Atlanta Startup Podcast

EARLY RELEASE to help you prep for INNOVATION WEEK next week! Meet Jennifer Richard, an investor with Bonfire Ventures, focuses on SMB tech, vertical SaaS, and "anything led by a woman or a diverse founder." Interviewed by Valor investor Wiliam Leonard, Jennifer is working out of a $168M core fund to lead seed rounds and looking hard at the Atlanta ecosystem, where Bonfire has already led rounds. You'll learn more about check size, how to impress Jennifer, and how Bonfire supports its portfolio in this engaging conversation. William also shares a few of his favorite tips on how to pitch Valor as the conversation continues. In this episode, you'll also hear how to connect with William and Jennifer in person this week, which is Innovation Week in Atlanta, so listen soon and share with founders you care about!

Atlanta's at it again--changing the world. Valor investor William Leonard catches up with Atlanta CEO and co-founder of Yellow Card Chris Maurice in this exciting ep. Yellow Card started by creating a better micro-payments infrastructure in Nigeria, a country that is on pace to be larger than the US by 2050. When they met Valor in 2020, we loved it--and so did Andreessen Horowitz, who led their seed round. Learn about the latest $40M Series B led by Polychain and how this exciting startup has grown into a pan-African exchange that's underwriting a bright future.

The first JP Morgan Atlanta Techstars just launched two weeks ago! Hear how this accelerator brings a uniquely Atlanta focus to helping startups scale. Managing Director Melissa Pegus shares how the accelerator is designed to provide equitable for all and particularly support for Black, Hispanic and Latino, Indigenous American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs. The accelerator is focused on exploring the future of Commerce Technology, Consumer Brands and Platforms, and the Creator Economy. "Together we will take steps towards dismantling institutional, structural, and systematic barriers that often limit opportunities," says Melissa. The first cohort includes Retavo and Buzzbassasdor, Bhala AI, LyRise, DiversiBoard, Privacy Packs, Friendly Shoes, Super Bloom Bakery, Aspen Apothecary, Neufluence, Remote Coach, and Tychon. You'll also learn about ways to connect directly with Valor this week, including Venture Atlanta on October 19 - 20 at Woodruff Arts Center and with valor being a participating sponsor.

Jeff Richards, CEO and founder of SnapNurse, leads the 2nd fastest growing company in America. He cut this podcast 2 days after that news was broken by Inc. You'll enjoy hearing his fresh take, including how he walked out of the door at Grady passionate about changing healthcare for the better. . Learn how he went about it and SnapNurse's exciting trajectory in this intimate conversation with Valor investor William Leonard.

As the region gears up for Venture Atlanta, Valor investors Lisa Calhoun, Gary Peat, Robin Bienfait and William Leonard discuss the current state of venture capital locally, including the seed stage deal volume, the trend in seed capital valuations and more. They discuss local firms including Valor, Knoll, Collab, Tech Square Labs, Fearless Fund and more, mentioning specific outside investors the team has worked with including Canaan Partners and Sequoia. The team shares some of the big current opportunities in Atlanta--and also challenges unique the local environment. This episode is important for founders, investors and corporate innovators alike. You also learn how you can meet up with the Valor team this week, at the Atlanta Unlocked last stop, September 22, at Valor's offices in Atlanta Tech Park.

In this can't-miss conversation with co-host Mecca Tartt, get to know Maria Velissaris, the founder and managing partner of the largest women's healthcare fund ---Steelsky Ventures. Steelsky is based in Atlanta and invests at Series A. Maria shares how she got started as an investor, her passion and purpose, what she looks for when she writes a check, and how she got inspired to launch her $73 million fund. Power question from our host, Mecca: "how do you balance investing with your head and your heart?" You'll love Maria's answer! In this week's episode, you'll also hear to connect in person with the Valor team this week and next, including the Startup Runway Women's Event September 15, and Atlanta Unlocked at our offices at Atlanta Tech Park on Thursday, Sept 22. See you there!

Meet Patrick Reynolds, the man connecting tech startups to the Department of Defense. Based in Atlanta, Patrick scouts tech and talent as the university representative for Georgia through the National Security Innovation Network (NSIN). We sit down with Patrick who shares the numerous ways NSIN supports startups, the misconceptions of working with the DoD, what he looks for when scouting talent, and the initiatives he's most looking forward to in 2023.

