
An overview of the Atlanta ecosystem
I tell people that’s it’s not a mistake that Microsoft is in Atlanta. Atlanta is in a rarefied position of possible being a tech mecca, and now is the time to influence the DNA of the city of the future so when it does grow up, those that invested early will be integral to be a part of what the city will be.
But first we have to talk about Atlanta
A little bit of Atlanta Dynamics
Atlanta was founded at the crossing of two railroad lines and was originally called Terminus (This will sound familiar to Walking Dead Fans) — and as the railroad industry grew, so did Atlanta. It would soon take the mantel of capitol of the south from Savannah, which held the largest shipyards on the east coast until Elizabeth, NJ took away the bulk of its business.
As a city, there are only 400k residence, but the metropolitan area is nearly 5 million, making it the nation’s 9th largest. But unlike most cities, it is geographically isolated. The closest large city is DC, which is 500 miles away. The other cities, Charlotte, Birmingham, Chattanooga act as feeder cities to Atlanta.
Having gone to school in Alabama, for a lot of smaller towns, in the south, Atlanta is viewed as “The City”, and if one has made it in Atlanta — one has made it. Because of this there is a temptation to choose power over perpetuity.
Another asset to ‘the city’ it it’s airport. It’s the largest airport in the world. I’m the envy of most of my colleagues, when I tell them, I got to the DX offsite on a direct flight. The barrier of access is pretty much non-existent for outside founders and investors.
One curious aspect of Atlanta proper is it is split between two counties, Fulton and Dekalb. This is surely a direct result of segregation, African-Americans mostly were and still live in the Southwest (Fulton County) and the more affluent live in the Northeast (DeKalb county) which has a direct impact on the tech ecosystem. When you think of the south, obviously there was slavery and Jim Crow, but overshadows and even larger divide, because it transcends race — class.
Here, because separation has been sowed into everything, there is verticalization of nearly all aspects of a social and professional life. The technology ecosystem has the potential to break down these walls, but it hasn’t quite gotten there.
Technology and beyond
There are two main hubs of tech in Atlanta, one is Tech square in midtown, in the middle of GeorgiaTech and home to Advanced Technology Development Center(ATDC) and several other co-working shops, associations and companies. ATDC which is the anchor of the area has been around for more that 20 years and does a great job creating healthy companies. Since they are funded by the State of Georgia, they can really focus on the mission and provide the frame work to a lot of programs in Atlanta
Moving outward to a swanker part of town is Atlanta Tech Village(ATV). It’s the brain child of David Cummings. It’s the forth largest co-working space in the nation. It’s probably closest to a Sillicon Valley experience you’ll get as lazier faire as it get as well. They do community fairly well, especially with inviting outside events in, but it is very confined to its own four walls. It also has Atlanta’s first WeWork (There are two) and companies that outgrow ATV tend to stay close to the area.
The other centers of activity include Downtown where we have FlatironCity, BIG Innovation Center and SwitchYards
Ponce City, a converted Sears in Robucks in a quickly gentrifying Old Four Ward, Where we have Techstars Atlanta, MailChimp and General Assembly.
Finally, we have the Railyards in Midtown west, anchored by The GatheringSpot
In addition to spaces (real estate is where I thing Atlanta excels) there are many many programs, incubators and accelerators.
So all and all, Atlanta has nearly everything it needs to have a thriving ecosystem. I can only hope that more people help each other in effort boister the ecosystem even more.