A group of logistics sector executives have stated a new fund in Chattanooga that plans to invest in promising logistics technology firms, especially those focused on "industrial logistics," and give promising ideas a boot with a special accelerator program.
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The so-called Dynamo business accelerator that will have a $3 million budget raised from the fund and other partners to put toward startups focused on logistics-oriented technologies such as autonomous-truck operations, drones and logistics software.
The backers are this effort are Ted Alling, Barry Large and Allan Davis, who started a venture fund called Lamp Post Group after selling the company they owned, Access America Transport, to Coyote Logistics in 2014. The Dynamo program will run along side another $12 million fund focused on logistics investments.
While lots of big bucks having gone to logistics related start-ups out of Silicon Valley such as ecommerce delivery firm Instacart and freelance truck driver site Convoy, the Dynamo program will be more focused on innovation in traditional logistics..
The Dynamo executives instead hope their program will help attract top talent to the more industrial side of distribution, "which has a reputation for being old-fashioned and resistant to change," the Wall Street Journal noted on news of the Dynamo initiative.
"Programmers right out of school are not wanting to get into this industry. Let's be honest. They'd rather go work for Amazon, Facebook, or someone like that," Dynamo's Alling told the Wall Street Journal, adding that the group is looking for people who "don't want to create the next Instagram, or social network, but who want to do things that matter, who want to fix problems, who are ready to make some money."
Participants in the Dynamo initiative will go through a three-month program that will include testing their ideas with businesses in the Chattanooga area.
The teams will also be part of an investor showcase hosted by Gary Vaynerchuk, a prominent angel investor and chief executive of VaynerMedia. Two or three will be selected for additional investment from the $12 million fund.
For industrial shipping, Chattanooga is where "the rubber meets the road, with the access to people, to the end customers," Jon Bradford, a veteran of tech accelerator programs who will help manage Dynamo, told the Journal.
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 "Transportation and logistics is a blue-collar industry - still relying on aging technology and infrastructure - that has been overlooked by venture capital for decades, which presents Dynamo with the perfect storm," Alling said in a press release. "More freight passes through Chattanooga every day than any other metropolitan area in America. As a result, Chattanooga has become a major logistics hub for the eastern United States, with large-scale shippers, carriers, warehousers, barge operators and rail yards in our backyard."
The Dynamo program, is now accepting applications, with a deadline of through May 8, 2016. A link to the application can be found here.
Company applicants selected to participate in Dynamo will need to have at least one founder based in Chattanooga during the business week throughout the three-month program, which runs from July 6 to October 4, 2016. Businesses at the early stages of their development - pre-seed through series A funding - within the logistics, transportation, and supply chain industries are encouraged to apply.
The related $12 million early stage fund will evaluate opportunities with logistics businesses that may not fit the criteria for the accelerator but share its mission to enact change within the logistics industry, the group said.
Any reaction to this new program? Do we need more innovation in "industrial logistics? Let us know your thoughts at the Feedback section below or the link above to send an email.
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