Spice up your Summer with Startup Summer School

Have an idea? Do you crave to build something? Each Thursday this summer, you will learn from the best in the industry about what it looks like to start your own company and how to do it well. The Village is all about growing startups in Atlanta. Our mission is to provide training, support, and guidance to new entrepreneurs. Let’s do this!

JUNE 2, 12-1:30 PM

Intro to Entrepreneurship with Umama Kibria 

How do you know that entrepreneurship is right for you, your family, and your finances? Starting a business is no joke, especially if you are a first time entrepreneur. It requires a certain level of emotional and business acumen that you need to be prepared for. In this course we will discuss the foundations of entrepreneurship, work through identifying your personal motivations, debunk myths, and talk about the pros and cons of a co-founder. It is vital to have a solid foundation before you start to build!

About the Speaker: Umama Kibria is passionate about creating social experiences that inspire action. After working out at 400+ gyms and connecting with 100k+ on social media, she founded Head of Social. As a proud Forbes 30 Under 30 leader and TEDx Speaker, she’s building brand loyalty, traction, and impact.

JUNE 9, 12-1:30 PM

Customer Discovery with Maxwell Bonnie

What will take your startup to the next level in terms of acquisition and revenue? What your end users want and need are sometimes two very different things. Learn how to focus on what provides immediate value for "Earlyvangelists" of your product or service, and how to make this an ongoing part of your business model.

About the Speaker: Maxwell Bonnie is one of the cofounders of Saltbox, currently leading all aspects of growth. Prior to Saltbox, Maxwell helped build the Customer Experience and Bionic Operations teams at FullStory, and was part of the Research and Operations departments at Bridgewater Associates.

JUNE 16, 12-1:30 PM

Creating an MVP with Seth Radman

We will explore how to build an MVP and validate your business hypothesis with customers — from choosing your technology stack, leveraging no code and low-code services, and having a successful product launch. We will also take a look at how to make sure you’re building the right product through feedback and data from customers.

About the Speaker: Seth Radman is an Atlanta-based tech entrepreneur and Georgia Tech alum who has started and grown multiple successful startups. He has built over 40 web and mobile apps and has been featured on the App Store 100+ times, including Apple’s App of the Day.

Seth was previously the Founder & CEO of Crescendo, an AI music training app used by over 1 million musicians across the world that was acquired by Ultimate Guitar in 2019. Currently, he is Co-Founder & CTO at Infinite Giving, an automated investment platform for nonprofits. Seth has made speaking appearances at TEDx and SXSW, and he serves as a startup coach and advisor to startups in Atlanta and throughout the southeast.

JUNE 24, 12-1:30 PM

Marketing 101 with Landon Howell

Your brand IS your customer's experience with your company, which is why it's essential to develop a go-to-market plan that includes customer journeys and empathy mapping before launching. This Branding/Go-To-Market class will introduce you to key concepts and tools that will ensure you are reaching the right people and creating experiences that will drive measurable growth. 

About the Speaker: Landon leads growth and for early-stage startups. He currently leads marketing at Rocketplace, a new SF-based fintech startup. More recently he led growth, marketing, and operations at Plastiq (Forbes FinTech 50), Fancred (Techstars Boston 2013), and Wyndy. He’s an advisor to MaxRewards, Poppy, and Chant Media.

JUNE 30, 12-1:30 PM

Sales 101 with David Kurkjian

If pursuing sales is something new for you, or maybe you have started to get some traction and don’t know what’s next – this session of Summer School is for you! We will provide concrete steps on how to start the sales process as well as information on what to do once the sales start churning. From establishing processes to talking about wise opportunities we will equip you to build your startup on a firm foundation on facts that will lead to success and a thriving company.

About the Speaker: David is a 35-year sales veteran with success both as a quota carrying rep and sales leader in companies like Bellsouth and CareerBuilder. An engineer by education, David sought after and discovered the secrets to his success by exploring behavioral psychology and understanding the science of human decision making. In 2012, he founded MasterMessaging to help clients increase their revenue by mastering the ability to elevate their value.

