Village News

Life as a Villager

November 4, 2015

What exactly does life look like at Atlanta Tech Village? With 103,000 square feet, 900+ members, and over 260 startups, we have a vibrant community of entrepreneurs. While no startup story is the same, our members are like minded in their quest to build, innovate, and seize every opportunity. We are friendly, we are supportive, and we like to have a good time. There are no stuffy corporate rules here, but a building full of resources that will help you scale and bring your startup to market.Without using more words, this video is a short glimpse into the life of a Villager. Follow Jerry (real life Villager, co-founder of Moxie Sports) as he begins his first day at the Village. He utilizes our mentors, practices his pitch, meets his co-founder (Carmyn, Founder of PostFav), moves from a Reserved Desk, to an office, to a corner suite. He scores some major funding, and celebrates with a rooftop party. Yes, this actually is what Village life is like. These are real mentors, investors, and entrepreneurs. This story line has happened multiple times over our short 2.5 years of existence. So watch, enjoy, and be inspired! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dO4QgVbU-Io

The Importance of Staying Focused in a Vibrant Environment

October 28, 2015

The following post was written by Tejus Parikh co-founder and CTO of Rivalry, an Atlanta, GA venture backed company. He writes about everything that goes into building a young company, from fund raising strategy to technical nitty gritty.The Atlanta Tech Village is a constantly buzzing startup space with a coffee shop, kegs in the community room, ping-pong tables, and a few hundred dedicated startups.

Incubate Messenger - the time delay messenger

October 21, 2015

Imagine sending a video of your baby boy drinking his first bottle to his 21st birthday: "Have a good 21st buddy - enjoy a bottle or two tonight - Love Dad." Imagine getting a video from a crazy night out in college a decade later while you're sitting at the airport for a business trip. Instant mood changer. What if your favorite grandparent could send you birthday wishes for the next 25 years? They might be gone, but they can still bring a smile to your face on your special day.

Top Ten Most Awkward Village Moments (and a Block Party)

October 14, 2015

Startups are hard. We see that first hand every day which is why our community encourages a work life blend and why we have a core value of Work Hard, Play Hard. So sometimes we like to remind our Village entrepreneurs just how awesome they are, how innovative and brave. We like to thank them for taking the plunge into being an entrepreneur. We like to thank them for choosing the Village. And just to show we mean it, we throw them a party. That's just how we roll.So here is a sneak peak at some of the fun we had at our 2nd Annual Members Only Rooftop Block Party. It was pretty epic with Village swag, free drinks, food, photo booth, and DJ. And what's a good rooftop party without a Top Ten list? You may have to be a Villager to really enjoy some of these, but here are the Top Ten Most Awkward Village moments. We hope you have a chuckle or three.

Curricula - Disrupting Cyber Security Awareness

October 6, 2015

With the Internet of Things growing exponentially every day, we need to acknowledge the Security of Things. Hackers are using more and more advanced techniques and we need to learn how to protect ourselves against these emerging threats and vulnerabilities. Luckily, we have a lot of really innovative companies helping protect against and bring awareness to these cyber security risks. With October being National Cyber Security Awareness Month it's the perfect time to introduce you to Village startup- Curricula. Check out the interview with Founder, Nick Santora below.

Thinking about a startup? Here are 3 things you should do.

July 15, 2015

Have a startup or thinking about launching one? What do you wish you knew before taking the plunge? Advice is easy to find, but good advice from someone who has been there is a bit harder. That's why we decided to sit down with Jon Birdsong.If you are in the Atlanta tech community, you have probably heard of Jon. Part of the early team at Salesloft, he and Kyle Porter traveled to TechStars. A driven, charming guy, Jon is the quintessential entrepreneur and is one of the best networked folks I know.He is passionate about the Atlanta startup community and has long been a voice speaking in favor of our great city, and bringing the tech community together. Taking his experience at Tech Stars, Jon created Atlanta Startup Village which is the largest regular gathering of entrepreneurs in the Southeast and is currently the CEO of Rivarly.In this Village #TeachingTalk learn why Jon chose to get involved in startups and the three steps he believes will help you build a story you can take to investors.

