Atlanta's startup ecosystem has shown remarkable growth, achieving $1.8 billion in venture capital investment in 2019, despite experiencing a sharp decline in Q4 and a weak Q2 2020 due to the pandemic. The city's strong educational institutions and a diverse range of industries, particularly fintech and proptech, help foster innovation and entrepreneurial opportunities, although it faces challenges with low venture capital investment per capita. Overall, Atlanta is positioned as a significant player in the venture capital landscape, supported by a vibrant community and numerous resources for startups.

1. Rebel One Ventures
Startup Ecosystem Analysis:
Atlanta, GA
Vrat Joshi, Analyst
Sam Abrams, Analyst
Sergio Marrero, Managing Partner

2. City Snapshot
Population | 523K (6M Metro Area)
Unemployment | 8.6% (2020)
(~3.7% historically | 2019)
GDP | $397.3B
Education System
57 Colleges
Top Programs:
Emory University
Georgia Institute of Technology (GT)
Georgia State University
Morehouse College
Spelman College
College of Engineering (GT)
School of Computer Science (GT)
Emory School of Medicine
A Bird’s Eye View
RBL1.COM
Sources: Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Atlanta, GA

3. Venture Capital Ecosystem
Funding Statistics
VC Investment: $1.8B, 157 deals
U.S. Deal Share: ~1.32%
VC Investment per Capita: $300
Top Investment Sectors:
Fintech, Digital Health, Marketing
Tech, Transportation, Logistics, Supply
Chain, Proptech
Macroeconomics of the VC Space
Sources: Pitchbook-NVCA Venture Monitor, AtlantaInno, Startup Genome, Crunchbase
RBL1.COM
Ecosystem Observations
» Atlanta broke records, yet again, by delivering an outstanding year of investments in
venture capital for 2019 (up 56%), despite a lackluster ending in Q4 2019 (an unusual drop
of 71%)
» Q1 2020 blasted off as the ecosystem surpassed historicals and expectations despite the
looming pandemic; however, Q2 reflected the recession entirely as Atlanta reported the
lowest amount of funding in the last two year (it is important to note the number of deals
were roughly on par - meaning investments per venture were far less)
» First Top 25 Global Startup Ranking (#23)
Atlanta, GA

4. Funding Options
Looking into the Investors
RBL1.COM
Venture
Capital
Angels &
Angel Groups
Accelerators &
Incubators
Atlanta Ventures, BIP Capital,
BLH Venture Partners, C&B
Capital, Collab Capital, CTW
Venture Partners, Engage
Ventures, Forte Ventures,
Fulcrum Equity Partners, Knoll
Ventures, Tech Square
Ventures, Valor Ventures
Atlanta Tech Angels, Keiretsu
Forum Atlanta, No Limit
Ventures, Charlie Papparelli,
Michael Cohn, Paul Judge,
Kathryn Finnely, Payman
Pouladdej, Tyler Scriven, Kurt
Uhlir, Jose Mallabo, Rodney
Sampson, Jewel Solomon
ATDC, AscendATL, Atlanta
Tech Village, Startup Atlanta,
22TechPark, Center for Civic
Innovation, The Farm,
Techstars Atlanta, Emory
Startup Launch, Opportunity
Hub (OHUB), Start:Me,
Greenhouse Accelerator
Sources: AmericanInno (Atl), AngelList, IdeaGist
Atlanta, GA

5. Startup Media Channels:
Hypepotamus, Atlanta Inno, Tech Square ATL,
Atlanta Tech Blogs, Urban Geexz
Meetups / Community Organizations:
ATL Black Tech, FinTech South, Tech404, FinTech
ATL, Women in Tech, Venture Atlanta, Southeast
Investor Group, Ritz Group, Gathering of Angels,
Village Micro Fund
Other Resources
Co-Working Spaces:
Alkaloid Networks, CIC, Constellations, Elevator Factory,
Industrious, Spaces, WeWork, IgniteHQ, Switch Yards, Meet at
Roam, The Circuit, The Lola, Russell Center for Innovation and
Entrepreneurship, The Gathering Spot, Atlanta Innovation Hub
(Accenture)
Founder Resources to Gain Knowledge
RBL1.COM
Sources: AmericanInno (Atl), DropDesk
Atlanta, GA

6. Current Leaders & Rising Players
Largest Companies (Market Cap)*:
Aaron’s, Delta Airlines, Cable News Network
(CNN), Equifax, Genuine Parts Company, HD
Supply, The Coca Cola Company, The Home
Depot, The Southern Company, United Parcel
Service (UPS), WestRock
*Major corporate HQ or regional offices
Notable High-Tech Ventures Started:
Mailchimp (Social Mailing Platform), Cricket Wireless
(Telecommunications), HowStuffWorks.com (Information
Services), The Weather Channel (Television Service),
Calendly (Productivity Software), First Data (FinTech),
Kabbage (FinTech), OneTrust (Business Software),
GreenSky(FinTech), and AirWatch (Network Management)
Who Dominates the Atlanta Economy?
RBL1.COM
Sources: Atlanta Chamber of Commerce (HQ’s), Pitchbook
Atlanta, GA