JULY 7, 12-1:30 PM

Creating Your Culture with Alex De Aranzeta

Culture is everything. And in the startup world, a lack of defined culture can negatively impact your success. A Founder is the creator and keeper of how others experience your company. Laying a foundation for your team includes developing a deep understanding of and the ability to articulate your “why”. Learn how to develop a vision, mission statement and guiding principles that can help you lead and align your team with focus and passion.

About the Speaker: Alex (she/her) is the founder and CEO of Laurl, a human capital risk manager that helps companies and HR teams track and manage culture concerns more compliantly and inclusively. Before starting Laurl, she spent a decade working in Civil Rights and compliance across government, higher ed and enterprise, where she resolved 400 cases of discrimination and harassment and advised and trained 250+ companies on equity and compliance policies and practices. Alex has a deep background in mediation, negotiation and dispute resolution, as well as building diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. She is an active advisor to startups on DEI and coaches pre-seed to Series B+ founders and execs on communication, culture, and public speaking.

JULY 14, 12-1:30 PM

Startup Legal with Will Grossenbacher

It is imperative that a company’s legal affairs are in order, particularly for an emerging growth company that is likely to face increasingly intense due diligence in connection with its capital raises and its ultimate exit event. The session will address the key issues facing startups, provide expert advice on how to avoid and troubleshoot the common pitfalls, and discuss best practices for structuring your startup for longevity and profitability.

About the Speaker: Will Grossenbacher is an Associate with global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP.  As a member of the Corporate Practice, Will focuses on transactional matters for companies in technology, life sciences, and other high growth industries. He has experience with all aspects of the corporate life cycle—from formation and funding, to day-to-day commercial contracting and licensing, to acquisitions and exits.  Will is also a member of the firm’s Emerging Technology Practice and has represented entrepreneurs and investors to provide start-ups and early-stage companies with the education, mentorship, connections and legal guidance needed to help them succeed.   His clients have included video-game developers, digital marketing and technology companies, and pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.  Will received his B.A. from the University of Mississippi and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.

JULY 21, 12-1:30 PM 

Funding 101 with Kim Seals

Learn the various forms of investment and the Investor & Entrepreneur perspectives for each, to set a foundation for your capital raise. Learn best practices for conducting a capital raise, everything from pitching tips, to valuation discussions, and key metrics to address in order to get the right partners in your round. Lastly, we'll de-code "venture speak" and see what types of businesses are best funded through venture, bootstrapping, bank loans, grants & the variety of other forms of funding.

About the Speaker: Kim is an investor in early-stage technology, health care, consumer product, and media companies. The JumpFund has invested in more than 25 Southeast based companies since 2013, across our two venture capital funds.

Kim has more than twenty-five years of global expertise in human resource consulting, corporate and leadership roles. Kim’s experience includes leading M&A transactions, service delivery transformation, talent, compensation, benefits and recruiting program design, as well as technology development, selection and implementations.

Kim most recently was a Senior Partner with Mercer, responsible for leading their overall go-to-market strategies in Atlanta. Kim received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Louisiana State University.

JULY 28, 12-1:30 PM

Pitching with Jacey Lucus

As an entrepreneur, you’re going to have ample opportunities to tell people about the company you’re building, aka, pitch to them! 

In this class we we will cover:

• What is a pitch?
• The importance of defining who to pitch to.
• The importance of the format of your pitch.
• The importance of the delivery of that pitch.
• And finally how to make your pitch deck look good!

Whatever stage you're in, our goal is to help you tell your story in the best way possible.

About the Speaker: Jacey is a community builder, startup enthusiast, marketing master, podcaster, and loves hearing people's stories. She is also the Marketing Lead at Atlanta Ventures.

So, we invite you to bring your dreams to the Village each Thursday this summer for the first ever Startup Summer School. We can’t wait to see you there!