Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/high-rise-buildings-near-green-trees-under-blue-sky-5063779/Atlanta has never been a stranger to business innovations. In fact, it’s been a host to many influential global powerhouses such as Coca-Cola, UPS, and The Home Depot for decades. But it hasn’t been since the last few years that the city started to become known as a haven for new and experienced entrepreneurs alike, especially in the tech scene. One might associate this newfound reputation with the recent growing presence of tech giants like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft in Atlanta but this is the effect rather than the cause. These are additions to an already healthy tech economy in the area, which has been a breeding ground for many tech companies such as Mailchimp, Global Payments, Ebix, and NCR along with many others.There are a lot of intermingled factors that have laid the groundwork for the emergence of Atlanta as an epicenter of economic growth in the US, but the diverse talent pool and high-quality education are perhaps the city’s most valuable assets. Highly Skilled and Diverse Labor ForceAtlanta is home to 57 colleges and universities, spanning from top-tier historically black colleges like Spelman and Morehouse to the nation’s top public universities like Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia which is an hour’s drive from downtown Atlanta. The city ranks 7th in annual student enrollment, 6th in college graduates, and among the top 7 in the number of degrees awarded in the fields of computer sciences, engineering, business arts, math, biological sciences, and health professions. Hundreds of thousands of students go to college in Atlanta and they form the workforce backbone of the city’s tech cluster.On the other side of the equation, big corporations are constantly looking for ways to diversify and to give opportunities to new groups of people who are often underrepresented in the tech scene. To this end, they tend to pick Atlanta as their premier destination as it has the highest concentration of the most educated diverse group of workers in the country along with a lot of relatively cheap undeveloped land for them to expand and build offices and campuses on.In addition, Atlanta is one of the top 20 metropolitan economies in the world and it’s home to a flourishing business community that includes 29 Fortune 1000 companies, of which 16 companies rank in the top 500. The major presence of these high-profile companies has created a seedbed for the growth of a healthy innovation ecosystem. They serve as potential customers and strategic partners for many Atlanta startups who are constantly coming up with cutting-edge solutions.Atlanta has always had the natural ingredient to be a successful tech hub. Georgia Tech—one of the best academic engineering schools in the US with top-notch computer science and engineering programs—has given birth to Atlanta’s vibrant tech community, tech square which has recruited a high volume of private investment and has become a hub with the highest density of startups, research laboratories, and innovation centers in the deep south. It’s a place that convenes a lot of different big companies who are working in close proximity to each other which results in a constant emergence of new ideas that take form and propel the ecosystem forward.Atlanta’s well-developed transportation infrastructure is another factor that has played a significant role in the city’s growth and development. Atlanta has the busiest airport in the entire country, making it not only a common destination for many highly talented entrepreneurs and business professionals to participate in tradeshows and partnering events, but also to start companies to utilize the robust international business network shaped around it while enjoying relatively low costs of logistics.Atlanta Tech VillageSince 2003, Atlanta has been home to the Atlanta Tech Village, a space that was created by the Atlanta Technology Village (ATV), a non-profit organization dedicated to connecting and cultivating entrepreneurs in the area. The Village houses more than 100 companies from different industries, many of which are tech-related. The Village is home to several accelerators and incubators such as the Atlanta Tech Village Accelerator, Hypepotamus, and the Techstars Atlanta. Atlanta Tech Village was founded by David Cummings after his $100 million exit from Pardot—which ended up as the largest bootstrapped SAS acquisition on record—with the goal to drive Atlanta into one of the top 5 tech cities in the United States. ATV is the fourth largest tech hub in America fostering over 300 different startups centered around proprietary technology. It provides a supportive and collaborative environment with amenities and access to the talent and capital required for the success of any startup and by hosting over 700 full-time events a year, it serves as a gold mine for pitching, networking, and learning opportunities for the entire tech scene in Atlanta. Atlanta has also seen an emergence of a new kind of incubator called co-living, which is an important part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the city. Co-living spaces are essentially open floor-plans shared by a group of people who want to live together and balance their work and personal lives. Unlike traditional dormitories, co-living spaces are independent from universities and serve as community-based work-labs for entrepreneurs. They are also a great place for people to network and build trust.Some other lifestyle factors are magnets for the ongoing growth of the tech scene. To name a few: Atlanta is a city that’s just a stone’s throw away from Washington, D.C. and New York City. It’s a quick flight away from the rest of the country, making it a convenient place for entrepreneurs to travel to. Many investors and tech executives in Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston make frequent trips to Atlanta, which makes it easier for Atlanta startups to network with these potential investors and partners. Not only about small startups, Atlanta is home to a lot of big companies—companies that are at the forefront of innovation. These big companies provide opportunities for Atlanta startups to get exposure and to secure partnerships that could potentially bring in a lot of new traffic and users for them.Atlanta has a lot of affordable office spaces. In fact, the average cost of one square foot of office space in Atlanta is half the price of the same in San Francisco. Similarly, the cost of living in Atlanta is very reasonable. The city has a lot of restaurants and entertainment options that are very affordable, making it a great place to raise a family while still balancing a personal budget and getting out to enjoy life.Atlanta’s culture of shared growth is at the heart of its future-oriented trajectory. It offers a solid foundation for all entrepreneurs, technologists, designers, and creatives who wish to build a future by solving complex problems. It’s a diverse city of multidisciplinary and super-driven people with a variety of backgrounds working on ideas to help the community flourish as a whole. It’s the birthplace of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the home of the non-violent social justice movement, one of the most important movements in American history whose values are evidently reflected in the city’s spirit.