7. Economic Activity
RBL1.COM
FinTech & PropTech Lead the Way
Recent M&A & IPO’s:
» Fairlife, Coca Cola | Undisclosed
» Sage Pay, Elavon | $300M
» Neurotic Media, Peloton | Undisclosed
» Car360, Carvana | $22M
» The Weather Group, Byron Allen | $300M
» Vyne, The Jordan Company | Undisclosed
» OS National, Open Door | Undisclosed
» Reaction Commerce, Mailchimp | $16.1M
» First Data, Fiserv | $22B
» Inhibikase Therapeutics IPO Filing (IKT) |
Unknown MC
» Cardlytics IPO (CDLX) | $237M MC
» Green Sky IPO (GSKY) | $4.35B MC
Top Ranked Startups:
» Bakkt | Financial Tech
» Padsplit | Property Tech
» Pindrop | Network Management
» Fanatics | Entertainment Tech
» SimpleShowing | Property Tech
» Flourish Software | Supply Chain (CBD)
» Nview Health | Healthcare Tech
» Polygon.io | Market Information Tech
» Fazt Tech | Manufacturing
» Safe Trip | Healthcare Transportation
» Demand Driven Tech | Logistics &
Supply Chain
» Lionheart Games | Gaming (Anime)
» Qoins | Financial Tech(Acquired, Acquiree | Deal Value), Market Cap (MC) at IPO
Sources: Pitchbook, Crunchbase, AtlantaInno, Built in Atlanta
Atlanta, GA

8. Map / Region Insights:
» Atlanta’s primary focus is in the fintech
sector - due to 70% of all credit card
transactions passing through one of four
companies
» Accelerators and coworking spaces
surround the two entrepreneurial heavy
universities (Emory & Georgia Tech),
resulting in venture capital spaces
surrounding the area.
» Black Americans are the largest racial
minority at 32.4% of the population and
thus supports Atlanta as an epicenter for
black entrepreneurial talent
Area Insights
Venture Capital Accelerator / Incubator Co-Working
Sources: Payments Journal
RBL1.COM
Analyzing the Geographic and Economic Reach Atlanta, GA

9. Sources
Interviews:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ATLPOP https://www.flaticon.com/,, https://www.metroatlantachamber.com/assets/2018_atl_rankings_7_20_18_kbEBeWJ.pdf, https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/mailchimp
https://www.americaninno.com/atlanta/guides/funding-index-a-guide-to-the-atlanta-venture-capital-angel-investing-ecosystem/, https://drop-desk.com/best-coworking-spaces/atlanta
https://www.americaninno.com/atlanta/fundings/report-atlanta-startups-closed-record-year-strong-with-1-8b-in-venture-funding/
https://startupgenome.com/reports/gser2020, https://ideagist.com/list-of-startup-accelerators-and-incubators-in-georgia-usa/, https://builtin.com/atlanta/atlanta-startups
https://www.metroatlantachamber.com/resources/most-popular/fortune-500-fortune-1000-in-metro-atlanta, https://www.americaninno.com/atlanta/20-Startups-to-Watch-in-2020-atl
https://www.americaninno.com/atlanta/fundings/the-top-atlanta-tech-mergers-acquisitions-and-exits-in-2019/,
https://www.crunchbase.com/search/organization.companies/field/hubs/org_num_ipos/atlanta-companies https://www.flaticon.com/
https://www.paymentsjournal.com/atlanta-is-transaction-alley-processes-70-of-debit-credit-gift-transactions-annually/
Driven by the energetic and tech progressive environments of the universities in Atlanta, this
startup ecosystem continuously produces some of the most consistent tech-minded
entrepreneurs. When integrating this culture with a city that holds one of the most active
airports in the world, has tremendous housing feasibility, and one which processes a majority of
the nations $4.4T credit card payments, it’s clear why Atlanta comes out as a leader in Fintech,
Proptech, and Logistics. Moreover, Atlanta is home to a plethora of Fortune 500 companies all
which specialize in different baskets allowing for creativity, freedom, and flexibility when it
comes to forming a startup.
Finally, as mentioned earlier, the universities, particularly historically black colleges and
universities (HBCUs), in the region play a fundamental role through programs and organizations
that really foster a sense of inclusion which in turn affects the entire venture capital ecosystem
of Atlanta. There are, however, concerns with the ecosystem: particularly when understanding
that the city has one of the lowest VC investment per capita noted throughout our ecosystem
review. However, we believe the dividends have yet to be paid off from Atlanta’s strategy and
with time, metrics considering VC funding will align with other ecosystems.
Analysis
State of the Market Atlanta, GA