ATLANTA – September 16, 2019 – Venture Atlanta, the premier venture capital conference in the Southeast, today announced its 2019 lineup of the region’s most promising tech companies that will present and be showcased during this year’s highly anticipated event on October 16-17. The largest annual two-day conference connecting entrepreneurs throughout the Southeast with over 200 national investor funds is now in its 12th year and has earned a reputation as a game-changing event, having helped launch over 350 companies and secure over $4.3 billion in funding to date.
“Venture Atlanta is the place where Southeast tech entrepreneurs gather to discover, connect, inspire and grow,” said Dave Payne, managing director of Techstars Atlanta and Venture Atlanta board member. “The most powerful collective group of industry leaders, investors and founders, Venture Atlanta has become the main showcase for game-changing innovation and technologies poised for massive growth.”
“With over one-third of the presenting companies coming from outside Georgia, Venture Atlanta is becoming Venture Southeast,” said Paul Iaffaldano, managing partner of BIP Capital and head of the Venture Atlanta selection committee. “After receiving hundreds of applicants – 50 percent more than last year – the 2019 list of top companies includes the best and brightest, representing more than ten states from Texas to Virginia.”
This year, 36 leaders representing venture and early-stage companies will take the podium to pitch their businesses while 42 additional startup executives will share their visions as “companies to watch” during a dedicated showcase and networking event.
Venture Atlanta 2019 will feature a keynote from Aaron Levie, chief executive officer, cofounder and chairman of enterprise cloud company Box. The event will also feature leading corporate development executives, including:
- Marc Brown, Microsoft – corporate vice president of Corporate Development, global head of M&A and Strategic Investments
- Murphy Clark, Red Ventures – executive vice president, Corporate Strategy and M&A
- Chris Hecht, Atlassian – head of Corporate Development
- Phil Kirk, Cisco – senior director, Investments
- James Loftus, Square – global head of Corporate Development
- Lisa Marchese, American Express — head of Corporate Development
- Matt Schweickert, The Home Depot – chief strategy officer
- Seksom Suriyapa, Twitter – vice president, Corporate Development and Strategy
Venture Atlanta sessions will begin with a panel moderated by Stephanie Cohen, chief strategy officer of Goldman Sachs, where she will reveal what strategy and corporate development leaders are looking for, trends in the market, and her firm’s process for evaluating deals.
Venture and Early-Stage Presenting Companies
The following 36 companies, in alphabetical order, have been chosen to present onstage at Venture Atlanta 2019:
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Startup Showcase Companies
In addition to the companies presenting onstage, Venture Atlanta will once again include an expanded Startup Showcase featuring 42 companies that represent the most exciting emerging technologies in the Southeast. These innovators will be highlighted during the conference’s main networking event to provide “sneak peeks” into their plans and products. The companies, in alphabetical order, include:
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Venture Atlanta is expected to draw a sold-out crowd of over 1,000 technology entrepreneurs, premier investors and key executives from across the country. The event will take place at Southern Exchange @ 200 Peachtree. Atlanta- based independent investment management firm, Invesco, is this year’s premier sponsor with Cherry Bekaert, Nelson Mullins and SunTrust as additional headline sponsors. Techstars will help kick off the conference on October 14 with Techstars Atlanta 2019 Demo Day in partnership with Cox Enterprises.
To register, view the conference schedule or access more information, visit www.ventureatlanta.org/conference.
