2019 might already be off to a great start, but what's in store for the Atlanta tech ecosystem this year?
We here at Atlanta Inno asked ourselves the same question, and got together with experts in the field to get their predictions on how tech will change and stay the same in Atlanta this year. Here is the future we're seeing in our crystal ball.
Robotic Solutions, Marketing and Fintech to Take Off
We saw a strong year for Atlanta fintech and marketing last year, so expect that to continue in 2019.
"Marketing, marketing automation and communications (social, email, etc.) will continue to be strong in Atlanta, as will security," Sanjay Parekh of Prototype Prime said. "But I'm seeing more and more fintech startups too - buoyed by successes like Kabbage and others. I also think there is a swell of IoT companies---some that are pure play but others that meld security and IoT together---that are making great strides."
Serial entrepreneur and co-founder of the Atlanta Tech Village David Cummings said we should also keep an eye on more robotic solutions applied to traditional industries that struggle to innovate, such as robotic lawnmowers.
Fewer Deals, Bootstrapping
Expect the trend of fewer deals with larger dollar amounts to continue. Cummings said investors with tremendous amounts of money on the sidelines will double down on the winning startups this year.
"Look for one or two more breakout startups to emerge this year raising large rounds," he said.
Parekh agreed, but said bootstrapping might be a bigger trend in 2019.
"Given the economy and the financial outlook I think we'll see more smaller deals and more companies deciding to forgo funding and bootstrap punctuated by a handful of very large deals," he said. "You can see some of this mentality in the fact that Indie VC is having the second stop on their tour about v3 of their fund in Atlanta."
Correction of Valuations
Connor Davidson of the Atlanta Seed Company said there's been a lot of talk around a looming correction in the private markets, which is somewhat justified by the recent volatility in the public markets. This could very well have an adverse effect on later stage startups, he said, that are trying to raise later rounds or an IPO, particularly if they haven't shown any profitability.
"As far as Atlanta is concerned, investors in the southeast have always assigned more conservative valuations," he said. "Leading up to a correction, this may very well attract a significant amount of capital from major tech hubs as they seek value. In the meantime, entrepreneurs should err on the side of caution, and make sure that the valuations they negotiate on any new funding is justified by their financial performance, not just their aspirations."
IPOs Are Coming
For 2019, Parekh is predicting at least one IPO or a company announcing its preparing for an IPO. Notable mentions such as Lyft, Uber, Slack and other major tech companies across the country will be trying to go public in 2019.
"I'm hopeful that if this comes to pass, it will help start lubricating the local startup investment scene and create another boom of startups like what happened when ISS went public and then was acquired in 2006," he said.
Connect and Tell Our Story
In addition to these predictions, we asked the experts to tell us what legwork our community needs to do to make 2019 our year.
Given that it takes about one to three years for a hot startup to emerge, Cummings said the legwork our community puts in this year will be reflected in the coming years.
"Look for more specialized meetups and pitch events to help bring the community together," he said.
Parekh said the biggest challenge for us this year is one he's been harping on for years---Atlanta struggles to do a great job of telling our story.
"When you talk to people---in Atlanta or outside---and make them understand that MailChimp, Kabbage and Pindrop are all unicorn+ status (and there are more) as well as the fact that the NYSE is owned by a 18-year-old Atlanta startup, people realize how incredible metro Atlanta is," he said. "We need to tell that story better."