Atlanta influencer turned founder Cynthia Ruff is building Hashtag Pay Me, the software helping creators and influencers appropriately price content. Incubated in Georgia Tech's startup accelerator Create-X, Cynthia is building her startup from over a decade of content creation experience. In this energetic episode, learn why she turned down early investor capital to bootstrap Hashtag Pay Me, the evolution of the creator economy, her thoughts on the current state of the growing creator economy, and what monetization opportunities lie ahead for creators.

Paul Darrigo, co-founder at logistics and warehouse startup Saltbox, is a 2003 Georgia Tech grad. In this converstion, learn how he believes ecommerce is changing now, and how his background at UPS shape Saltbox's vision to create more billion-dollar ecommerce businesses. Saltbox is based in Atlanta and backed by several venture investors, including Metaprop, Kapor Capital and Prologis. Also in this ep, catch up with Valor's this week. Meet Robin Bienfait and William Leonard at Georgia Tech's CreateX. Catch up with William in Tulsa and Lisa in Kansas City, plus much more!

Founder Akshita Iyer is rethinking the kitchen, and it's an exciting journey. This Duke University founder took her startup onto Shark Tank, turned down $800K in early stage investment, and made the tough decision to move to Atlanta. Find out how Akshita is thinking about building smart, interactive cooking appliances. You'll also learn where Valor is this week, including a few days in Tulsa, OK and here in Atlanta, the Dell for Startups pitch event at our headquarters at Atlanta Tech Park. Listen now and get involved with Atlanta's fast paced founder community.

Nick Santora just sold his cybersecurity training platform Curricula to Huntress for $22M. Get his impressions of the journey and lessons learned while bootstrapping. Nick dives into how he got here and how he evaluated acquisition offers. If you're building software in the South, this is a must-listen deep dive with host William Leonard.

Founder Chris Cherian of Gatherly credits his girlfriend, who set up a Zoom birthday party for him during the pandemic, with inspiring the product that became Gatherly. Since then, the Georgia Tech Create-X startup Gatherly has raised its seed round from Knoll Ventures. Join this episode to hear the inside story of an Atlanta startup that leaped out of the pandemic to solve a big problem.

ATDC is one of Georgia's critical startup ecosystem drivers and one of the leading accelerators in the nation. Founded in 1980, ATDC has a global reputation for fostering technological entrepreneurship. Forbes named ATDC to its list of “Incubators Changing the World” in 2010 and 2013, alongside Y Combinator and the Palo Alto Research Center. Get to know Director John Avery. We dive into the various stages of membership at the ATDC and which level may be most appropriate for your startup. John shares some of the ways the ATDC has positively impacted the burgeoning Georgia ecosystem and some ways you can help support innovation in our state.

By any criteria, Venture Atlanta, led by Allyson Eman, is a contender for the best place in the country to pitch your startup. Hear why, learn about their successes getting capital to startup outside of the Valley, and how you can get involved in this coming October's conference. This ep is full of insider tidbits that if you're investing OR raising capital, you don't want to miss. (Disclosure: Valor Ventures, which founded and underwrites this podcast, is a proud sponsor of Venture Atlanta.)

Meet new Atlanta neighbor Rakesh Nankani, principal with University Growth Fund, one of the largest pure education investors in the country. University Growth Fund is a $54M second fund that trains students on how to manage deals. It is based in Salt Lake City and now has its sights set on Atlanta. Local principal Rakesh explains how he works with college students from public institutions who are doing hands on robust deal experience.

Startup Runway executive director Mecca Tartt and one of our podcast's cohosts, interviews four Atlanta pre-seed startup founders. You'll hear their tips on handling no, encouraging yourself before you see success, and pushing forward in the earliest days. Enjoy this discussion with eStreamly's Smitha Kommareddi, TotemID Biosciences' Monica Isgut, Ask Me Your MD's Patricia Marsh MD, and Helix Automotive's Keith Wilson.

Investor Ayanna Kerrison of Precursor Ventures joins us to talk about all things pre-seed investing. Ayanna's perspective is extremely valuable as Precursor is widely known as one of the first and most active pre-seed funds in the world--they firm has over 300 portfolio companies and was founded in 2015. Tune in for an enlightening episode as Ayanna joins the podcast to break down the firm's perspective on pre-seed investing. You'll learn how they write 20-25 checks a year and add value at the earliest stage of a startups lifecycle, and why she's bullish on southern startup founders. We're proud that Ayanna is a Startup Runway judge.

For businesses both large and small, churn is a key KPI leaders try to wrap their heads around. Atlanta founder Sebastian Builes has built Arcum, which leverages AI to predict when your customers will churn up to 12 months in advance and more importantly, why they may churn. He joins the podcast to talk about growing up in Colombia influenced his entrepreneurial aspirations, how he's formulated Arcum's go-to-market strategy, and how he's building community in Atlanta through this monthly founder meet-ups.

Meet venture capital investor Allyson Plosko of Spring Time Ventures, interviewed by Valor's William Leonard. The firm has roots in Boulder/Denver, and now Allyson is focusing on other geographies, especially the Southeast--drawn by the growth in this region. Allyson recently joined William as a judge for Startup Runway as part of her focus on finding more opportunities. In this episode, she shares what Spring Time is looking for in Atlanta and how she evaluates a great pitch.

Musheer Ahmed of Codoxo shares the core metrics that helped his startup raise an oversubscribed Series B. Plus, hear more about the unique strategy this Atlanta healthcare leader is pursuing, using an AI-based approach to combat financial fraud within healthcare.

"Now SVB is focused on markets that have been untapped in the VC ecosytem," says Jaisa. As an Atlanta native and Howard grad, Jaisa Gooden has always been aware of the growth and potential of our area. Now, Silicon Valley Bank created a new position to focus on more banking opportunities for the region centered on Atlanta. Interviewed by Valor's William Leonard, hear Jaisa's perspective on why Silicon Valley Bank is doubling down on Atlanta and early stage founders in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Successful Atlanta startup founder Ryan Wilson shares his takes on fundraising, firm building, and The Gathering Spot's recent exit to Greenwood. He's interviewed by Interviewed by Lisa Calhoun, founding managing partner at Valor Ventures, who invested the first professional venture capital in The Gathering Spot. This dynamic conversation has lots of take aways for founders and investors building on the venture frontier.

So what is it like to be a enterprise software expert, and turn your day to day into a project? Sal goes into detail about his journey as a tech leader and how he's taken the leap from project to product.

Founded in 2013, Ada Developers Academy is the top program for empowering women and gender expansive adults to become software developers for companies like Salesforce, Microsoft, and other household tech names. CEO Lauren Sato is expanding into Atlanta and discusses Ada's amazing placement statistics, why Atlanta is the perfect city for Ada's model, and how funding from Melinda French Gates will take the program to new heights in our city.

Ryan Johnson is co-founder of Cxmmunity, the most diverse Esports league in the world. Cxmmunity has support from Microsoft, Twitch, Verizon and others. An HBCU grad Ryan left corporate America in 2019, deciding to pursue entrepreneurship by combining his passions of video games and sports. You won't want to miss Ryan's insider views on major acquisitions in the gaming space and how the pandemic served as a tailwind for Cxmmunity's global expansion.

As one of the largest ERPs globally, SAP invests in early-stage technology startups that strategically expand the SAP ecosystem and create value for their diverse group of customers. Head of Investments Sallie Jian joins the Atlanta Startup Podcast to break down her team's investment strategy, the value ad that SAP brings to startups, and her take on the state of corporate venture capital. She's recently relocated to Miami and has Atlanta founders top of mind.

Founder Matt Pfaltzgraf packed up his car and drove to South Georgia to meet with his first investor. Now, his startup Softgiving creates high-impact online fundraising for brands & charities. Hear Matt's story of his leap of faith to creating an alternative fundraising solution that raises millions for influencers, brands, & charities.

While working in the cybersecurity industry for Cisco, Founder Henry Zhang became aware of critical gaps that large cybersecurity corporations overlooked when it came to the security posture and safety of local businesses. He and co-founder Nicole Wraback, a Georgia Tech computer science engineering grad who studied AI, decided to invent a solution that could work for real people. They enrolled in Georgia Tech's Create-X student accelerator and met Robin Bienfait, of Valor. He then went through Startup Runway, Valor's pre-seed investor introduction platform. Valor led Senteon's seed round, which also had participation from Lytical Ventures and Purdue. Senteon's cybersecurity platform allows stakeholders to audit endpoint behavior and identify system-level settings that can be implemented on in-production machines to provide "best-case" system hardening. While many competitors in the space are only touching part of the process and still requiring some manual output, Senteon's platform creates baselines specifically tailored to the granular needs of each business unit, spending only a fraction of the time previously needed to achieve greater efficacy. Henry explains it why Senteon is different and how it helps in this fascinating conversation with Valor investor William Leonard.

In this interview with Valor investor William Leonard, meet investor Mahati Sridhar of Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. Mahati has deep ties to Atlanta and the South, and she's bullish about investing in this region. Learn why Revolution is focusing on the South and the kinds of investments Mahati is looking for--it just might be you!

Hear how Antoine Woods sees investing in Atlanta in this thoughtful conversation with Valor investor William Leonard. You'll learn about his first fund, what they're looking for, and why they're bullish about the growth and opportunity for founders in Atlanta--especially founders of color.

Georgia Tech leads the world in the number of startups launched, behind only Standard and MIT. Part of the magic is Create-X, a unique university accelerator that teaches students to build real businesses. Meet the man behind Create-X since 2019, Rahul Saxena, a GT grad himself with a robotics and genetics engineering background who's also worked as a VC, got an MBA from Emory, and experienced a turn-around as an operator. You'll hear how Georgia Tech sees "evidence based entrepreneurship." What Saxena says is, "You can actually teach entrepreneurship. It's a process." Don't miss this engaging interview with Valor investor William Leonard and learn all the tips Rahul has for starting great tech firms and the process of becoming a founder.

Now with five investments in the growing portfolio, Shila Nieves Burney shares with Valor investor William Leonard the types of bold and diverse founders she's looking to fund across the U.S. Don't miss this conversation with host, Valor investor William Leonard. She goes into the advantages and disadvantages of being a solo GP and how she's building Zane with passion and focus.

Did you know 2 of the top 4 software companies in the world are in Atlanta? That's what G2's 1.6 million software reviews say. Learn which companies these are, and get more inside stories from CEO and Founder Godard Abel of G2. He shares both founder challenges and successes on his path to building a unicorn company. If you are a founder, listen to this ep for tips on how his software ratings platform can bring you customers. Find out which metrics to use when you ask customers for reviews. You'll earn why Godard is expanding in Atlanta. Hint: it's not just that Atlanta has some of the best reviewed software in the world. There's more! Enjoy the episode with Atlanta Startup Podcast co-host Lisa Calhoun of Valor Ventures.

"I was always an artist, but was not celebrated because it was not something you could make a career in growing up." Meet entrepreneur, former social worker, and artist Ashley Daramola, Valor's 2021 Art of Inclusion Honoree. She shares her fascinating story from social worker on Atlanta's toughest streets, to a startup founder working in her home community in Atlanta. The thread of using art to shine light in hurting souls makes this interview one of kind. Listen in.

Morgan J Ingram got a job out of school as a BDR --and it was NOT what he wanted to do. Sales is hard. This Atlanta leader applied himself and learned the ins and outs, becoming a self-taught top sales performer and sales manager. Now, his podcast, YouTube and consulting business takes the guess work out of top sales performance. Get his insights in this fun conversation with co-host and Valor investor William Leonard.

Students aren't well served with bolt-on 'adult' business tool like Zoom in the classroom. Naomi Thomas built her first computer at 6, and she's taking on the challenge of building a better, wholistic educational environment for all students at InfinityEDU. In this passionate, informed conversation with Atlanta Startup Podcast host and investor William Leonard, learn how the future of education is being re-imagined by pioneers like Naomi.

Ever had your platform go down? Hacked? Ransome? Software engineer and founder Doug Neumann of Arpio knows how painful all of that can be from first hand experience. He engineered his own one-button disaster recovery solution, which is now being used by airlines, software firms large and small, and many more. Learn from this down to earth, passionate expert about how to build better software now, interviewed by infrastructure and cybersecurity technologist Robin Bienfait, former CIO at Samsung and Blackberry.

Where are things growing? The Southeast. Jeff Uphues of DC Blox helps governments, counties, universities and other key organizations get the security and speed they need online. He explains how the market has evolved and what he's doing to make sure no American is left behind. He's bringing "Atlanta infrastructure" to places like Huntsville, Greenville, Birmingham and more. He's bullish on the Southeast's growth and is betting on it with his business plan--listen in!

Interviewed by host Mecca Tartt, hear Inc. 5000 honoree and Global Licensing Top 20 entrepreneur Julie Newman of Artonomo, a recent Startup Runway Finalist. Julie struggled to find a content management platform for her brand Jewel Branding, and couldn't find it--so she built it. Hear her exciting story and learn how she went from professional services to software to support all creators.

