3 Atlanta Startup Community Themes

Earlier this week we hosted a panel discussion on current Atlanta startup community themes as part of the monthly the YPO breakfast series. We had a great discussion with three passionate entrepreneurs and a number of business leaders. Here are three major themes we discussed:

• Rise of the Entrepreneurship Center – Not just the Atlanta Tech Village, there are a half-dozen facility in the works from Downtown to Midtown to Buckhead and several of the suburbs. Entrepreneurship is cool, and Atlanta, as a real estate town, is building out a number of awesome spaces.
• Risk-Loving Capital is Absent – Even with the recent success stories, there’s at most a dozen people in town who write checks for pre-traction startups on a regular basis. The good news is that capital is mobile, especially due to communities like AngelList, such that entrepreneurs with working products and happy customers can raise money globally.
• Yik Yak as the B2C Breakthrough – Atlanta is a B2B tech town, with almost no consumer success stories. Now, with the Yik Yak sensation, and the big funding round from Sequoia, Atlanta entrepreneurs are emboldened to start more B2C companies. Brett Hurt is right that it’s a hits business and more swings are necessary to have more hits.

It’s a great time in the Atlanta startup community and we’ve made tremendous progress over the past 10 years. Entrepreneurship centers and a major B2C mobile-first startup are real progress. While local, risk-loving capital is never going to be prevalent, capital is mobile and finds the best opportunities.

What else? What are some more Atlanta startup community themes?