Atlanta Tech Startup Guide

Photo by Stephen Cook on Unsplash

Hi — I’m Charlton, an Ecosystem Builder in Atlanta, Georgia. I’ve been a resident of the city for 20 years and active in the startup community for the last seven. I’m excited to provide you all with a deep dive into the city I love. And although I’m not new to creating ecosystem guides, this format is inspired by Lolita Taub and her many great city guides.

Build In SE founder Monique Villa recently stated in a short piece on Atlanta,

“It is no secret that the Southeastern U.S. is growing rapidly as a destination for startups of all shapes and sizes. While many startup hubs plant their proverbial flag, Atlanta is by far the city experiencing the biggest ‘moment’ of them all.”

I, and others, tend to agree with this assessment. From the recent exodus of Silicon Valley residents to Atlanta, to the increased convergence of music and tech, to the doubling down of corporate involvement into startups, and lastly, Atlanta continually being recognized as the Black Tech Mecca.

The city has made tremendous strides establishing itself as a true player in the national startup conversation, and there are no signs of slowing down.

Here’s what you’ll find in this guide:

• Atlanta VC Activity
• Atlanta VCs
• Atlanta Angel Groups
• Atlanta Startups to Watch
• Atlanta Incubators and Accelerators
• Atlanta Coworking Spaces
• Atlanta Communities
• Atlanta Events and Conferences
• Atlanta Tech Media and Podcasts
• Atlanta Startup Jobs
• Atlanta City Resources

Hopefully you find this guide helpful in your exploration of Atlanta’s tech ecosystem. If I missed something, post a comment as I’ll add ongoing updates.

Atlanta VC Activity

Overall

Although Atlanta’s startup ecosystem has seen consistent growth since the mid-aughts, the venture ecosystem is still striving to match the growth with local checks. According to BIP Capital’s most recent The State of Startups in the Southeast report, based on the relative stability of pre-money valuations over the last few years, Atlanta’s venture ecosystem has reached ‘maturity.’ And though the report also states that there is more local capital flowing, there have been no new funds*(Editor’s note: two funds have closed since this time — Overline & Knoll Ventures) closed by first-time fund managers in the past two years.

The introduction of corporate venture money is another area that is increasing with the entrants of funds such as Engage, which counts 11 corporations as its LPs. Other active corporate venture capital arms include companies such as: Aflac, Delta, and Stanley Black & Decker, as well as Cox Enterprises & Comcast NBC Universal backing local accelerator programs — Techstars Atlanta and The Farm ATL.

According to Crunchbase News, funding for Atlanta startups has reached $1.1B, which is already higher than the total of all of last year ($932.5M). Though the number of deals has stayed level over the past five years, the influx of invested capital can be attributed to the growing interest from firms in the traditional Innovation Hubs (SF, NYC, & Boston), which tend to value companies higher than Southeast firms and have more money to deploy.

Atlanta has a strong bent towards software, with most investment in the past decade being made into enterprise software and SaaS startups. With early successes like Pardot, ISS, and Pindrop Security, coupled with the growth of newer companies like Kabbage and SalesLoft, it’s not surprising that investors lean toward what they’ve seen be successful.

Atlanta VCs

Though Atlanta investors have begun to deploy more capital in the ecosystem, they are still notorious for being risk-averse. While several new funds are in the process of being raised, it’s difficult to determine whether the actual number of firms is increasing.

