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

Pivot, ATV Style.

Today's blog is written by Kevin Sandlin, an active member and entrepreneur at Atlanta Tech Village. We often talk about platforms for serendipitous interactions at the Village- here is one member's story. According to the Lean Startup methodology, you find a customer before you start a business, and then you build your business around solving that customer's needs. That process is called customer discovery, and it's painful, insightful, educational, and absolutely necessary before starting a business.

Family day at Startup Chowdown!

If you are a startup, it's pretty likely that those closest to you don't always understand exactly what you do. And if you are a member of Atlanta Tech Village, they may be confused as to why you play ping pong, get free tshirts, and ride razor scooters at work. I mean this is work, right? We want to help our entrepreneurs better share their work life with their home life and have made tomorrow, July 12th, Startup Chowdown Family Day!Members are invited to bring their parents, significant others, kids, grandparents- all of them are free and welcome to join us for lunch and a look at startup life at ATV. Not a member? You are still welcome! Tickets are $10 but kids still eat free! Buy tickets HERE.Starting at 12pm we will be serving pizza and King of Pops on the 5th floor event space. We will have music, crayons and a coloring page for the kids, free t-shirts, and of course our infamous scooters. After lunch we will have a special greeting by Atlanta Tech Village founder, David Cummings, followed by the opportunity for a formal tour at 1pm to see the space we work in.See everyone tomorrow for Startup Chowdown Family Day!This awesome event is sponsored by your favorite place to work- Atlanta Tech Village.

Becoming Atlanta's Tech Hub

Part of our overarching mission at Atlanta Tech Village is to be a hub for tech entrepreneurs and startups in Atlanta. There are only a handful of places around town that offer space suitable for tech meetups or startup pitch nights with amenities like blazing fast wifi, free parking, and an inclusive, collaborative feel (Hypepotamus and ATDC among them).We said to ourselves back in January, "let's try to have one event a week," but boy, were we underestimating the desire for meeting & collaboration space. Since we opened our doors, tons of groups have hosted meetups, workshops, social events, and more. It has been so fun to see so many new faces come through the Village, and to witness serendipitous interactions firsthand. The events calendar is packed for July-- literally, there is something scheduled on every weekday in July, as well as a few weekends, and most of these events are free and open the the public (make sure you check out the full schedule here).What's been especially cool to see is the ripple effect that the Village has, drawing new people and groups into the Atlanta tech startup community, and bringing Atlanta into the minds and onto the lips of innovators, influencers, and connectors around the country. Here are just a few examples I want to highlight:

Why Buckhead?

One of the questions I often get asked about Atlanta Tech Village is, “Why Buckhead?” Why did we choose Buckhead to be the home for the largest coworking facility in the Southeast? Tech Square in Midtown houses ATDC, Hypepotamus and Georgia Tech- all walking distance from each other. Buckhead, on the other hand, is on the north side of Atlanta and a solid 20 minute drive from this existing tech hub.

Atlanta Business Radio

Our second quarterly installment of the Atlanta Tech Village Special Edition on Atlanta Business Radio X was this week. It's an awesome opportunity to share what the Village is working towards and featuring some of our members.This week I was joined with Sandra Anderson and Melissa Davis- the founders of Elev8, Kevin Sandlin- founder of Deductmor, and Craig Hyde- CEO of Rigor. They did an great job!Listen here for their first hand accounts of building their companies, the challenges they face, and what life is like at Atlanta Tech Village!

Community Means Relationships

At Atlanta Tech Village we often talk about creating community. We want to be a place that is great because of our members and an environment that is amazing because of the people within it. The longer I am a Community Manager, the more aware I am that while the space is important, building community is more about relationships than anything else. And building relationships is something I love.Providing snacks aren’t just about putting food in the kitchen. I know Melissa loves Cool Ranch Dorritos, and Devon wants the shrimp flavored Cup o Noodles. I know Greg is gluten-free and loves our fruit snacks and Fritos. I love stopping by on a late Saturday night and saying hello to our favorite ATV couple, Jon and Anna, playing ping pong. I know Jane’s son ended up not getting drafted to go back overseas, and that Jamie and Adam are both engaged and planning weddings. I can plan on Eric, Adam, and Gareth playing the best pranks and I loved hearing that George and his wife had their baby girl. I know that if I need to ask for help, Peter C. is the guy to ask, and Kashi is the go-to for anything I want to know on the music scene. I know Michelle had a great trip to London and when Peter A. gets to travel to check out another ranch. This list could go on and on. Our members are a community and a place where I think many of us are becoming friends.So yes, we talk about building companies, doing demos and raising funding. We provide meet ups and learning opportunities and professional events. I watch people develop code, get big wins and weather through some losses. It can be the little things or the big, but they are all what help to create a deeper community. These relationships allow us to celebrate all successes with our startups, professional and personal. Because after all, that is often a blended line with entrepreneurs anyway, right?