Clockwise.MD Graduates from the Village

July 10, 2015

On June 2nd, 2013, six months after Atlanta Tech Village began, Mike Burke joined our community. As Founder and CEO of Lightshed Health, Mike was in the beginning stages of bootstrapping his latest startup and "officed" at a Reserved Desk in our pre-renovation coworking area. Mike's cofounders Phillip Han and Phong Si joined him at the Village in September 2013 after nearly a year of building the foundation of Clockwise.MD on nights and weekends after working their day jobs.Over the next two years, together they would develop their product Clockwise.MD and successfully raise $1M in startup capital that would allow them to grow their team to 19 talented folks. While at the Village, Clockwise.MD was offered several multi-million $ Series A investments, was invited to present at Venture Atlanta, named as a semifinalist at the MAX awards, and was a finalist at HIMSS HX360 as a Top Startup. As for traction, in their last 14 months at the Village they grew their patient usage from 18,000 users to 291,000 users resulting in 1500% growth!As Mike shared, "Being at the Village certainly provided some validation and cache that attracted the attention of investors. It was also important in winning some local and non-local customers. We got Children's Healthcare of Atlanta through the Village, via introductions from David at the Holiday Showcase. We were also able to meet with the head of WalMart Clinics in part because he wanted to see the Tech Village while he was in town."We have truly enjoyed having Mike and his team in the Village and we are honored to have been a small part of their startup story. Clockwise.MD is a great product that is solving a real problem (seriously, check it out) and they have a team of hard working, sincere, super likable folks, who have some killer dance moves.So as always, Village graduations are bittersweet. Clockwise.MD is officially joining the Village graduation ranks with Bitpay,insightpool, and Yik Yak. You are all in good company.Congratulations, y'all.

SidePrize - raising the stakes in fantasy leagues

June 23, 2015

If you have ever played in a fantasy league, you know one of the biggest pain points (other than losing) is collecting the money. Trash talking and side bets abound each season, but when it comes time to pay up, friends can become mysteriously absent. This problem has now been solved. Daily stakes, trash talking, and immediate payment now all come together with Adam Wexler's newest startup- SidePrize.Launching it's platform just last week, this fantasy sports startup brings the excitement of daily fantasy games to season-long leagues by enabling players to set real-money challenges on their own fantasy matchups.

Marketplace Meet- An Influencer Marketing Solution

June 10, 2015

The brain child of Carmyn Roots, Marketplace Meet is the #1 marketplace providing Influencer Marketing Solutions for brands. Their do-it-yourself platform makes it easy for Retailers to find, hire, and collaborate with social media stars to build awareness for their brands through sponsored endorsements. Carmyn is smart, engaging, and has a big vision for her startup. We can't wait for you to learn more about her influencer marketing model below.

The Investor Angel Tax Credit and How It Can Help Your Business

May 27, 2015

The following post was written by Tyler Disk of Smith and Howard.In an effort to continually increase economic activity within the state, Georgia offers numerous tax credits and incentives to help support businesses within the state. One of these credits is the Qualified Investor Tax Credit (“Angel Tax Credit”) which benefits anyone that operates or invests in a startup. With the surge of startups and innovation centers being established in Georgia – many of which are part of the Atlanta Tech Village community - it comes as no surprise that the state recently renewed this Angel Credit for another three years.

Yik Yak Graduates from the Village

May 21, 2015

On October 1st, 2013 Brooks Buffington applied for a Village scholarship as a Hot Desk member at the Village under his app called Dicho. After review, we extended an offer to Brooks and his cofounder Tyler Droll for a discounted rate of $100/month per person. He countered and asked if we would consider doing $50 each. We didn't, but lucky for us that didn't stop them from joining our community. Dicho was an app that helped people get their questions answered, no matter what they were. While that app wasn't the one that took off, their scholarship application asked one question that may have foreshadowed their future. When asked "What is your Dream Big dream?" Brooks said, "To become the number one based social media application out there, rivaling Twitter and Instagram in size.

Rise of the Rest is Coming to Atlanta

April 30, 2015

In cities and towns across America, startup communities are gaining momentum and rising up as entrepreneurs find it easier to start a business, innovate, and create jobs. We want to celebrate and accelerate this "Rise of the Rest" so the next wave of American entrepreneurship brings growth and prosperity all over the country. Rise of the Rest is a five-city tour that celebrates progress, invests in local startups and travels across the country to tell the stories of the people and companies that are working together to change the world. Next stop? Atlanta, GA.Steve Case, founder of AOL and chair and CEO of Revolution, is leading the charge and coming to Atlanta on Thursday, May 7th. The day encompasses a tour of local startups, meetings with civic leaders, and culminates in a fireside chat and pitch competition where one local startup will receive $100k investment from Steve Case, followed by a blowout party – all at Opera Nightclub in Midtown.This event is a community effort supported by all corners of the business and civic communities in Atlanta! It’s a great opportunity to meet and greet folks you’ve only ever talked to on Twitter, or those who you’ve been meaning to meet to and haven’t – go ahead, reach out, and plan to meet up at the Rise of the Rest!

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