• 11–11 Ventures — 11–11 ventures is an innovation driven venture capital firm investing in early stage technology companies with specific focus in blockchain.
• 93 Ventures — Venture firm managed by Albert Sye, whose mission is to transcend culture by creating strategic partnerships and value-added investments through his ecosystem of athletes and entertainers.
• Accuitive Medical Ventures — Accuitive Medical Ventures (AMV) is a medical device venture capital firm.
• Atlanta Ventures — Atlanta Ventures invests in technology companies that put culture first, provide a great service, and love what they do.
• BIP Capital — BIP Capital is recognized as one of the most active venture investors in the Southeast, areas of focus include software, healthcare IT, digital media, franchise, and Ed tech.
• BLH Ventures — Early stage investment firm focused on funding innovation.
• Croft & Bender Capital — Croft & Bender is a provider of superior M&A, capital raising, and financial advisory services to middle market and emerging growth companies.
• CTW Venture Partners — CTW Venture Partners is changing the world by investing in companies that are creating products that will change the way the world operates.
• Forte Ventures — Forte Venture invest across a diversified set of industry sectors including: IT, mobility, digital media, fintech, and industrial technology.
• Fulcrum Equity Partners — Fulcrum Equity Partners manages over $350 million and makes equity investments in rapidly growing business that are led by strong entrepreneurs and management teams.
• Engage — Engage is an independent venture fund and platform, established and financed by some of the most influential corporations in the world.
• Gray Ghost Ventures — GGV seeks to eliminate poverty and strengthen communities through catalytic, early-stage investments in the developing world.
• GRA Venture Fund — The GRA Venture Fund, LLC is a private investment fund created to help finance promising companies emerging from Georgia’s universities.
• Johnson Venture Partners — Johnson Venture Partners is a micro VC fund investing in high-growth startups in the Southeast.
• Kinetic Ventures — First institutional funding for entrepreneurs.
• KnowCap — Helping idea-stage founders through a human capital investment model.
• Knoll Ventures — Knoll Ventures is an early-stage fund investing in technology-enabled businesses focused on B2B markets. Primarily investing in pre-Series A companies that have demonstrated customer traction and identified actionable near-term growth initiatives.
• Leaders Fund — Helping entrepreneurs build storied SaaS companies.
• Mayhaw Capital — Mayhaw Capital’s goal is to generate the highest risk-adjusted returns by investing in and working with real estate, technology, and traditional businesses leveraging technology in attractive growth cities across the Southeastern metros of America.
• Mosley Ventures — Venture capital fund investing in early stage technology startups in Atlanta and the Southeast.
• Noro-Mosley Partners — NMP provides leading entrepreneurs with energy, connections and expertise to build world-class companies.
• Outlander — Outlander is an early stage fund investing and mentoring startups in the South
• Overline — Overline is a founder-operator led venture capital firm focused on investing in seed-stage businesses, primarily in Atlanta and the Southeast region of the United States.
• Panoramic Ventures — Panoramic Ventures opens new doors for founders, giving more entrepreneurs access to capital to build leading tech companies.
• Peachtree Equity — Peachtree Equity provides subordinated debt and equity securities to middle market companies.
• Phoenix Ventures — Phoenix Capital Ventures is an early stage venture capital firm partnering with companies in the sports, gaming, human performance and interactive media industries.
• Shadow Ventures — Shadow Ventures invests in seed stage technology companies to bring innovation to undisrupted markets.
• Stanley Ventures — Stanley Ventures is the strategic venture capital arm of Stanley Black & Decker.
• Tech Operators — Early stage venture capital firm investing in emerging software companies with high growth potential.
• Tech Square Ventures — Tech Square Ventures is a seed and early stage venture capital firm investing in high growth tech startups; specifically Cloud, IoT, or university spin outs leveraging the strengths of the Southeast and area research universities.
• TechSquare Labs — TechSquare Labs is an incubator, seed fund, and corporate innovation space.
• TTV Capital — TTV invests in fintech businesses that serve the widely varying needs of the financial services sector and the consumers of financial products
• Valor Ventures — Valor Ventures is a partnership that invests in early stage software companies.
• Vocap Investment Partners — Vocap partners with today’s disruptive technology companies to provide capital, operating experience, and critical relationships.
• Zane Venture Fund — Investing in the new face of technological change that are building disruptive technologies in the Southeast.

