPB has done to offer high-speed Internet.
"In September 2010, EPB became the first municipally owned utilities company to offer Internet access directly to the public at speeds up to 1 gigabyte per second in the United States utilizing its exclusive fiber optics network," according to the article. "The fiber optic network has been emulated by at least six other cities in Tennessee and studied by other cities in the U.S. and even internationally. This type of technology has made Chattanooga a player in attracting tech talent to the city."
At the end of 2011, leaders dubbed Chattanooga the "Gig City" because of its unique, 1-gigabit-per-second Internet speeds.
They created a business development competition called Gig Tank and offered cash prizes to the entrepreneurs and students who came up with the best idea utilizing the gig.
After the announcement, there was a year of gig excitement that eventually slowed briefly when the value of the high-speed Internet came into question.
The criticism came after Gig Tank winner Aaron Welch said that he wasn't using the gig for his business.
But local leaders have continued to tout the feature and its benefits, and they recently announced the next Gig Tank competition. Leaders are currently taking applications for the second event.
And winners of last year's Gig Tank have moved their business from Florida to Chattanooga—an example of how the gig can draw in young entrepreneurs.
Nashville is listed at No. 5 in cities with a population of 500,000 or more.
