Venture Atlanta announces new board members, plans hybrid conference in October

Venture Atlanta announced its team of board members who will help plan the companies, investors and speakers at the 2021 conference, scheduled for Oct. 20 and 21.

The conference, the Southeast’s largest investor showcase, will be a hybrid event, depending on the state of the pandemic. 

With 11 new members joining the 11 existing members, the board is the largest and most diverse group the conference has had, according to a Venture Atlanta announcement.  

Jim Douglass, named the 2021 chairman and partner at Fulcrum Equity Partners, said board members were also chosen to represent geographic diversity and a range of investment types — from early to growth stage. 

Those board members work in committees to find participants and sponsorships for the conference. A diversity committee makes sure the conference is intentional about choosing companies and investors, Douglass said. 

Companies are based mostly in the Southeast region, though Douglass said last year some came from as far as Texas and the mid-Atlantic area, which was possible in part because of its virtual setup. Investors can come from anywhere.  

"Our mission is to match companies with capital,” Douglass said. “The combination of digital and physical allows us to do that over a greater footprint.” 

Douglass said the members hope to continue the high production quality and efficient connectivity that attendees raved about after the 2020 virtual conference.  

More than 1,200 people watched the 2020 conference, according to the Venture Atlanta CEO Allyson Eman. Some companies pitched via video conference while others pitched on the Venture Atlanta stage, where an audience wasn’t allowed. Panels also had discussions on a stage without an audience. 

The conference platform had Zoom rooms so companies and investors could network, an interactive agenda and an option to create one-on-one meetings. 

Much of those same features will be carried over this year, but the conference hopes to also have an audience, Douglass said.  

"We want to bring back a physical component to what was a widely successful digital event already,” Douglass said. “Our constituents want to be together, so we’ll see what the world can accommodate at that point.” 

This year, Douglass said attendees can look forward to “stronger content than we’ve ever had from the company perspective.”  

"We have teams working with local ecosystems in areas of Austin, the mid-Atlantic and the Southeast,” Douglass said. “We’re more active in trying to really work with those local communities and get the best companies out of there.” 

New board members: 

Existing board members: