Thread by @adammarx13

1/Massive bombshell new @TechCrunch article from my friend @jshieber on the exploding Atlanta tech scene! 💥

There's just a shit-ton of amazing things happening here. 😎🚀

(Thread/1) 👇

(Apologies in advance for the 🛶😂)

W/ help from @KathleenHamrick

techcrunch.com/2021/05/02/how…

2/This piece is like a who's who list of the ATL startup-tech scene. 👇

Things are growing like crazy here -- according to @lisa_calhoun of @valorvc, VC investment over the last year alone shot to $1B. 💸💸

We're turning ATL into the center of startup-tech in the Southeast.

3/But while ATL is burgeoning, up till recently, it seems as if it's been relatively ignored by SV & tech.

“The Southeast is 24% of the US GDP, but only accounts for 7% of the venture investment"
-- @BlakePatton (@techsquarevc & @engagevc)

Massive room for growth.

4/The '96 Olympics were a catalyst. 🏅🤔

"Atlanta Gas Light had the largest dark fiber ring in the country surrounding Atlanta...We had Georgia Tech working on the next generation of aerospace, and they added computer engineering..." -- @downtown_CB (@LaunchPad2x)

5/Then amidst the .com bust, ATL birthed a one-day-would-be unicorn: @Mailchimp, from @benchestnut & @dkurzius. 🐵🚀

I remember reading this @Forbes article in 2018 when Mailchimp hit a $42.B valuation.

forbes.com/sites/alexkonr…

6/As @jshieber notes tho, other co's also set the stage for the ATL tech Renaissance.

@wanderingwifi (soon to be @AirWatchCareers) (founded by John Marshall) & Internet Security Systems (founded by Tom Noonan & Chris Klaus) made huge ripples in ATL. 🙌

internetnews.com/bus-news/artic…

7/The 2006 launch of @VentureAtlanta def created a new catalyst in the ecosystem here. 🔥🚀

👇 '06 also saw the launch of @Pardot (acq. @salesforce) from @davidcummings & @AdamBlitzer.

Cummings would go on to fund & run the @ATLTechVillage in Buckhead.

8/Also in '06:

- ClearLeap (acq. @IBM) from @braxtonjarratt, Drake Henderson & John Vecchio (now working w/ @secretsig at Mosley Ventures)

And Cloud Sherpas (acq. @Accenture) from @cohnhead & @seanobrienATL -- who have partnered again & just launched @OverlineVC! 🚀🚀

9/Interestingly enough, it was around the time of the Mailchimp piece (2018) that I wrote this thought-piece on what seemed to be happening here.

(Worth noting also that @tristanwalker announced the move of @walkercobrands to ATL around this time too).

adammarxsmind.com/2018/12/12/atl…

10/We have:

@cardlytics (@Lynne_Laube @Scott_Grimes_, Hans Thiesen, 2018 IPO)
@KabbageInc (@Kabbitch @KabbageRob @marcgorlin, acq. AmEx $850M)
@Calendly (@TopeAwotona, $3B val)
@SalesLoft (@kyleporter, $1B val)
@pindrop (@pauljudge, @Vijay_Voice, Mustaque Ahamad funding: $220M)

11/And those were just some of ones founded around the same '06 period (lest we forget @Partpic (@jewelmelanie, acq. @amazon)).

Then we got @BIPCapital in the same year. 💸📈

And now, just 2 months ago, BIP & @pauljudge announced their new partnership: @panoramicvc. 🚀

12/If you swing north into Buckhead, you find the aforementioned @ATLTechVillage which @davidcummings partnered w/ @david_lightburn on to create in the last decade -- plus @AtlantaVentures which also included @kc_houghton until last week (she just launched @GivingInfinite!). 💸🚀

13/But @ATLTechVillage isn't the only spot where ATL founders are congregating -- we have:

@GatheringSpots, @switchyards, @atdc, @TechSquare, & @PonceCityMarket (where @techstarsatl is & where Mailchimp used to work out of).

Plus sources like @hypepotamus & @UrbanGkz ✍️

🏢🏬

14/But those aren't the only publications that have noticed Atlanta's takeoff in recent years. 💥

I was sitting at @techstars' Atlanta demo day back in 2019 when I saw & subsequently tweeted this @crunchbasenews piece from my friend @bayareawriter. 🙌

news.crunchbase.com/news/from-the-…

15/January 2021 brought another @crunchbasenews piece, this one from @SophiaKunthara re: ATL's 5-year high in funding. 💸🚀📈

Not to mention the subsequent @TechCrunch pieces from @ingridlunden on unicorns like @Calendly &

news.crunchbase.com/news/funding-t…

16/And this thread from @RomeenSheth last Nov. really set the Atlanta dialogue on fire in tech circles.

👇🔥

https://twitter.com/RomeenSheth/status/1329453038172508162

17/It's why I was immensely excited to work with @AlyintheATL & lead the Tech/Fintech track last Nov. for @techstars' ATL Startup Week, even as we all made due with the pandemic. 🙌

18/And it's why the orange sunglasses are gonna be showing up around Atlanta for a long time. 😎

19/Because this thread isn't long enough (🤣), here are just a ton of Atlanta rockstars you should know:

💥

@joeydigital (mentioned in the TC piece!)
@KateAtwood
@thisiskp_
@whit4th
@ericastanley
@StefanieJewett
@AntoineWoodsJr
@Kunbiti
@tami__mcqueen
@PhilipLakin
@AsiaOrangio

20/More ATL ppl who should be on your radar 📡

@davempayne
@Charlton_87
@HollyBeilin
@jaceylucus
@byKylan
@jbrath
@mariwhitehurst1
@ryan_a_bell
@KatColeATL
@susleec
@S_Saxner
@JonnyBird
@thewordpainter

/End.

(For now.😆)