Village News

Get a Mentor or Go Home

February 9, 2017

We’ve had a tremendous couple of years evolving the mentor and advisor program at the Village. In 2017, the team and I will be focused on ensuring that every founder at the Village can identify at least one dedicated mentor relationship. I feel it's just too damn important that serious entrepreneurs in Atlanta learn how to find and develop such relationships. That mentor certainly doesn’t have to be one in our program; however, if you need one, the Village has one of the strongest pools and most sought after mentors in the metro area.While the school of fail fast, fail cheap is a laudable one, failing on the right things matters more. To do that, you must recognize when you might need support can make the difference between a false start and strong momentum. More mature startup ecosystems recognize that greater success is in the skill and discipline to maintain a mentor relationship(s).Let’s cover a few reasons why most successful entrepreneurs have mentors:

Village Startups Make It Rain

February 3, 2017

It's not a rare thing for Atlanta startups to lament the lack of capital that gets invested in our region. And it's true, in comparison to other cities this is a great opportunity for growth. That's why it gets really exciting when you start to see cash rolling in. In the four years Atlanta Tech Village has been around, it has become one of the largest tech hubs in the country and our startups have raised a collective $325M to date and that number is growing. The good news- money travels.In case you missed it, here are some startups from the Village that have landed some serious cash in just the last 12 months:

The Largest Tech Hubs in the US - INFOGRAPHIC

January 26, 2017

We invested over 30 hours of research into identifying the largest tech hubs in the US. The good news? Atlanta Tech Village came in 4th, and we are in good company. You can find more about our process here, but now we get to show you! Introducing America's Top 5 Largest Tech Hubs, and only one of them is in Silicon Valley. Drumroll please....

A Year in Review at the Village - 2016

January 17, 2017

It's a new year, and the Village is officially 4 years old. What a year 2016 was for Atlanta Tech Village! We continue to see amazing growth in Atlanta and in our community. As we focus on the new year ahead, let's take a quick nostalgic look back at 2016. Here are a few highlights from one of the largest tech hubs in the country:

A Story of Engineered Serendipity

January 5, 2017

Dan Smigrod is a much loved Atlanta Tech Village Member and the Founder of We Get Around. He shares his story below.Renting space at Atlanta Tech Village is so much more than just renting space. Looking back at my journey at the Village, creating and building my startup really did take a "village." Today – with lots of help from Village Members – and three major pivots later – the We Get Around Network has hundreds of monthly recurring revenue clients!

The 10 Days of the Village Elf

December 27, 2016

The Elf on a Shelf had a grand old time again this December at Atlanta Tech Village. And we have to admit, we had some fun with him too. From cutting music videos with startups to stirring up some harmless mischief, the Elf is what we would call a good culture fit.Without further ado- here are The 10 Days of the Village Elf posted to the Atlanta Tech Village Instagram account. We hope they bring you a few chuckles because the Village Elf and the Atlanta Tech Village team wish you the happiest of holidays.Pro Tip: turn your volume up!

Holiday Showcase - Video Recap

December 20, 2016

We at Atlanta Tech Village believe that a 2016 Holiday Showcase is in the books! We had 75 curated VIPs (including investors and enterprise players), a special welcome by Grant Wainscott of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and David Cummings - Founder of Atlanta Tech Village, 28 startups with at least 6 figures in funding or in ARR, 250+ attendees, food, cocktails, and lots of merriment. Watch what you missed in 60 seconds.Here's to another great year for startups in Atlanta!Mad video skills credited to Marisa Harris-Phanghttps://youtu.be/wvLGazyMIwk

Introducing Pain-Free Patient Payments with Scrubpay

December 15, 2016

Usually when you think of paying medical bills, you think of multiple insurance notifications, reams of paper, and maybe, eventually a bill that you don't really want. Now, imagine the pain point of the clinic on the other side. How do they get your attention after all that? Enter Scrubpay, an easy way to collect those fees straight through your patient's mobile devices. I chatted with Founder, Justin Grant, to learn more below.

How To Lose A Job In Ten Ways

December 8, 2016

You button your freshly starched shirt and slip on a stifling suit jacket. You turn around with your best hire-me smile and you look good! Hurry, you don’t want to be late. You grab fresh resumes off the printer and jog down the street to stand in a long line of 1,200 other hire-me smilers. Welcome to the University of (insert name here) Career Fair! I imagine this scenario was a typical morning for the thousands of hopeful college students that I have met at college career fairs this fall.

Honeywell Partners with the Village

December 1, 2016

We are proud to announce a collaboration with technology innovator and home solutions manufacturer Honeywell! Honeywell recently announced it is moving its Home and Building Technologies headquarters and North American software innovation center to Atlanta, which is a big win for our city.“Honeywell and the Village both lead innovation across multiple sectors so this partnership makes a lot of sense,” said David Cummings, founder of Atlanta Tech Village. “Honeywell is poised to bring hundreds of jobs to Atlanta, and we are excited to serve as a catalyst that connects them deeper into the Atlanta tech community. ”Atlanta Tech Village and Honeywell are partnering to build deeper awareness of opportunities at Honeywell for the community’s top technologists. Villagers and the surrounding technology community can also look forward to hackathons, networking receptions, interactive technology exhibits, career fairs and other co-hosted events.Honeywell’s thousands of engineers, technologists and scientific leaders are creating energy efficient products that drive efficiency, connection and safety in airplanes, buildings, vehicles, industry and for America’s workforce. In Atlanta, the company will bring an extensive focus to software development and innovation while accelerating its investment in smart building and “Internet of Things” technologies, with a goal of developing technology solutions and offerings that impact the world.“The technology community in Atlanta is one of the strongest in the world, and the intersection for much of that talent is at Atlanta Tech Village,” said Bruce Calder, vice president of technology solutions for Honeywell. “We are excited to become part of a community that includes some of the brightest and most innovative talent in the U.S. We hope this alliance inspires community connections that lead to exciting new opportunities for Honeywell, Atlanta and the world.”We know it will. Welcome, Honeywell.

Choosing Thankfulness

November 24, 2016

In a time of great uncertainty for our country, it can be easy to fall prey to worry and fear. But not today. Today, we choose to be thankful.The Canadians had it right, we are already great - and that is not a direct reflection of our political and racial climate. Our community, the startup community in Atlanta, is an example of what is great. We are incredibly innovative. We are inclusive. We work hard to make our way. We dream big. We create jobs. We are a community of people who celebrate each other's successes. We have compassion for those who have losses. We are diverse and actively working towards more diversity. We are strong. We are hopeful. Different ideas are met with listening ears and we constantly strive to learn from others. We lend a helping hand and we give back to our community.So on this day of Thanksgiving, let's take a collective deep breath. We are still responsible for our words and actions. We can choose kindness not aggression, we can choose compassion not judgement, we can choose to spend time with people who aren't just like us, and we can choose gratitude over fear.So go spread some light, people. If we do that, the startup community is getting us one step closer to making sure we are all going to be okay.Happy Thanksgiving.

EXTEND YOUR STARTUP’S RUNWAY: HOW VENTURE DEBT WORKS

November 17, 2016

Venture debt is widely discussed in startup circles but often misunderstood. Atlanta Tech Village partners at Silicon Valley Bank break down five of the most commonly asked questions about venture debt to help explain the fundamentals and help you decide how you can best grow.

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