12th Annual Venture Atlanta Offers New, Different Perspectives

Another Venture Atlanta conference is behind us, and it was a good reflection of our current vibrant economy. This year’s event was a sell-out with attendees comprised of entrepreneurs, startup founders, business executives, and investors from around the country. It’s amazing to see that what started out with just a couple hundred people in attendance and 20 funds has grown to over 1,000 annual attendees and close to 225 funds.

While a lot was familiar about this year’s event, there were also some notable differences, with one of them being the growing geographic diversity of presenting companies. This year, 35 percent of presenting companies came from outside the Atlanta area, underscoring the fact that Venture Atlanta has truly grown into being a regional event, not just a local one.

I also noticed that a good share of presenting companies was outside the scope of the traditional investment opportunities we typically see. Some novel ones that really caught my attention:

• Boatsetter, the largest and fastest growing boat rental platform that allows people to rent boats directly from boat owners with full transparency on price, in just a few clicks. If you don’t want to drive the boat yourself, you can also add a captain to your trip.
• Get Spiffy, Inc., which offers “come to you” car washing, detailing, and more scheduled via a computer, landline phone, or mobile phone app.
• MyPorter, a full-service storage company that manages the pickup, storage, and retrieval of “stuff,” eliminating the frustration and inconvenience of self-storage facilities.
• Paw.com, an award-winning designer and manufacturer of innovative pet products, including orthopedic memory foam PupRug™ pet beds that also double as attractive area rugs.
• Rent Ready, which delivers an end-to-end, “make-ready” service for apartment communities, eliminating the need for several vendors to get an apartment ready for rent.
• Trellis, which helps farmers grow 30 percent more and use 50 percent less water with its on-farm sensor network & AI-enabled software.

Where Marketing Is Going
As a marketer, I of course pay attention to what’s being talked about in terms of marketing technology (martech) and marketing trends in general. I sat in on one presentation at Venture Atlanta about a new technology that enables marketers to interact with potential consumers via text. It hinges around permission-based marketing in which consumers give their consent to be contacted—in this case, by text.

As new legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the soon to be in effect California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) work to protect consumer privacy and data, I think permission-based marketing will become increasingly important across all communications channels, not only for regulatory compliance but also to build customer trust.

Fireside Chat
I particularly enjoyed the fireside chat held on the first day of Venture Atlanta with Scott Chacon and Rachel Spasser. Chacon co-founded Github and is now co-founder and CEO of Chatterbug, and Spasser is managing director and chief marketing officer for the Accel-KKR Consulting Group.

I found Chacon’s latest venture to be an interesting one in that Chatterbug presents a new way to learn a foreign language. The system helps you master language skills through adaptive courses that respond to the way you learn and one-on-one video sessions with native speakers from around the world. Chacon said that he thinks the world would be a better place if everyone spoke a second language, and his employees are tasked with learning a new language every year.

I’m considering using Chatterbug myself to learn Spanish.

Since its inception, the goal of Venture Atlanta has been to connect companies to capital. The annual event plays an important role in our technology and venture ecosystem and I was pleased to be able to attend once again this year. I saw lots of familiar faces, caught up with some old friends, and made new ones, as well. Overall, the mood was ebullient and full of energy. I’d like to offer a sincere thank you to all those who have worked over the years to make Venture Atlanta what it is: the premier investor showcase in the Southeast.

Did you attend this year’s Venture Atlanta? If so, what was your favorite part?