How to Apply
To apply for the Early Innovator Award click on the Simplified Application Process to answer a few basic questions and submit a paragraph describing your company's innovation and its impact.  Contact Lindsay Hiatt at 423.763.4337 or lhiatt@chattanoogachamber.com for more information.

Electronic Controls, Inc. has patent-pending methodology and control strategy for retrofitting existing single zone, commercial air conditioning units that saves energy, reduces relative humidity, controls indoor air quality, and extends the life of the unit. The Enerfit solution is designed and manufactured in Chattanooga and is being tested locally prior to full commercialization. Field tests are yielding total unit energy savings ranging from 40 percent to 70 percent by managing fan power consumption.

Engagency is developing a new social city guide and community media network, designed to make localized media and marketing a more animated and interactive experience. The pilot program, WhatsUpChattanooga.com, launched in 2010 with the goal of adding a new online component to the city's ongoing renaissance and economic development efforts. WhatsUpChattanooga.com brings new widely popular social media, messaging, and Google Map technology to the traditional community bulletin board concept. It employs an innovative publishing model, which gives local businesses and organizations the tools to be publishers, and the means to directly engage their audience. By relying on the goodwill and involvement of publishers, Engagency is democratizing access to local information and introducing new voices to help tell the story of our regions' quality of life. Attracted by Chattanooga's unique qualities, Engagency's founders relocated their interactive web design agency here in 2006. Encouraged by their success serving local clients, including Mohawk Industries, Playcore Inc., and DJO Chattanooga, they were inspired to invest in the Scenic City's future by developing a local media portal that they now hope will spread nationwide.

Skoodat makes education data useful, for everyone, in real time. Skoodat's cloud education toolbox and platform enable education organizations to get out of the information technology infrastructure business and focus on education innovation.

Skoodat removes the barriers associated with older technologies, providing cloud software applications, a development platform and infrastructure services that can help schools dramatically cut costs while improving performance through effective, practical use of historic and real-time data. Skoodat solutions are fully integrated through an open cloud development platform and a standards-based, certified cloud infrastructure that has been proven over 10 years by more than 67,000 customers and over 1.5 million current, daily users.

As a visionary social and environmental entrepreneur, Skoodat also helps schools preserve resources for today and tomorrow by eliminating the need to install and power expensive server farms and by dramatically reducing paper use. Skoodat is proud to be a salesforce.com Power of Us partner and a certified B Corporation, demonstrating our commitment to social and environmental stewardship. See http://www.skoodat.com.