David Cummings on Startups

Atlanta Startup Advantages: Young Professionals

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David Cummings

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Atlanta added more people than any other metro region since 2000. Naturally, a large percentage of this population growth is from young professionals, age 25 – 34, informally known as the “young and restless.” These young professionals are looking to advance their careers and are the perfect people for startups.

TAG, the largest technology group in the state, recently added a Young Professionals society to promote networking and learning among this fast growing demographic. Forbes, in 2007, ranked Atlanta as #3 best city in the country for young professionals. An article just last month in the AJC revealed that Forsyth County is among the top 10 counties in the country for young professionals that make over $100k/year.

What does this mean for startups? This means that there’s a highly educated workforce here, that’s early in their career, and ready to make an impact on the world. Young professionals are an advantage for Atlanta startups.

Comments

3 responses to “Atlanta Startup Advantages: Young Professionals”

  1. Adam Wexler Avatar
    Adam Wexler

    Great points, David. Considering the dynamics have dramatically changed in just the last five years, I think more & more young professionals will turn into entrepreneurs at earlier ages. The tools are at their fingertips…and many of them are FREE.

    I would love to see Atlanta become a hub for entrepreneurial young professionals.

    The question remains: How can we attract more of them? I know the program at UGA has been getting off the ground in the last few years. I know your alma matter recently started an incubator, but from my outside perspective, Ga Tech has yet to really push their students in that direction…though the students have done it themselves through the Young Entrepreneurs Society (YES).

    Reply
    1. Vladik Avatar
      Vladik

      GT pushes their students in the entrepreneurial direction with multiple initiatives. Could they be doing a better job? Sure, but who couldn’t be? Even Stephen Fleming said it himself, when he went to benchmark the top schools in the country in regards to incubators, he realized that all of them were looking at GT as the leader.

      Reply
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