There is good reason for Atlanta’s tech entrepreneurs to be optimistic about 2016. Despite unpredictable events – interest rate hikes, global calamities, election year rhetoric – there are predictable, fundamental ingredients in Atlanta’s recipe for 2016 global technology success.
As a self-appointed ambassador of Atlanta’s tech community, I regularly visit Silicon Valley, Boston, New York and international financial centers to study the areas where Atlanta can expand its tech community. A list of 2016 strategies focuses on Atlanta’s opportunities for achieving a global reputation as a city of excellence for tech businesses – from Fortune 100 companies to start-up entrepreneurs. Some worthwhile points are:
- A focus on tech business-to-business (B2B) solutions: "Unicorn" companies (start-ups with valuations of $1 billion or more) providing consumers with social media apps often receive overwhelming media attention. But when I ask venture capital and private equity investors what's most attractive about Atlanta, their answers often focus on our business-to-business technology companies. A large number of investors seek steadily growing tech companies that offer business solutions. Atlanta has a unique advantage in the increasing number of B2B tech companies of interest to global investors.
- Showcase variety: Venture investors are attracted to the impressive variety of converging Atlanta businesses in cybersecurity, mobility, financial technology, digital marketing and health care IT. Although we may not concentrate on just one vertical sector, our strength is the diversity of large and small companies in wide-ranging technology fields.
A byproduct is the ease of interaction between Atlanta’s Fortune 500 global companies and start-up entrepreneurs. Where else can the founder of an early stage company have access to “C” level executives? Thanks to the leadership of the Metro Atlanta Chamber and the Technology Association of Georgia (with more than 30,000 members), executives from traditional and entrepreneurial businesses work together to promote tech growth.
- Encourage investors to pursue Atlanta deals: My travels to Silicon Valley are laser-focused on introducing California investors to our city's leaders and government officials who're committed to supporting technology expansion. These global investors often provide critical financing to accelerate growth of our entrepreneurial companies.
Growth financing is plentiful for early stage tech companies with scaling revenues and happy customers. Private equity funds have a keen interest in fast-growing Southeast technology companies. They view Atlanta as fertile ground to invest at reasonable valuations.
- Support our thriving infrastructure: Thanks to the Advanced Technology Development Center and the Atlanta Tech Village, our city is being viewed favorably as supportive of tech growth. Our continuing global success requires the metro Atlanta area to invest in infrastructure to attract and retain talent, investors, entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies. This suggests an acceleration of support for the coordinated efforts of our government leaders and initiatives to promote growth in health care, financial tech, cybersecurity and mobility innovation.
- Atlanta talent is plentiful – spread the word: Technology talent is the fuel driving growth. Incubators, accelerators, university-supported initiatives and a great quality of life motivate millennials to stay after graduation.
A partner in a prominent West Coast venture fund recently noted the significance of reasonably priced programmers, engineers and sales leaders in Atlanta. While his fund may start a tech company in California, he emphasized that its real growth occurs elsewhere – and he specifically mentioned Atlanta as a favored area for expansion. We need to spread the word that tech talent is plentiful and encourage companies to establish a beachhead, and expand, here.
Major challenges still need to be addressed – transportation, state support for venture investing, greater focus on primary education and coordination between Atlanta and the rest of Georgia. Also, we need to avoid political and legislative actions that undercut the openness and southern friendliness of the “city too busy to hate.”
The message should be that all are welcome in the Atlanta community, especially those who want to support one of the fastest-growing centers of technology expansion on the globe.
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