The Spirit of Innovation Award: Meet the 2019 finalists

For nearly 20 years, the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce has recognized local businesses with its annual Spirit of Innovation Award. This year, six companies were finalists, and two won the Spirit of Innovation award in a first-place tie.

The story about this year's Spirit of Innovation Award winners is featured in the Trend section of the magazine, but the other nominees are also doing some creative and cutting-edge work. Meet the four finalists who are breaking new ground in industries from sports to workplace engagement.

WorkHound tracks employee satisfaction trends

Max Farrell was always fascinated by why people claim to hate their jobs. After graduating from college in Iowa with a degree in sociology, Farrell and his business partner, Andrew Kirpalani, decided to explore that question and see if they could solve it.

They found that front-line workers who left their industries at a high turnover rate quit because they didn't feel respected at their companies. They were just a number, not a person. Their feelings were never recognized until an exit interview was conducted after they resigned their position. But, as Farrell explains, an exit interview is an autopsy - the damage has been done, and it's too late to fix it.

Farrell and Kirpalani reached out to different industries and dug deep to understand their challenges, while also making sure the workers themselves felt heard.

WorkHound was designed to do just that.

"We want to make it easy to have a voice with your company," Farrell says. "And we give companies a baseline to understand their employees as people."

When a company decides to implement WorkHound, its workers are prompted by text message to visit a link and anonymously answer open-ended questions about what it's like working for the company.

"We actively avoid using the word 'survey'," Farrell says. "Surveys create bias, but with WorkHound, we only ask for open-ended feedback. The good, the bad, and the ugly will all rise to the top."

Company leaders can log on to a dashboard and see in real time what employees are saying. They can then take that information and use it to connect with their employees and to help create a more pro-worker environment where problems are resolved and voices are heard.

In additon to being nominated for a Spirit of Innovation Award, WorkHound recently won the Startup of the Year Award during Startup Week.

WorkHound has helped over 20,000 workers nationwide, including those at local companies such as US Xpress subsidiaries. The founders say they plan to continue their expansion, and hope to help more and more "desk-less" workers across the United States.

Contributed photography / Adventure Sports Innovation guides Cole Henderson and Barrett Maury ride electric unicycles on Chattanooga's NorthShore.

Adventure Sports Innovation is serious about fun

Co-founders Patrick and Carolina Molloy created Adventure Sports Innovation because they saw that many people were shying away from purchasing - or even trying - new outdoor equipment because of a lack of instruction and poor online sales experiences.

"(The) buying experience online for some of these items, is horrible," says Patrick Malloy. "We wanted to build the concept that some devices are best bought with the ability to get training and experience. Additionally, we can provide personalized service with aftercare."

Since its founding last year, Adventure Sports Innovation has given outdoor and adventure enthusiasts the ability to get hands-on experience and training using the latest and most cutting-edge outdoor equipment available anywhere.

ASI was the first distributor of the Swincar electric off-road vehicle, and the company offers specialized training and rental of personal transportation devices, high-tech water craft and even virtual reality simulators. Everything is geared to making the newest and most exciting adventure experiences accessible and fun.

For a fee, anyone can sign up to get training and the experience of using the latest and newest outdoor technology. This service and training allows customers to determine what equipment best suits their needs, abilities and passions, making the purchase of this equipment more fun and less daunting.

In its first year, ASI provided fun and training to 2,500 guests at its facility on the North Shore, adding a new experience for locals and visitors while helping grow Chattanooga's outdoor adventure tourism movement. Moving forward, the company will continue to bring in new outdoor equipment and experiences for guests while looking to grow its footprint with perhaps new locations in other cities.

"We provide new tech for outdoor play and adventure in a central location," Patrick Molloy says. "We are both a retailer and experience builder. We provide a way for people with an adventurous spirit to try out new experiences in a fun and safe way."

Contributed photography / Enrique Vizoso, chief operating officer, and Caleb Simpkins, director of production, at work in the Landrace Bioscience facility off Amnicola Highway.

Landrace Bioscience pioneers hemp production processes

Landrace Bioscience was founded in Chattanooga shortly before congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, which allowed for the growing, processing and sale of industrial hemp.

According to James Dawson, Landrace vice president of sales and marketing, the founders made a preemptive strike to form their company because they wanted to have a head start in the new market.

Dawson explains that after the Farm Bill was passed in December 2018 more than 3,500 hemp farming certificates were issued in Tennessee. Chattanooga was a perfect spot for Landrace because of its strategic location and talent pool.

"As a manufacturer, our facility, located off Amnicola Highway, is perfectly situated to meet our aspiring logistical needs," Dawson says. "From a scientific standpoint, Chattanooga has provided world-class product development specialists."

Plus, all of Landrace's founders and team members call the Scenic City home.

CBD is a cannabinoid within the hemp plant believed to have calming and relaxing effects on users, as well as potential medical benefits. CBD is not a psycho-active cannabinoid, such as its counterpart, THC, and has no mind-altering properties, but is instead used primarily to treat pain and relieve stress.

Many marijuana industry companies typically use CO2 to extract CBD oil from the plant, but this method tends to leave more unwanted plant residue within the raw goods. More advanced companies have switched to what is called the cryo-ethanol extraction method, which, according to Dawson, hardens the plants' fats, waxes and sugars that would have been mixed in with the CBD during a CO2 extraction.

Landrace has created a proprietary cryo-ethanol extraction process that uses additional cooling, filtration and control regulations in order to produce a purer product.

"Per design, we are able to triple charcoal filter our oil during the process, which provides a consistently pure ingredient extract," explains John DeMoss, Landrace CEO. "It is then run through multiple distillation, crystallization and separation processes, depending on the product we are trying to create."

Landrace has partnered with regional hemp farms to supply the plants.

"This alignment allows us to acquire the specific strains of hemp that best suit our ingredient needs," DeMoss says.

Landrace's innovative practices have gained them a spotlight within their industry. As finalists for the Spirit of Innovation Award, the company's leaders say they are thrilled and humbled by the recognition.

"It's really an honor to be included in the running for this award," DeMoss says.

Contributed photography /J.C. Emberton works on a frame at American Bicycle Group.

American Bicycle makes high-end bikes for a variety of uses

Starting with its iconic titanium-frame Litespeed bicycle, which gained international popularity in the 1990s, the American Bicycle Group has been at the forefront of creating the best bicycles for road, triathlon and mountain biking enthusiasts.

The company manufactures bicycles under the Litespeed, Quintana Roo and Ocoee brands at its production facility near Ooltewah, and has a reputation for making quality products with the latest technical enhancements in the industry.

"Chattanooga offers American Bicycle Group everything we need to stay innovative and at the top of our industry," CEO Peter Hurley said. "Our city flourishes in both outdoor activities and talent resources, and we owe a lot of this to our 33-plus year existence here."

As the bicycle retail industry has changed, American Bicycle Group has adapted to remain competitive and provide service to its customers. A move to more custom bike ordering online has transformed the industry, and ABG has tried to meet this need by moving to a more customer-direct sales model, which allows for greater customization and satisfaction.

This move has allowed the company to remain competitive while continuing to build bikes in the United States and resist the move some companies have made to overseas manufacturing facilities.

With a passionate cycling community in Chattanooga and many visitors for the Scenic City's two Ironman events, American Bicycle Group's connection to the area continues to build the company and position it for future growth.

"With a workforce passionate about outdoor recreation, we are able to stay innovative and cutting edge in our industry," Hurley said. "We are proud to be a bicycle manufacturer here and hope to make big impacts going forward in both our industry and our role in re-shoring bicycle manufacturing."