INTRO TO THE ATLANTA
STARTUP COMMUNITY
Kiki Roeder, Editor-in-Chief of Hypepotamus
AGENDA
What is a Startup?
Why Atlanta?
Great Timing
What’s in the Ecosystem?
Startups to Know
Startup Spaces
Accelerators & Incubators
Funding
Online Resources
Events & Jobs
HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?
HELLO!
Kiki Roeder
‣ Editor-in-Chief of Hypepotamus
‣ Founder of the Redeor Digital Strategy Studio
‣ Moved to Atlanta Because…
INTRO TO THE ATLANTA STARTUP COMMUNITY
WHAT IS A STARTUP?
“A startup is not a smaller version of a large company. It’s a temporary organization
designed to search for a scalable business model.”
–STEVE BLANK (VC that came up with Customer Discovery best practices)
INTRO TO THE ATLANTA STARTUP COMMUNITY
WHY ATLANTA?
‣ FINTECH: 60% of all the fintech co’s in the U.S. are here; process 70% of all U.S. payments
‣ SECURITY: GA ranked 3rd for with 115+ companies
‣ HEALTH IT + MARTECH: Top producer for health and marketing technology companies.
‣ GAMING: GA ranked 3rd in volume for video game planning activity
‣ TECH TALENT: 21% percent growth in tech talent since 2010, making it the 6th fastest growing
market in US. Local colleges & universities graduate over 2,400 engineers every year. Recently
named #1 for web developers in US with 11,000+ job openings for software developers every 6
months.
‣ PLUS:
‣ 1st for women-owned businesses in the US
‣ 3rd largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies
‣ Focus on STEM through Governor Deal
‣ International Airport (Microsoft, Mercedes, IBM) + Low Cost of Living
INTRO TO THE ATLANTA STARTUP COMMUNITY
GREAT TIMING
‣ Atlanta’s startup community is still young and growing.
‣ Innovation hubs, incubators and funding streams on the rise.
‣ The traditions, culture and precedents we set now have an impact in the long-term.
‣ Helpful community
WHAT IS IN THE ECOSYSTEM?
Startups
Investors
Talent
Mentors
Partners
Service Providers
INTRO TO THE ATLANTA STARTUP COMMUNITY
STARTUPS TO KNOW
‣ MailChimp
‣ Insightpool/Salesfusion/Salesloft
‣ Cardlytics
‣ Yik Yak
‣ PartPic
‣ Atomized
‣ Hi-Rez
‣ Luma
‣ Roadie
‣ Pindrop
‣ Aetho
‣ Carvana
INTRO TO THE ATLANTA STARTUP COMMUNITY
STARTUP SPACES
‣ Atlanta Tech Village
‣ Industrious Offices
‣ StrongBox West
‣ DeskHub
‣ ATDC
‣ WeWork
‣ Switchyards
‣ Tech Square Labs
‣ Decatur CoWorks
‣ Flat Iron City
‣ ROAM
‣ Alpharetta Technology Commission
ACCELERATORS & INCUBATORS
Atlanta Ventures
Flashpoint
Points of Light
ATDC
TechStars
LaunchPad2X
Greenhouse Accelerator
NeuroLaunch
CyberLaunch
Startup Exchange
Switchyards
Tech Square Labs
FUNDING
Funds Noro-Moseley - BLH - LeadersFund
Groups Atlanta Tech Angels - Ritz -AIM
Individuals
Events Venture Atlanta - Pitch Events - Hackathons
Prizes - Business Launch via TAG & Steve Case
ONLINE RESOURCES
Venture Atlanta
Atlanta Tech Blogs
Hypepotamus
Startup Atlanta
Startup Genome
ChooseATL
ATV Blog
EVENTS (GET YOUR FEET WET)
Conferences
Demos
Networking
Hackathons
Pitches
Classes/Workshops
Meetups
JOBS & INTERNSHIPS
Job boards
Meetups
AngelList
ATV
Hypepotamus
Internships
http://www.internnavigator.com/students.html
All job postings are forwarded directly to
the Career Services office at each school for vetting and
approval.
GET INVOLVED
Sign up for newsletters
Attend meetups, happy hours, and demo days
Take classes and workshops
Learn how to code/design — and then create something
Participate in hackathons and Startup Weekends
Network- coffee, events, volunteer
Give constructive feedback
INTRO TO THE ATLANTA STARTUP COMMUNITY
THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT TO DO
‣ There’s no “one size fits all” experience in the startup world. Think hard about
what kinds of environments suit you.
‣ Consider - vertical, company size, team culture, role, time commitment, product
INTRO TO THE ATLANTA STARTUP COMMUNITY
Q&A
THANKS! INTERESTED IN BEING COVERED?
KIKI ROEDER
‣ Information:
‣ Email: kiki @ hypepotamus.com
‣ Online Awesomeness: hypepotamus.com
‣ Twitter: @hypepotamus | @kiki__noodle