This document provides an introduction and overview of the Atlanta startup community. It discusses what defines a startup, reasons for Atlanta's growth as a startup hub including industries like fintech and gaming. It outlines local resources that support startups such as coworking spaces, accelerators, investors and lists top Atlanta startups. Finally, it provides suggestions for getting involved in the community through events, meetups, classes and more.

1. Intro to the ATL
startup community
Trish Whitlock

2. 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)
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

3. Why Atlanta
● FINTECH- 60% of all the fintech companies in the U.S. are in GA & we process 70% of all U.S.
payments annually.
● SECURITY- GA ranked 3rd for with 115+ companies generating 25% global revenue share of
the market.
● GAMING- GA ranked 3rd in volume for video game planning activity & 4th in industry
compensation.
● Local colleges & universities graduate over 2,400 engineers every year.
● 11,000+ job openings for software developers in Metro Atlanta over the last 6 months.
● 3rd largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies
● Focus on STEM
● Airport
● Cheap
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

4. Great Timing
● Atlanta’s startup community is still young and growing.
● The traditions, culture and precedents we set now will
have an impact in the long-term.
● Celebrate the positive & crowd out the negative.
● We all have a lot to learn from each other.
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

5. What is in the ecosystem?
● Startups
● Investors
● Talent
● Mentors
● Partners
● Service Providers
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

6. Startups to Know
● MailChimp
● BitPay
● Cardlytics
● EcommHub
● UserIQ
● Kabbage
● PartPic
● Kanga
● Scoutmob @hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

7. Startup Spaces
Atlanta Tech Village
StrongBox West
ATDC
OHUB
Collider
The Co-op
Decatur CoWorks
ROAM
Industrious Office
Atlanta Technology Center
NEX
The Goat Farm
C4
Factory Girls
The Work Spot (Duluth)
The Station Loft Works (douglasville)
Polygon
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

8. Accelerators/Incubators
Atlanta Ventures
Flashpoint
Points of Light
ATDC
LaunchPad2X
Greenhouse Accelerator
NeuroLaunch
Startup Summer
Global Center Medical Innovation
Tech Square Labs @hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

9. Funding
Funds/ Groups (ATA-Ritz) / Individuals
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

10. Online Resources
● Venture Atlanta
● Startup Genome
● Start-Opia
● Atlanta Tech Blogs
● Hypepotamus
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

11. Events
Conferences
Demos
Networking
Hackathons
Pitches
Classes/Workshops
Meetups
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

12. Meetups
http://www.meetup.com/Atlanta-Startup-Village/
http://www.atlsuds.com
http://www.meetup.com/Data-Science-ATL/
http://www.meetup.com/Georgia-Crowdfunding/
http://www.meetup.com/Atlanta-Content-
Strategy/events/144551132/
http://www.meetup.com/Big-Data-Mornings/
http://www.meetup.com/Atlanta-Google-Apps-Meetup/
http://www.meetup.com/Atlanta-Xamarin-Users-Group/
http://www.meetup.com/atlantawebdesign/
http://www.meetup.com/ixdaatlanta/#calendar
http://www.meetup.com/AtlantaHTML5/#calendar
http://www.meetup.com/Atlanta-User-Experience-Group/#calendar
http://www.meetup.com/BarCamp-Atlanta/#calendar
http://www.meetup.com/Open-Atlanta/#calendar
http://www.meetup.com/TechieChic/#calendar
http://www.meetup.com/Women-Who-Code-Atlanta/#calendar
http://www.meetup.com/Bitcoin-Atlanta/events/160322322
/http://www.meetup.com/AtlantaMobileMarketing/
http://www.meetup.com/Technologists
http://www.meetup.com/ATL-Digital-Rendezvous/events/161081602/
www.AtlantaJavaScript.com
http://www.meetup.com/Startup-Grind-Atlanta/events/168154922/
http://www.meetup.com/CrowdFundingAtlanta/
http://www.ajug.org/calendar/upcoming-meetings
http://www.meetup.com/Unicorn-Invasion/events/194844342/
http://www.meetup.com/python-atlanta/?scroll=true
http://www.meetup.com/Atlanta-Mobile-Developers-Group/?scroll=true
http://www.meetup.com/Atlanta-Titanium-Developers
http://www.meetup.com/Girl-Develop-It-Atlanta/
http://www.meetup.com/eastpointmakers/
http://www.meetup.com/MaptimeATL/
http://www.meetup.com/Atlanta-Startup-Founder-101/events/216460212/
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

13. Jobs/Internships
Job boards
Meetups
AngelList (34)
ATV
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.
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

14. Get Involved
● Sign up for events newsletters
● Attend meetups, happy hours, and demo days
● Take classes and workshops to develop your skills
● Learn how to code/design — and then create something
● Participate in hackathons and Startup Weekends
● Ask for help, guidance, advice, and introductions
● Take interesting people you meet out for coffee
● Give constructive feedback
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

15. Get Involved
● Make (useful) introductions to help people you meet
● Meet new people and develop personal (not just
professional) relationships with them
● Blog about your experiences
● Teach a class — find a way to share with others
● Bring new people from other industries into the fold
● Be open-minded to new approaches and new ideas
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

16. Learn, practice, participate
Roll up your sleeves and learn new skills. Try
your hand at building something — anything —
and share it with people. Think about how to
best position your abilities & interests.
Try to become a creator, not just a thinker.
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com

17. What do you really want?
There’s no “one size fits all” experience in
startup world. Think hard about what kinds of
environments suit you.
Consider- vertical, company size, team culture,
role, time commitment, product
@hypepotamus
trish@hypepotamus.com