The 15th annual Venture Atlanta conference will take place Oct. 19-20 at the Woodruff Arts Center and Atlanta Symphony Hall.
Rapid growth in the conference spurred the move. In its early years, a few hundred people attended, whereas now the expected attendance stands at more than 1,200 entrepreneurs, investors and students.
“We needed a venue that was large enough to make a statement that we are an international conference that could attract major funds from all over the world,” said John Yates, partner at law firm Morris, Manning & Martin, who helped facilitate the move.
One of the key advantages that the Woodruff Center provides is the ability to move from larger rooms where presentations will be made to smaller ones for break-out groups.
The Venture Atlanta Conference is the largest tech conference in the Southeast. To date, it has helped over 650 companies connect with capital that has resulted in approximately $7 billion in funding and $17 billion in exits from those companies, according to CEO of Venture Atlanta Allyson Eman.
Crowdsourced delivery platform Roadie, fintech company Kabbage and cloud computing advisory company Cloud Sherpas, have all been exposed to their investors thanks to the conference.
At the event, investors from around the world listen to three-minute pitches from seed- to growth-stage startups in the southeastern region. After the on-stage presentations, the entrepreneurs meet with investors, aiming to form partnerships to help grow their businesses.
Anyone is able to attend or support the conference but startups must be from the southeast, meaning as far west as Texas and as far north as Maryland.
Around 350 investors will be present at the conference including NEA, Accel, Bain Capital, Cox Enterprises, Knoll Ventures, Noro-Moseley Partners among others.
Venture Atlanta typically receives hundreds of applications from startups to pitch at the conference. Around 20% typically are accepted.
Venture Atlanta considers whether a startup is a fundable company that investors will want to write a check to, if it is trying to solve a large problem, whether its solution is unique and whether it addresses a big market.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the event, the conference will recognize investors who supported it in the early days. Highlight videos of the conference throughout the years and interviews with conference alumni will also take place.
“Now in its 15th year, Venture Atlanta has seen tremendous growth, and it's important to take a step back and look at how we got here and celebrate with great alumni and investors who’ve supported us along the way,” said Eman.
Although not finalized yet, the event will likely follow COVID-19 protocols, such as showing proof of vaccination, depending on the state of the coronavirus pandemic.