Atlanta Angel Groups

• Atlanta Technology Angels — Group of accredited angel investors that provide early-stage, technology entrepreneurs with private capital and business experience.
• Keiretsu Forum Atlanta — Keiretsu Forum is a global angel investor network with more than 2500 accredited investor members throughout 47 chapters on 3 continents.
• TiE Angels — TiE Angels co-invests in startups raising their seed and Series A rounds.

Top Individuals/Angels

• Charlie Papparelli — Charlie is an angel investor helping experienced managers achieve their dream of starting and building their own companies. His specialties include private equity investing, startups, early stage company strategy, and go-to-market.
• Tom Noonan — Tom Noonan is a General Partner at TechOperators. Tom is the former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Internet Security Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: ISSX), which was acquired in 2006 by IBM for $1.3B. Tom Noonan and Chris Klaus launched ISS in 1994 to commercialize and develop a premier network security management company.
• Christopher Klaus — Christopher Klaus is a successful entrepreneur, influential supporter of the Georgia Institute of Technology and angel investor in numerous technology startups. Prior to founding Kava, Chris founded Internet Security Systems ‘ISS’ (backed by leading venture firms such as Kleiner Perkins and Greylock Partners). Goldman Sachs took ISS public in ’98 (NASDAQ:ISSX) and was acquired by IBM for $1.3 Billion in ’06.

More information on Atlanta Venture Firms & Angel Investors

Check out Build In SE & Embarc Collective’s 2021 Southeast Capital Landscape

Atlanta Startups to Watch

By taking a look at recent funding rounds, startup showcases, and sifting through some of the top local to-watch lists, here’s a list of promising startups to watch:

• STORD— STORD operates a warehousing and distribution network through one cloud-based dashboard that gives brands true visibility and control of their inventory.
• Groundfloor — Groundfloor is a crowdsourced real estate investing and lending platform that makes private capital markets open to all.
• Goodr — Goodr is a sustainable food waste management company, leveraging technology to combat hunger.
• Calendly — Calendly is a powerful yet simple automated scheduling tool that takes the work out of connecting with others so you can accomplish more.
• LeaseQuery — LeaseQuery helps businesses understand the financial impact of their lease portfolio by providing journal entries, forecast reports, and account balances with a click of a button.
• Roadie — Roadie is the first “on-the-way” delivery service that puts unused capacity in passenger vehicles to work by connecting senders with drivers who are already going that way. (acquired by UPS)
• Trust Stamp — Truststamp creates proprietary artificial intelligence solutions; researching and leveraging facial biometric science and wide-scale data mining to deliver insightful identity & trust predictions while identifying and defending against fraudulent identity attacks.
• PadSplit — PadSplit partners with homeowners by providing approved residents, collecting payments and advertising vacant rooms.
• Cypress —Cypress provides fast, easy and reliable end-to-end testing for anything that runs in a browser.
• Greenlight — Greenlight makes a debit card for kids and a mobile app that empowers parents with convenient controls to safely manage family finances and create teachable moments around earning, spending, saving and giving.
• SaaSOptics — SaaSOptics gives early-stage and growing SaaS and subscription businesses the ability to eliminate their dependency on spreadsheets and streamline your financial operations and reporting.
• Gimme—Gimme helps convenience service and grocery delivery operators automate merchandising.
• 2ULaundry — 2ULaundry is the new way to do laundry and dry cleaning, delivered right to your door.
• RoadSync — RoadSync is a cutting-edge, digital payment platform for the transportation industry.

List of startups that participated in Venture Atlanta 2021.

