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November 6, 2019

Venture Atlanta Recap 2019: Success Breeds Success.

“Success breeds success.”

When Alex Estevez, the 2019 Venture Atlanta conference chair and venture partner with Accel, kicked off the 12th annual Venture Atlanta conference on October 16, 2019, with the above statement, it wasn’t just an empty line. It was a promise for the start of the biggest, most influential Venture Atlanta conference to date.

Venture Atlanta 2019 By the Numbers

  • 1100 Attendees
  • 335 Investors Representing 224 Funds Nationwide
  • 325 Company Applications Submitted
  • 35 Presenting Companies
  • 42 Showcase Companies
  • 8 States Across the Southeast Represented
  • 675 Meetings Booked Through the App

Thanks to our board, sponsors, partners, presenters, attendees, and the entire community, we were able to successfully showcase the strength of entrepreneurship, technology, and business growth in the Southeast. The reviews speak for themselves: 

“Can’t wait to come back!”

“One of the best venture conferences I’ve attended as an investor or entrepreneur.”

“This was my first time at Venture Atlanta, and I was blown away by the quality of companies, investors and networking. They do a great job with this conference!

“#VA2019 crushed it! Everyone says so.”

“Fantastic turnout of innovative companies at Venture Atlanta”

“If you’re an entrepreneur and you’re not at the Venture Atlanta, you’re not serious.”

What was new in 2019?

We debuted a variety of sessions to educate and inspire — from “Building a Unicorn” to “Building a Winning Team.” We introduced corporate development panels geared toward late-stage companies and investors. We listened to insightful fireside chats with Aaron Levie of Box and Scott Chacon of GitHub and Chatterbug. We honored the life and legends of our friends and colleagues Greg Foster and Reggie Bradford. 

Venture Atlanta 2019 was one for the books, and we can’t wait to see what funding, acquisitions, and other life-changing results come from the connections made during our two-day event. 

Venture Atlanta 2019 Speakers: Quotes We Loved

“The most interesting type of start-up is not in a space that doesn’t exist. What’s interesting to me are large markets that are poorly served. Coming from a customer standpoint, saying that we can make something that people actually want to do, that’s what I care about.” – Scott Chicon, former Co-Founder, Github, now Co-Founder and CEO of Chatterbug @ Day 1 Fireside Chat 

“I compare running a startup to playing a new video game. The key is not to die on the level, but to keep going.” – Jyoti Bansal, Founder of AppDynamics and Unusual Ventures @ Day 1 Building a Unicorn Chat 

“Take every touch point you have with an acquirer seriously. Every single one of those touch points fit the strategy long term, and the value of those pieces is important. Remember, timing has to work from both sides. If it’s not this year, that’s ok. Two, three, four, five years from now, maybe they’ll be ready.” – Phil Kirk, Senior Director of Corporate Business Development @ Day 2 Corporate Development/M&A Panel #1  

In many ways, developing a relationship with a company is no different than going out as a CEO for new business. It’s really important to know about the company you’re trying to engage with — where are they trying to grow, what are they interested in. It’s better to understand the motivation and the stakeholders, whether it’s corp dev or something else. IF you have the time, you can start building those relationships, and over time you can play on that. “ – Seksom Suriyapa, Twitter Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategy @ Day 2 Corporate Development/M&A Panel #2 

“Our first question for everything is: How scalable is it? “ – Lisa Marchese, American Express Head of Corporate Development  @ Day 2 Corporate Development/M&A Panel #2 

“Our first venture capitalist was my cofounder, and our first fundraiser was from online poker. It’s not really sustainable, but it depends on how good you are at poker.” – Aaron Levie, CEO, Co-Founder and Chairman, Box @ Day 2 Morning Fireside 

“Meet people where they’re at. The first thing I learned in coaching was don’t expect all your players to be like you, learn to be where they are. I wouldn’t win the games if I played only the players who were there at every practice. Not everyone is like you, and it’s all in finding where they can be most useful.” – Nicki Collen, Head Coach, The Atlanta Dream @ Day 2 All-Star Sports Panel 

“It’s good to make money, to drive nice cars and live in a mansion, but sometimes you have to take one or two seconds and you have to look behind you. You have to see how you can have an impact on society. We are not here by ourselves. Go see how other people are living. It can change your life.” – Dikembe Mutombo, NBA Basketball Great @ Day 2 All=Star Sports Panel  

Presenting Companies Lineup: Venture Atlanta 2019 Recap

Day 1

Day 2

Introducing Venture Atlanta 2020 Chairman: Kelly Gay 

In case you missed our announcement at the conference, we’re thrilled to announce Kelly Gay, Chief Operating Officer at Numerex Corp., VP and IoT Verticals at Sierra Wireless, and long-time Venture Atlanta board member, will take the helm of Venture Atlanta 2020 as chairman. Kelly, who was previously president of Security Solutions at Numerex Corp., has led many initiatives launching new business offerings, accelerating revenue growth, and expanding strategic partnerships. We’re excited to have her leadership for 2020, so stay tuned for updates. 

To stay up to date with Venture Atlanta and what to look forward to next year, subscribe to our newsletter. We look forward to seeing you next year! 

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