Thursday night we hosted our State of Innovation: 2019 Startups to Watch event. We had a packed house full of local startups and folks from the ATL community. Thank you to our amazing partner WeWork Terminus for hosting us in their killer event space.
The night was centered around a panel discussion moderated by Madison Hogan, founding staff writer of Atlanta Inno. The panel featured: Alan Pledger, co-founder and CEO of Landing Lion (rebranded Makeswift), Marshall Mosher, founder and CEO of Vestigo, Zebedee McLaurin, logistics director of Goodr and Nael Alismail, co-founder and CTO of The Labz.
We discussed how these startups succeeded in 2018, what challenges they face in 2019 and how they plan to make this year their best. Our top three takeaways are:
- We have ways to go for funding. Pledger pointed out that seed funding for startups in Atlanta is almost impossible to do locally---Makeswift had to cross state lines to find investors for their first round. Alismail also shared that finding funding for his startup in Atlanta was also a tough feat. Funding for music startups is almost exclusively out on the West Coast.
- Retaining and finding good hires is essential. Vestigo wouldn't be a successful team building startup if the company itself didn't have healthy culture and retention success, Mosher said. Retaining talent isn't just their mission, it's their product. All the other panelists agreed that finding and keeping talent, much of which is supplemented by Georgia Tech graduates, is a main driver for their businesses. Coding is an prime skill, Pledger said, they're looking for.
- Trends to look out for. Each of our panelists described the trends they were keeping their eyes peeled for in 2019, including virtual reality, AI and socially responsible tech.
A big thank you to everyone who attended, participated and helped make last night successful! Thank you so much to our sponsors Flatiron School and WeWork Teminus. We’ve selected some of the best photos from last night’s event below! Check them out and don’t forget to send in your nominations for 50 on Fire.
