A new incubator aims to push Atlanta into the Web3 game.
The first three startups in the Atlanta Blockchain Center’s inaugural incubation program, titled Immutable Founders, held their first meeting Tuesday nearly two months after the ABC held its grand opening June 14.
The cohort includes Keith Wilson, founder of Helix Automotive which designs and sells automotive NFTs; Jeremiah Long, founder of Web3 education nonprofit Wedge Inc.; and Yolanda Barton, founder immersive music startup RevereXR.
“I realized that the blockchain center was deeply devoted to giving us all a home base to build out of and create a really wide-based structure to have a very stable and growing community here in Atlanta,” said Long. “I've been highly engaged in everything they've done since, and they can't get rid of me.”
The program is part of the ABC’s goal to create a larger footprint of blockchain-based organizations out of Atlanta. There has to be an incubation component to accomplish that goal, said ABC founder Marlon Williams, along with scholarships, programs with universities and a networking environment.
“If you want to build a business on blockchain, which by the way is the next generation of services that are going to determine how we live and interact online with each other, Atlanta's not on your top places to go,” said Williams. “The goal of the center over the next 5 to 10 years is changing that narrative.”
The incubation program will include one-on-one mentor sessions throughout the quarter with people including principal at Coinbase Ventures Jonathan King and founder of BDE Ventures Brian Evans.
The ABC works similarly to the Atlanta Tech Village which helped produce local unicorns Salesloft and Calendly and has been credited with growing Atlanta's technology ecosystem. It includes a co-working space and a learning center for startups that use blockchain, or a secure ledger of digital transactions.
While providing a shared-desk environment with a capacity of over 50 people, Williams told Atlanta Inno in June that he anticipates to accommodate 10 to 30 businesses at a time.
The building, located at 45 Old Ivy Road NE in Buckhead, was renovated for a blockchain-inspired aesthetic. NFT artwork is displayed throughout the center while glass walls enclose many of its office spaces.
The ABC will also act as a component of decentralized investor network Starter International, founded by Williams. The investor network will invest an average of $50,000 to $100,000 into companies who come out of the blockchain center, Williams previously said.
