Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union contest awards more than $50,000 in prizes to local small businesses

Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Rob Brewer, right, and others cheer for Hutton & Smith during the pitch night for the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union's Second Annual Idea Leap Grant Initiative at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tenn. TVFCU awarded five grants totaling in $50,000.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Rob Brewer, right, and others cheer for Hutton & Smith during the pitch night for the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union's Second Annual Idea Leap Grant Initiative at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center on Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019 in Chattanooga, Tenn. TVFCU awarded five grants totaling in $50,000.

A Chattanooga brewery that has already enjoyed a frothy growth in sales across Tennessee and North Georgia in its first four years secured funding Tuesday for a new yeast propagation system to further expand its offerings and footprint.

Hutton & Smith Brewing Company, a brewery started on M.L. King Boulevard in 2015, won the top prize in this year's Idea Leap contest sponsored by Chattanooga's biggest credit union as part of Chattanooga's StartupWeek.

Joel Krautstrunk, who started the brewery with his wife Melanie, said the $20,000 grant awarded by the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union Tuesday night will fund the purchase of equipment to produce yeast on site, helping the brewery to cut costs, improve efficiency and try out more new brands.

"Right now, we're sending a minimum of $45,000 every year to third party companies that are growing our yeast," Krautstrunk said during his pitch for the grant funding. "By having our our promulgation system, we'll realize an immediate savings, create two new skilled microbiology positions in our quality control department and allow us to be one of the most innovative breweries here in the Chattanooga, if not the entire state of Tennessee."

Idea Leap grant winners

1. Hutton & Smith Brewing Co. in Chattanooga - $20,000 2. Spectacles Family EyeCare in South Pittsburg, Tenn. - $15,000 3. Hank's Corner Grille in Tracy City, Ten., - $10,000 4. Terra Running Company in Cleveland, Tenn. - $2,500 5. Real Roots Cafe in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. - $2,500

Krautstrunk said he expects the yeast-producing equipment will allow Hutton & Smith to serve other local brewers and to quickly grow its sales into Alabama and other neighboring areas as the company strives to become a regional craft beer maker.

Hutton & Smith was already the only Chattanooga brewery on the national Brewers Association list of fastest-growing independent craft breweries this year, ranked No. 16, with sales across Tennessee and into North Georgia.

Hutton & Smith took home the biggest prize among more than $50,000 of checks handed out Tuesday night by the Tennessee Valley Federal Credit Union during its second annual Idea Leap grant awards.

The second place prize and a $15,000 grant went to Spectacles Family EyeCare in South Pittsburg, which Dr. Karen LeBlanc started two years ago to help Marion County residents gain better local access to eye care help and to revitalize an historic South Pittsburg building.

The third place prize and $10,000 was awarded to Hank's Corner Grille in Tracy City, Tenn., which was started in 2017 by Doug and Kalene Hankins who are trying to add a hostel to their cafe.

The winners were picked from over 100 small businesses that entered this year's competition from TVFCU's 13-county area.

The 10 finalists who pitched their business ideas to several hundred spectators at the Bessie Smith Hall Tuesday night ranged from an 88-year-old inner city barber shop wanting to make infrastructure improvements to a a two-year-old meal prep business in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.

The top award recipients were chosen by an 8-member judges panel, which included Laurie Stevens of Chattanooga School of Language who won the Idea Leap last year in the inaugural awards event a year ago. The winning businesses were selected based upon community impact, innovation of their idea, the impact of their business growth, the sustainability of their business and the quality of the owners' pitches Tuesday night.

TVFCU, Chattanooga's biggest credit union, launched its Idea Leap program to provide loans for small- and startup businesses during Startup Week in 2016. The credit union provides loans for up to $50,000 to business owners who are recommended by one of the startup assistance or business accelerator programs in Chattanooga, including CoLab, Launch Chattanooga, the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, BrightBridge, SCORE, the Urban League and Causeway.

Over the past three years, TVFCU has made 115 Idea Leap loans totaling more than $2.5 million. The Idea Leap grants are funded from the proceeds of those loans and the credit union also donated $2,500 to the veterans small business program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

"The common thread to all of these small businesses is that they are job creators and that is what our credit union is all about helping," TVFCU President Todd Fortner, said.

Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340.

Idea Leap finalists

* Chatta-Cakes Bakery in Hixson owned by Shannon and Mike Anderson* Elea Blake Cosmetic Studio in Chattanooga owned by Darin Wrigh* Hank’s Corner Grille in Tracy City owned by Doug and Kalene Hankins* Hutton & Smith Brewing Company in Chattanooga owned by Melanie and Joel Krautstrunk* Live and Let Live Barber Shop in Chattanooga owned by Virgil McGee Sr. and Virgil McGee Jr.* Real Roots Café in Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., owned by Matthew and Tiffany Lake* Spectacles Family EyeCare in South Pittsburg, Tenn., owned by Dr. Karen LeBlanc* Terra Running Company in Cleveland, Tenn., owned by Brittany Durkin* The Rustic House in Chattanooga owned by Chelsea Cash and Emily Warr* Treetop Hideaways in Flintstone, Ga, owned by Enoch and Hannah Elwell

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