Village News

Talk GIPHY To Me

October 25, 2017

One man that might not get enough thanks for his creative genius is Steve Wilhite. While you may not know his name, you definitely know his creation. This winner of the 2013 Webby Lifetime Achievement award is the mastermind behind the ever so loved GIF. These playful images have allowed sarcasm and honesty to enter the internet world in a whole new way. No longer are we confused about virtual tone, when the picture says it all.We can all relate to the days where it's just easier to reply with a GIF instead of words, and some startup situations merit universal responses.

Announcing Atlanta Startup Village #52

October 19, 2017

If you haven’t attended an Atlanta Startup Village, then you are missing the largest monthly gathering of entrepreneurs in the Southeast. A simple format of free beer, 30 minutes of networking, and local startups giving five-minute pitches draws 300+ people each month, with another 150+ watching live stream. It’s an incredible event that brings together the Atlanta tech community and gives an up-close look at some of the technology coming out of our city. You should join us.Make sure you join the meetup page and check out the details below. We hope to see you there!

Thoughts on Diversity in Tech

October 9, 2017

This last week our partners and friends over at Turner, invited me to be their guest at the Grace Hopper Celebration. GCH is the world's largest gathering of female technologists. This 3 day conference run by Anita B.org brings 18,000 crazy talented, women in tech together. No, we didn't hold hands or sing kumbaya, and we didn't man hate either. Instead, we had strong conversations about learning, improving, and being women in tech in a powerful, influential way. We heard from some of the brightest female minds in technology such as:

A Deceptively Simple Way to Get Things Done

October 5, 2017

We all want to get things done, but a lack of movement forward can literally be the death of an entrepreneur's business sooner rather than later. For three decades Charlie Paparelli, Village Mentor and angel investor, has encouraged Founders to use the “Next-Step Methodology.” He believes it is the best way to build value without wasting time and money.These clearly defined steps can help entrepreneurs maintain their momentum and are deceptively simple:

Usit - Babysitting on Demand

September 28, 2017

Every parent knows the pain point of a babysitter cancelling or "forgetting" last minute. Or when a cool social invite comes along, but you have to turn it down because you can't find a sitter last minute. It's the WORST. These recent Emory graduates and Villagers have solved those problems with Usit. (Cheers from parents everywhere).Now before the idea of an uber for babysitters weirds you out, they have actually done some really clever things to ensure the safety and quality of the babysitters, and have built profiles with recommendations that are as accurate and trustworthy as possible. Think background checks, past references, and more. It's like care.com, but solves a much more common (and urgent) problem.Parents, meet Usit - a Village startup connecting families in need of babysitters to pre-vetted college students near them on-demand.

Why Your App Launch Failed (And How to Fix It!)

September 21, 2017

Two-thirds of apps from app stores generate less than 1,000 downloads in year one; more generate even fewer than that, Senior Analyst, Tim Shepherd tells The Guardian.While Candy Crunch and Clash of Clans ranks in the top 15 most successful apps, pulling in approximately $1.9 billion and $892 million in 2013, for every success story there are hundreds if not thousands of apps that miss the mark.However, all is not lost. App developers and designers can learn why their apps failed when launched, and, from retracing their steps, can pinpoint what they need to do differently in order to fix pre-launch mistakes.Read on to learn why your app launch failed, and what you can do to fix it!

Here You Can

September 12, 2017

Check out our latest video produced by our friends at Pull Spark. How many Villagers can you spot?https://youtu.be/PLMDkicBIXQHere you can dream big, innovate, and get a little competitive.Here you can close deals, you can grab a drink, and chowdown on Fridays.You can meet up with movers and shakers, and you can seek advice.You can hit up your neighbors, or hit the snooze.Here you can practice your pitch and take in a view.You can get it done, because when you are here...That's what makes the Village.

3 Warning Signs a Potential Angel is a Competitor

September 7, 2017

This article was written by Charlie Paparelli.Recently an entrepreneur told me an upsetting story. We started a email conversation in which I was giving him some high-level advice on next steps for his startup. This led to a LinkedIn connection between us. Our LinkedIn connection led to someone in my LinkedIn network reaching out to the entrepreneur.This person represented himself as an angel investor and who was interested in the entrepreneur’s company. He leveraged my credibility as an angel by saying we are both in Charlie’s network. This led to a meeting where the entrepreneur participated in this meeting with complete transparency.A month later the supposed angel called him and said he was working on the same idea and was wondering if the entrepreneur would work for him. This is a breech of integrity.The entrepreneur and I discussed how he might have outed this guy before ever agreeing to a meeting this him. Here is what we came up with:

The Mission of Atlanta Tech Village

August 29, 2017

Atlanta Tech Village is the 4th largest tech hub in America. We provide an amenity rich 103,000 square foot building designed to connect, inspire, and support over 1,000 entrepreneurs as they seek to change the world through technology.We are startups' biggest fans. Here's how it all comes together:

It's the 50th Atlanta Startup Village!

August 24, 2017

It's Atlanta Startup Village #50! This is a big milestone for the largest monthly gathering of entrepreneurs in the Southeast. It's been an incredible few years and we are so thankful for the hundreds of pitches and thousands of people this community has brought together. We will celebrate the big 5-0 with a few nostalgic words from ATLSV Founder, Jon Birdsong, a special #ATLSV photo booth, toast, and fun prizes. You don't want to miss it!Make sure you join the meetup page and check out the details below.

Buying Bitcoin

August 14, 2017

Bitcoin is a new currency that was created in 2009. Yes, it's real... even if it does only exist on the interwebs. Real enough, that people who were the first to adopt Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency have now made millions of dollars. Bitcoin has intentional inflation with a finite amount available. This means that as long as it exists as a thing (looking good, but no guarantees), the value (in theory) should only increase. And that is just what has happened. Example: in July of 2010 one Bitcoin was around $0.08. Say you decided to invest $1,000 in Bitcoin. That's a fairly small, reasonable investment, right? Today that $1,000 is now worth over $41 MILLION. And we won't even get into the many people who mined Bitcoins and got them for free!Seeing dollar signs... err Bitcoin signs yet?I recently wrote a post giving some background and framework to what Bitcoin and Blockchain technology actually is. After people understood it (kind of), I overwhelmingly got this question- "So how do you actually buy Bitcoin?" Well, ladies and gentlemen, I am about to tell you just that. But first, let me warn you- THIS IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE! I am not a financial advisor. In fact, I'm not even that great at math. Dabbling in cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, is exciting, new terrain that is also highly, highly volatile. In fact, the only constant is that it is never constant. So proceed at your own risk, and welcome to the world of Bitcoin.

3 Ways to Attract Professional Investors

August 10, 2017

Today everyone who has the desire to start a new business is an entrepreneur. If you can put together a one page executive summary, a slide deck describing the opportunity and a vision for the idea, you think you should be able to raise money. Not so fast. Although many are entrepreneurs, not every entrepreneur can raise money from professional investors.There are three qualities which can dramatically improve your chances of getting the attention and money for your new venture.

Spotlight on Innovation: Atlanta Startup Village #95 Welcomes Four Dynamic Tech Startups