Atlanta Startup Village #9 - Recap

Here we go again, folks! One of the most popular events on the Atlanta startup scene, Atlanta Startup Village happened tonight at Atlanta Tech Village. As usual, five amazing entrepreneurs presented their blood, sweat, and tears to an audience of over 200 peers, mentors, and investors. Here they are:

A Table for Entrepreneurs

We have invested a small fortune in IKEA furniture. Actually, it may not be that small. Providing furnishings to a 103,000 square foot building takes a lot of desks and tables. IKEA certainly helps our budget but when it came to buying our first community table for our Atlanta Ventures’ office, I wanted it to be something special. Local. A table that had a story. A table made by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs. A table that encourages conversation and community. Our end result was phenomenal– a custom table built with 100 year old reclaimed wood from a small town in rural Georgia, handcrafted by the folks at Lamon Luther.Lamon Luther began a few years ago when Brian Preston (Founder and Chief Story Teller) was able to forge a relationship with TC, a man who was homeless and had been livi

ATV Profile: Karen Houghton

If you haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting one of Atlanta Tech Village's amazing Community Managers, Karen Houghton, now is your chance! Karen's passion for social entrepreneurship and paying it forward have led her from the U.S. to Australia to Rwanda and everywhere in between.Karen holds a Bachelor’s degree with honors from Berry College and a Master’s degree in psychology. Prior to joining ATV, she was a Marketing Manager at Pardot, where she sourced opportunities to encourage thought leadership and identified key events and sponsorships that encouraged the tech community in Atlanta. From 2006-2012, she was with Land of a Thousand Hills Coffee Company where she designed and opened over a dozen coffee shops and founded the Do Good Initiative, an organization that provides funds for education, orphan care, and other needs of the coffee farming communities in east Africa. Karen led trips to Rwanda each summer and successfully completed several projects including the building of a primary school educating over 400 children in rural Rwanda.Karen loves to mark things off her bucket list including scuba diving in the Galapagos Islands, climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge and hang gliding in Rio de Janeiro. Her experience has taught her to value sustainable business, ethical leadership, and the universality of a solid brand. Karen is passionate about building intentional community at Atlanta Tech Village and is the friendly face that leads all of our tours. If you haven't come to visit yet, find out how here.Meet Karen!

It Takes a Village

Here at Atlanta Tech Village, we are humbled and honored to have so many awesome supporters helping us fuel Atlanta’s rise to a top five tech startup center. Just like any other startup working hard to change the world, small measures and grand gestures alike have a profound impact on our growth and success. I want to take this time to highlight and thank a few of those who have invested time, energy, and money into bringing the Village vision to life. If you haven’t had a chance to jump in yet, there are numerous opportunities for you to get involved. Read to the end for ways you can engage with Atlanta Tech Village.

Building a Sustainable Corporate Culture

Creating a positive, sustainable corporate culture is often one of the biggest challenges that companies face. You may know what you want but clearly articulating that to your team in a way they will remember and apply can be daunting. And how do you ensure that your culture is so well defined that it can sustain the growth you hope for without becoming diluted or forgotten amidst bottom lines and product development? Here are 5 ways to create a sustainable culture:1. Collaborate.Don’t dictate your culture to others. Instead, have your key players work with you and create your desired culture together. Having a team you can trust, and who knows their opinions are valued, will greatly contribute to your success.2. Create a one page strategic plan.Start with a basic SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) with your team or key players. Then create measurable goals and discuss how you will define your success. Your plan should be clear, concise, and fit on one page. Revisit this plan regularly to ensure your team is on track. If not, realign or use it as an opportunity to reset your strategy.3. Define your mission.Have a simple yet well defined mission statement. It should create a vision for the future but also have a measurable outcome. The ATV team had several drafts and conversations before we came up with ours.4. Overtly state your values.Know your values. State them and restate them. Make them simple and easy to remember. At ATV we have them printed on our key card lanyards, have each member sign a Values Agreement, have them posted on our Members Page and have started a Member of the Month award for a community member best demonstrating those values. The more we can reinforce our values, the better. Our values dictate our culture.5. Be authentic.Don’t create a culture that you can’t live by. Values are set from the top down and they need to be something you can demonstrate daily. Simply put, create a place where people WANT to be and celebrate those that help contribute to your desired culture. Use humor, have some fun, and trust your team.What do you think contributes most to a positive, sustainable corporate culture?

An Afternoon with ATV and Turnstone