The Atlanta Symphony Hall resounded with the sound of big dreams and big money this week as Venture Atlanta took over Midtown’s Woodruff Arts Center.
Now in its 16th year, the Southeast investor conference attracted around over 1,500 attendees, the largest crowd ever. The conference, which connects investors to tech-enabled startup founders, centered around a series of pitch competitions for startups in the seed, early and growth stages.
Audience votes on the first day helped determine which companies would become finalists who could pitch to well-known judges on the second day. Judges included Mark Buffington, the founder of Atlanta firm BIP Ventures, and Donnie Lochan, chief technology officer at Invesco Ltd.
The founders also benefit from pitching their companies to a room full of investors. According to its website, Venture Atlanta brings out more than 450 investors, and its alumni companies have now raised $7.5 billion collectively.
Seed-stage winner
Houston’s Enrichly picked up bragging rights as well as a $500,000 check, which was funded by Catalyst by Wellstar, Florida Funders, Knoll Ventures and BIP Ventures. The seed-stage competition is the only one that came with a cash prize.
Founded by Margo Jordan, the gamified platform is used by schools, police departments and health care organizations to help students raise their self-esteem. Jordan emphasized that her product is a proactive solution and can help young people raise their grades and avoid violence. The platform is already used by around 20,000 students in 50 schools. It has been on the market for just over a year and has over $1 million in annual recurring revenue. Jordan said she plans to expand from Texas to Georgia, Florida and California next.
The other three finalists were:
- Betty’s Co, a gynecological care company for young adult women based in San Antonio
- Bleach Cyber, a cybersecurity solution for small – and medium-sized businesses based in Austin, Texas
- Care Sherpa, an AI-based solution that allows medical practices to help their patients navigate their care journeys based in Nashville, Tennessee
Early-stage winner
Atlanta’s Rainforest won in the early-stage category. Founded in 2022 by Joshua Silver, Rainforest allows companies to embed payment technology in a software platform and earns a small percentage of each transaction processed. Housed at Atlanta Tech Village, Rainforest currently has 19 employees.
Other finalists were
- Athens, Georgia-based Adpipe, a digital content platform
- Cleveland’s Everykey, a secure password service
Growth-stage winner
Nashville-based Cloud Range won in the growth-stage category. The company has developed a simulation that allows cybersecurity teams to practice detecting and combatting attacks. Cloud Range has 18 full-time employees and recently kicked off an up to $8 million Series A funding round. It is projecting $3.5 million in revenue for 2023. Customers include AT&T, IBM, Booz Allen and two states.
Other finalists in the growth stage category were
- Greenville, South Carolina’s 6 AM City, a local media company
- Miami-based Betr, a sports gaming and media company
