Jonathan Susman presents his startup, Adagio, at Company Lab's 48Hour Public Demo Night on Sunday at Church on Main. Susman's startup, which received first place, pushes to give teachers and students an innovative way to teach and learn music.

Kendall Shipley responds to questions from judges about his startup, 36 University, at Co. Lab's 48Hour Public Demo Night on Sunday. Shipley's startup aims to better prepare students for the ACT through motion videos and quizzes. He won third place.

Jonathan Susman, brain behind Adagio, a mobile application positioned to turn music education on its head, was taker of first place at this year's 48Hour Launch, the weekend-long startup incubator hosted by The Company Lab.

Jean-Marie Lawrence came in second with AccessU, a mobile application to assist high school students with disabilities in scouting out and finding colleges and universities that are most accessible to them.

Kendall Shipley came in third with 36 University, an online ACT preparation program that helps high school students better prepare for the college admissions test by telling them what to expect, how to expect it and how often it will probably appear.

"This has been an amazing experience," Susman said. "I'm ecstatic. I'm too excited to even talk."

"There was no doubt in my mind he was going to win," said Bijan Dhanani, Susman's mentor over the weekend and a past 48Hour Launch winner himself.

First place fetched a handsome price package including $2,000 cash, 500 Amazon Web Service credits and a boatload of technical, branding, marketing and legal counseling services, compliments of area firms.

But the winnings are not limited to what's gained at the end, said Shipley.

"The exposure that we got here, we wouldn't have gotten that otherwise" he said.

Echoing the award of simply participating was Lawrence.

"It was well worth the lack of sleep," she said. "We've come so far in two days. Leaps and bounds."

Gig city on a hill

Mike Bradshaw, executive director of The Company Lab, said he wasn't sure he still had it in him to do these weekend-long launches.

But there's maybe more reason now than ever to be re-energized about Chattanooga's presence in the startup community.

At this year's 48Hour Launch, a firm from Atlanta came up to participate. That's Atlanta, with a metro population of nearly 5.5 million and a plethora of small business incubators. And still, Chattanooga fished one of the Big Peach's own away.

"Isn't it beautiful?" said Bradshaw.

Size is part of the reason he believes Chattanooga is in some cases a more attractive location for startups.

"Being a smaller city actually provides, in some cases, better opportunities, because you have a better chance to get noticed," he said.

Chattanooga itself has managed to get noticed along the way, too.

Over the 48Hour Launch weekend, Antonio Montoya, founder of Rocket Hatch, a Huntsville, Ala. startup incubator, hung out at Co.Lab and watched the wheels turn, as he seeks to get ideas and inspiration to take home and implement.

Montoya said Friday night that the sense of community manifested at Co.Lab's 48Hour Launch was the thing that struck him most.

"Everyone wants to talk about having a cool space," he said, "and yes this is very cool. But it's this sense of community that you see here. That's what it's really all about."

Rocket Hatch is in his mind a young incubator positioned in a city strategic to Chattanooga.

"You have Nashville, Chattanooga and Huntsville: that's a nice little triangle," said Montoya.

Back to work

For Montoya and Bradshaw it's an exciting time to be in the startup world, as the Internet increasingly lends entrepreneurs the chance to form a serious, profitable business.

And it's exciting for thos entrepreneurs, who like Susman, Lawrence and Shipley, are grasping that potential and using it.

But all the talk about such opportunities and the adrenaline from the weekend's competition must carry over into this week - and weeks and months going forward - if it's to really mean anything, for the incubators and the startups alike.

"I know I've got to take some time off this week, but it's not going to be tomorrow," said Tia Capps, Co.Lab's communications director, Sunday night. "Tomorrow, I have to jump right back in and work on another deadline. Maybe Friday I'll take off."

Jean-Marie Lawrence speaks about her startup, AccessU, at Co.Lab's 48Hour Public Demo Night on Sunday. AccessU aims to give disabled students more access on college campuses. She won second place.

Lawrence meanwhile is taking AccessU to prospective clients and rounding up support this week. She met with potential clients as early as Monday - less than 24 hours after Sunday night's closing ceremony.

Shipley on Sunday said this week he is "going to download everything I've learned" and start implenting all the tips, tricks and advice he picked up during 48Hour Launch.

Susman was cautioned during his final pitch to judges that with an idea like his, in a music education market currently without anything like it, he better get to work quick capitalizing on Adagio.

No problem, he said. He wants very soon to take the application all over the country. Which means there's a lot of work to do.

"Right now, .5 percent of the work has been done," said his weekend mentor Dhanani on Sunday.

Susman, Lawrence and Shipley were all aware of that Sunday night, despite operating on only a few hours' sleep. They all reflected what Susman said when asked what he'd be doing come Monday morning.

"I'm going back to work," he said.

Contact staff writer Alex Green at agreen@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6480.