Atlanta Incubators and Accelerators

• AscendATL — A technology startup and small business support ecosystem for minority-led companies throughout Metropolitan Atlanta led by JPMorgan Chase & Co. in partnership with Morehouse College Entrepreneurship Center and TechSquare Labs.
• It Takes A Village Pre-Accelerator — Atlanta Tech Village’s Pre-Accelerator Program gives startups led by women and people of color the opportunity to gain direct access to community, education, mentorship, and capital.
• Start: ME — Start Micro-Entrepreneur Accelerator Program is designed for the most promising micro-entreprenuers and businesses managing smaller teams.
• Techstars Atlanta — Techstars Atlanta(in partnership w/Cox Enterprises) focuses on tech driving positive change in an interconnected world in industries like telecomms, mobility, transportation and finance.
• Techstars Social Impact — Cox Enterprises Social Impact Accelerator powered by Techstars leverages innovative startups to drive community impact, focusing on for-profit companies addressing social justice and systemic racism issues.
• The Farm ATL — The Farm (in Partnership w/Comcast NBCUniversal) offers a variety of programs to support and nurture selected startups and entrepreneurs, including a twice-a-year, three-month accelerator program, premium incubator office space, cutting edge hardware prototype lab and coworking.
• Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) — ATDC is a technology business incubator for tech companies within Georgia.
• Backed by ATL — Backed by ATL provides customized assistance to a select group of high potential companies to accelerate their growth and fuel economic impact across the metro Atlanta ecosystem.
• Endeavor Atlanta — Endeavor helps the fastest-growing entrepreneurs create lasting enterprises by providing the resources they need to scale without dilution.
• Shadow Labs — Shadow Labs is a global innovation platform, by Shadow Ventures, where startups and enterprises come together to advance technology. Currently focused on Healthcare, CRE, AEC, and startups in Atlanta and Toronto.
• Square One Startup School — Square One is where first-time founders come to prepare for their first product, first customer, and first investment.

Atlanta Coworking Spaces

• Alkaloid Networks — 691 John Wesley Dobbs Ave NE suite c, Atlanta, GA 30312
• Atlanta Tech Village—3423 Piedmont Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30305
• Constellations — 135 Auburn Ave NE 2nd Floor, Atlanta, GA 30303
• Elevator Factory — 437 Memorial Dr SE, Atlanta, GA 30312
• Flatiron City — 84 Peachtree St, Atlanta, GA 30303
• Industrious — Located in five locations in and around Atlanta, Industrious’ refined co-working facility inspires community among thriving entrepreneurs. See all locations here.
• Roam — Roam is the innovator’s workplace, a meeting and gathering experience for the new workforce, located in four locations across metro Atlanta. See all locations here.
• Russell Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship— 504 Fair St SW, Atlanta, GA 30313
• Saltbox— 1345 Seaboard Industrial Blvd NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
• SharedSpace— SharedSpace is a coworking space designed for start-up companies, especially those in an early stage (1–15 companies). Locations in Dunwoody & Galleria.
• Strongbox West — 1040 West Marietta St NW, Atlanta, GA 30318
• Switchyards — Switchyards is the country’s first neighborhood work club. For when you need to get some work done. And be around others. Three locations across Atlanta, with more coming soon.
• WeWork — WeWork provides workspace, community, and services for a global network of creators. With five locations and counting across Atlanta.

Read more about Atlanta’s Coworking spaces.

Atlanta Communities

• ATL Black Tech — ATL Black Tech is a coalition of individuals, organizations and companies working to define and organize the Black Tech community in Atlanta.
• Tech404 — TECH404 is a group of chat channels for Atlanta area developers, designers, marketers, business people, hobbyists, students, and other professionals involved in technology.
• Atlanta Startup Drinks — Atlanta’s Startup Drinks is a meetup for those interested in entrepreneurship and technology.
• Code for Atlanta — Code for Atlanta uses civic minded technologists, designers, and subject matter experts to improve Atlanta.
• FinTech Atlanta — FinTech Atlanta is a coalition of companies (from Fortune 500s to startups) and other organizations working to cement Atlanta as the recognized global capital of financial technology.
• Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) — TAG is a world-class membership organization and an engine for economic development for the state of Georgia.
• Technologists of Color — Technologists of Color is a passionate collection of professionals from the information technology arena. The community is committed to building the African American tech community in Atlanta. Their primary goal is to connect tech professionals, entrepreneurs, “newbies” as well as “career changers” so that they can share knowledge, resources and opportunities.
• Women in Technology (WIT) — WIT’s mission is to serve as passionate advocates for women of all ages in Georgia’s STEAM community. WIT passionately supports women at every stage of their STEAM careers — from the classroom to the boardroom. They do this by telling the stories of successful women and by helping more women write their own.

