Learn about the unusual work environment and vitality of Atlanta Tech Village in a video on MyAJC.com.
When you pass the building at Lenox and Piedmont roads in Buckhead, you notice renovations on the outside are nearing completion, just one of the many building projects around town.
But it’s what’s going on inside this building at 3423 Piedmont Road that’s important — because what’s going on inside might be the birth of metro Atlanta’s 21st century economy.
The Atlanta Tech Village, brainchild of entrepreneur David Cummings, represents all that’s possible for a region that wants to remain an important economic player in these fast-moving times.
So what is exactly is the Atlanta Tech Village? Let’s start with the basics.
In December 2012, Cummings bought the building, which he said was about two-thirds occupied with typical office tenants. (He had the money to buy it because Cummings and his business partner had founded a company that they had sold for nearly $100 million.)
In January 2013, he sent out a tweet, saying he had 20 desks in the building that he could rent to people who needed a place to work on their new business ideas.
He sold out the next day.
“I realized that there was a pent-up demand,” he said.
Yes, but for what, exactly?
Cummings had the idea there were a lot of small, technology startups scattered around town. Their founders were just looking for a place where they could work. He also knew, as someone who’d done his own work as a startup, that maybe he could create something here.
“I always wanted to have a community of entrepreneurs,” he said. So he decided to construct a place for that.
He liked his location, near a MARTA station and with plenty of restaurants nearby. He believed Atlanta’s startup community needed a technology-friendly and millennial-friendly atmosphere. So he decided to create something that is definitely not your typical office building.
Instead of renting space, you buy a “membership.”
Just want a desk? Sign up for the $300 membership. A two-person office will cost you $800 per month.
The idea with the pricing? Stay away from traditional lease-per-square-foot, long-term commitments, and give startups a simple path to growth as they need it.
Half of the space in the building is reserved for common areas. It’s designed with plenty of light and few walls.
As the ATV website says, the deal includes “furniture, conference rooms, fast Internet access, kitchens stocked with snacks and … coffee, game rooms, lounges, free lunch Fridays, office hours with industry experts, social gatherings, networking events.”
There are routine gatherings where entrepreneurs share information, highlight their product ideas and solicit suggestions for help. They might do that in the building’s coffee shop, or at a small informal gathering in the hallway.
There’s a room where you can take a nap, since you might be working around the clock. And you might hear someone bang a gong — a sign that a company has secured investment money.
As companies grow, they move up to higher floors, with the top floor designed to accommodate those with larger staffs (think two dozen people).
One company that has moved up — quickly — is insightpool, a marketing startup that has gone from about five people to about 35 in the last 18 months. It has a client list that includes several of Atlanta’s biggest firms.
Chairman Devon Wijesinghe believes locating at the Atlanta Tech Village contributes to the company’s success.
“It has been key to our growth,” he said in a recent interview.
The company, which helps large companies market their products through social media, was the first to move in.
Wijesinghe is adamant that the tech village is not about office space. The environment of positive, innovative entrepreneurs is key. The ATV has created “engineered serendipity.”
“It’s a state of mind,” he said. “How can you use the assets around you to catalyze what you’re trying to accomplish?”
Cummings acknowledges that his plan isn’t typical of what commercial office space investment requires. He was able to buy his building outright and isn’t dealing with a mortgage or investors who might want big returns. In fact, he said, his approach doesn’t really make the tech village viable as a real estate investment, although he figures he’s getting a 5 percent return on the building, which is 100 percent occupied.
But he’s after something much bigger than turning quick dollars by renting office space.
“The tech village has been a beacon of light,” he said.
His vision is simple and audacious: Make Atlanta a Top 10 city for startups.
Cummings believes Atlanta has the potential to be a startup focal point for the country, and that the ATV is “building an identity for Atlanta that helps make Atlanta proud of its entrepreneurial community.”
He also believes the companies incubating there can attract growing amounts of venture capital money.
“We need more entrepreneurs with businesses that are working at a small scale,” he said. Venture capital money will follow, he says.
If that happens, startups could flock to Atlanta. And after all, isn’t this how so many iconic business successes start out, with someone who’s determined and believes deeply in an idea?
“Technology is not a fleeting industry for Atlanta,” Cummings said. “Many success stories are going to come out of these innovations.”