Atlanta is the fastest-growing venture capital ecosystem in the country--and the most diverse. Could the VC climate get any hotter? Listen up as insiders Renee Montgomery, Robin Bienfait, Gary Peat, William Leonard and Lisa Calhoun of Valor Ventures help founders and investors get a compass on a new normal.

Atlanta psychologist and entrepreneur Dr. Yared Alemu of TQIntelligence is passionate about improving access to quality mental health care for youth from low-income communities. This visionary founder shares his perspective on the gradual adoption of AI in mental health applications, improved outcomes for underserved youth, and the overall state of innovation within the mental health world. With direct support from the NSF and Google For Startups, the company's core product Clarity AI is moving the needle in the right direction. Tune into this dialogue with host William Leonard of Valor Ventures. Guaranteed to inspire and inform listeners from all walks of life!

Anne Bailey is an MBA student at Emory studying private equity in the popular class hosted by David Panton and Klaas Baks. She fell in love with the topic. In this unscripted and open-hearted episode, hear her ask co-host Lisa Calhoun, founder of leading seed-stage venture capital firm Valor Ventures, everything she wants to know about how to break into private equity in Atlanta. It's a fun, challenging conversation, and if you're curious about a career in private equity or venture capital, this conversation is for you!

Using Florence Healthcare, doctors and nurses save time in clinical trials. Founder and CEO Ryan Jones joins William to talk through key lessons learned as a healthcare founder, finding early product-market fit, and innovation in clinical trials in today's pandemic healthcare environment.

How do you improve the employee experience? With today's record unemployment, leaders are learning they better move fast. Atlanta Founder Prem Bhatia has been working the problem of better employee experiences for years. At Cooleaf, he is empowering mid to large enterprises to make data-driven decisions to continuously improve how their teams interact with the company culture. Cooleaf was just recognized on the Inc. 5000 as one of America's fastest-growing firms. Hear Prem's powerful founder story about Cooleaf's early pivot, critical lessons learned while building an HR startup, the importance of founder mentorship, and how employers are winning the talent strategy equation with Cooleaf. Can't miss material--tune in now.

CEO and Founder Anisa Telwar Kaicker and her 500 team members operate global beauty powerhouse Anisa International, the "Apple" of beauty. This visionary shares her perspective on the beauty industry, including her unique definition of what beauty is. Can't miss moments in this heartfelt conversation with host Lisa Calhoun of Valor Ventures include -- her leadership secrets, how she recharges as a founder, how she changes herself to free her company to scale, founder health, and so much more. Listen to the end to hear Anisa share a board position she's recruiting for now. Please share this conversation with a founder who's scaling and could learn more from Anisa right here in Atlanta.

Enjoy a spirited conversation with Alana Mann about how she broke into VC, her blog series outlining conversations with early stage female founders, and her thoughts on navigating the frothy venture markets. Alana joins host William Leonard, investor at Valor, for Startup Runway this month and the two took the opportunity to dive into what's cooking now in early-stage investing.

Retail tech veteran and Black female tech founder Barbara Jones is building Lilli RnB, returns-management software that helps retailers solve billion-dollar fraud problems. Barbara shares her story of productizing her consulting business, building resiliency while fundraising, and leveraging the SalesForce to scale Lilli. This is a must-listen for experts who dream of building their expertise into a lucrative software platform.

UGA Alum and Inbrain.ai Founder Jason Schubert built and exited his survey platform startup to the world's largest first-party data platform for insights, Dynata. Join us for a conversation every founder should hear, as Jason talks through his thought process of the acquisition and offers his insights for founders considering acquisition offers.

Meet Derrick Barker, CEO of Nectar, an Atlanta startup providing upfront cash for short-term rental operators and unlocking real estate cashflows for investors. Hear Derrick's story of exiting his first venture during undergrad, building a 4500+ unit real estate portfolio with his payout, and his strategic advice for early-stage founders thinking of participating in an accelerator. Derrick just graduated from Techstars in Atlanta.

Honored among the Top 40 Tech Companies in Georgia, Vouch.io unlocks digital keys for carmakers. Tune in to hear Vouch.io Cofounder Anthony Maley share leading edge innovation in the automotive industry. Learn if blockchain really is the future of your car!

As one of Atlanta's newest unicorns, Flock Safety equips neighborhoods and police departments in over 1200 cities with machine learning tools to mitigate crime. Founder and CEO of Flock Safety Garrett Langley openly shares how he navigates growth roadblocks and his mindset for building excellence. You don't want to miss his practical fundraising advice for founders in Atlanta.