Atlanta Events and Conferences

Venture Atlanta 2018 - Image from Hypepotamus

• Venture Atlanta — The region’s largest investor showcase connects entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, bankers, and angel investors who can help raise capital needed to grown businesses.
• Atlanta Startup Battle — A free-to-enter competition for tech startups, Atlanta Startup Battle creates funding opportunities at the earliest stage. An all day mentoring session for the top 10, and a $100,000 investment in the winner are key components to its approach to company building.
• ATDC Startup Showcase — The ATDC Startup Showcase gathers entrepreneurs, investors, and tech leaders to discover startups and showcase their technologies.
• A3C Festival & Conference — A3C engages and inspires the artists, entrepreneurs and creatives that shape culture.
• TEDxAtlanta — TEDxAtlanta is focused on creating experiences that spark deep discussion, connections, collaborations and that lasting impact.
• Startup Runway — Non-profit competition for under-represented founders that awards $10K grants to promising companies from top VCs.
• FinTech South — FinTech South 2020 is a global exchange of insights, innovations and trends fueling tomorrow’s financial tech industry.
• Entrepreneurs’ Night @ATDC — Entrepreneurs’ Night is a fun, informal event held every month at ATDC filled with some of the best networking for Georgia’s technology startup entrepreneurs, complete with food and drinks.
• Startup Chowdown — Notorious for its incredibly long lines and catered lunches, Startup Chowdown welcomes all entrepreneurs to network with one another and and become actively engaged within the startup community every Friday at Atlanta Tech Village.
• Atlanta Startup Village — Atlanta Startup Village is a Atlanta’s largest monthly pitch event designed to discuss roadblocks and solutions to improve within the entrepreneurial process through a five minute business pitch model.
• TiECON — TiE Atlanta’s annual conference that brings over 400 entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners for an all-day conference.

Atlanta Tech Media and Podcasts

• Hypepotamus — Hypepotamus covers the latest startup news, events, people, and companies throughout the Southeast’s innovation ecosystem.
• Atlanta Inno — Through a daily newsletter, daily editorial, monthly events, directories, data and more, Atlanta Inno is building a portal to and for ATL’s burgeoning startup and tech communities.
• UrbanGeekz — UrbanGeekz is a groundbreaking videocentric African American, Latinx & multicultural digital news platform focused on technology, business, science, and startups .
• Tech Talk Y’all — Tech Talk Y’all is a bi-weekly show with hosts Sanjay Parekh and Adam Walker. Sanjay and Adam dish about technology and often other seemingly random topics.
• Tech Square ATL — Tech Square ATL tells the stories about the heart of the Atlanta tech scene. Breakthrough talent, breakthrough ideas, and breakthrough companies.
• Atlanta Tech Blogs — Serving as the pulse for startup stories, Atlanta Tech Blogs is a publication that promotes all tech startup blogs in Atlanta.

Atlanta Startup Job Boards

• Hypepotamus
• Atlanta Tech Village
• Choose ATL

Atlanta City Resources

Invest Atlanta’s Students2Startup Graduation

• Startup Atlanta — Startup Atlanta is a community non-profit focused on connecting, growing and promoting the Metro Atlanta Startup Ecosystem.
• Invest Atlanta — Invest Atlanta is the official economic development authority for the City of Atlanta. Its purpose is to strengthen Atlanta’s economy and global competitiveness to create increased opportunity and prosperity for the people of Atlanta.
• Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
• City of Atlanta
• Georgia Innovation Crescent

For another comprehensive guide check out Startup Atlanta’s 2020 Guide to the Ecosystem.

Special thanks to Holly Beilin and Monique Villa for all their help putting together this guide!

Are you a startup founder, investor, or mentor looking to connect with the Southeast more broadly? Say hello!