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ATLANTA
Southern hospitality is everywhere in the commerce hub of the South. There truly is a tight-knit startup scene anchored by Georgia Tech. And since it’s a smaller pond than the ocean that is the Valley, you don’t need to have founded Facebook to attract the best talent—and you don’t need a couple million dollars to buy a house. Though the scene is still scattered and the low cost of living means startups doomed to fail crawl to their grave far too slowly, Atlanta does have talented startups in ad-tech, security, and health, as well as big names in MailChimp, whose mispronounced ad before every Serial podcast you probably remember.
VENTURE ACTIVITY Q4’15 - Q3’16
VC FUNDING: $1.7B
DEALS: 133
EXITS: 64
5 YEAR YoY FUNDING GROWTH: 26.6%
5 YEAR YoY DEAL GROWTH: 2.3%
Source: CB Insights
ATLANTA AT A GLANCE
Power Breakfast
Babs
Corner Café
Folk Art
Gato
Juliana’s
Highland Bakery
Sublime Donuts
Sun in My Belly
Waffle House
Coffee Shops to Start Up In
Atlanta Coffee Roasters
Octane
Best Bar
5 Seasons
Blind Willie’s
Cypress Pint and Plate
Local Beer
420 Extra Pale Ale
Blind Willie’s
Monday Night Brewing
Wild Heaven
“Must Be At” Local Events
Chamblee Antique Row
Dogwood Festival
Dragon Con
Inman Park Festival
Music Midtown
Woodruff Park
In the Know
Atlanta is home to the world’s busiest airport, and the city is a convenient three hours from most major American cities.
THE TOP
ANGELS
David Cummings
Jason Seats
Jimmy Liu
Jon Gordon
Paul Judge
Sig Mosley
VCs
BIP Capital
Cox Venture Fund
Forte Ventures
Fulcrum Equity Partners
Kinetic Ventures
Noro-Moseley Partners
TechOperators
Tech Square Ventures
ACCELERATORS
ATDC—Advanced Technology and Development Center
Atlanta Ventures Accelerator (Atlanta Tech Village)
Flashpoint
Switchyards
ENTREPRENEURSHIP EVENTS
Digital Summit
Govathon
HackGT
Startup Chowdown
Startup Lounge
Venture Atlanta
Q4’15 - Q3’16 TOP FUNDING ROUNDS
Carvana—$160M
Kabbage—$135M
Ankura Consulting Group—$100M
Pindrop Security—$75M
RiverMend Health—$60M
