Steve Case stops in Chattanooga while on ‘Rise of the Rest’ tour

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – After judges heard pitches from eights Chattanooga businesses, it was FreightWaves that came out on top.

The competition was part of AOL founder Steve Case’s “Rise of the Rest” tour that made a stop in the Scenic City Thursday.

It’s a tour geared toward entrepreneurs, start-ups, and innovation.

Chattanooga is one of the five cities the tour is visiting.

“We try to travel around each city and see what’s happening, talk to the entrepreneurs, talk to the university presidents, talk to the mayor, talk to the big companies and figure out what the community can do to get to the next level. There’s a lot of excitement in Chattanooga about what has happened in the last 5 years. The innovation district and other things,” Case said.

Through the tour entrepreneurs in Chattanooga, also known as “Gig City”, got the opportunity to meet Case and talk about their own business.

“California got half of the U.S. venture capital last year. Tennessee got less than 1 Percent. We’re trying to change that and level the playing field so entrepreneurs everywhere, including in Chattanooga, have an opportunity to start companies and grow companies, create jobs and really peruse the American dream.”

The tour ended in Chattanooga with the pitches from entrepreneurs for 100,000 dollars for their business.

The winner, FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller, he said the investment will go to help hire 40 more people for his business this year.

The tour is scheduled to make one more stop in Louisville, KY.