Startup Atlanta Toolkit

Since 2013, Startup Atlanta has continued to connect and grow the local Atlanta startup ecosystem, and more recently, with the adoption of free, digital tools for entrepreneurs and ecosystem supporters. This toolkit includes the Guide to the Ecosystem and Community Calendar. 

Adapted from a printed guide, the Guide to the Ecosystem went digital following the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure accessibility and relevance. The Guide leverages Webflow’s software to help entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors navigate and connect with the different startup resources in Metro Atlanta in a central online location. With over 300+ resources, the web-based guide is a collaborative effort curated by community members of Startup Atlanta and its Board of Directors. It is estimated that the Startup Atlanta Guide to the Ecosystem reaches 15,000 community members annually.

The Community Calendar, which features many of the organizations listed in the Ecosystem Guide, consolidates the latest local Atlanta ecosystem events in one central location through a platform called Economic Impact Catalyst (EIC). Community members can easily post and register for events happening across the ecosystem directly from the site. These events, along with upcoming deadlines for funding and program opportunities, are shared in weekly and monthly newsletters with over 12,000 subscribers.

In an effort to continue evaluating and responding to community needs, the Community Calendar and Ecosystem Guide were created to encourage collaboration and accessibility across metro Atlanta. Notably, this free, digital toolkit is the first of its kind in the Atlanta startup community. 

Demand for said tools was an insight gained from our quarterly Community Partners Luncheons, where representatives from our local Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) convene and collaborate on ways to better support Atlanta entrepreneurs. 

Like many non-profit organizations constrained by capital and capacity, Startup Atlanta sought affordable and easily integrated solutions to address key ecosystem challenges: Awareness and accessibility of available resources for entrepreneurs.

Since deploying the Guide to the Ecosystem, it has seen several iterations. Initially as a printed, physical guide that was distributed at ecosystem events, to then a PDF downloadable online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though this was a successful pivot to address the challenges of in-person distribution, user feedback challenged us to make the guide more interactive and accessible online. With the support of Nebo Agency, the PDF was transformed into an organized, searchable database accessible via the Startup Atlanta website and Webflow's software. Although a somewhat simple solution (a website), it achieves what we believe to be the same outcomes that a more sophisticated solution (like a platform or app) could achieve - Not to mention the cost savings. 

More recently, the addition of the Community Calendar was also a collaborative effort with ecosystem partners to present a cohesive view of upcoming events. Each ecosystem partner has their own login to add and update events using conomic Impact Catalyst (EIC)’s software. We can validate it works, because these partners are continuing to post nearly 5 months following the launch of the platform. It continues to gain even more momentum with InnovATL approaching, Atlanta’s 2-month convergence of all things innovation.

Startup Atlanta’s mission is to introduce, connect, support, and expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem within the greater Atlanta region to bolster the creation of jobs, companies and wealth. We serve growth-focused entrepreneurs in the Atlanta region with an industry-agnostic approach and at all stages of growth. 

The entrepreneurial ecosystem is also highly diverse, where Atlanta has the highest rate of Black-owned businesses in the U.S with 7.4 percent of businesses in the Georgia metro are Black-owned. Atlanta also leads in the growth of female entrepreneurship, where women of color in Georgia own 62 percent of women-owned businesses.

Given this wide approach, Startup Atlanta relies on 300+ ecosystem members of incubators, accelerators, governmental agencies, co-working spaces, universities, and venture funds to provide insight to the current challenges our local entrepreneurs face through forums like the Community Partners Luncheons. 

These efforts surface persistent challenges, like access to capital and resources for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) entrepreneurs. To help address these needs, Startup Atlanta launched “Inclusive Innovation” and “Female Founders” sections in the Ecosystem Guide, along with hosting a semi-annual Female Founders in Innovation Dinner, to offer visibility to resources and connectivity to networks. It is this ability to listen to the needs of our entrepreneurial community and promptly respond that has allowed Startup Atlanta to achieve the impact it has over the past decade.

Startup Atlanta’s digital toolkit is driven by data and impact through improved decision making for resource allocation. More often than not, entrepreneurs are unaware of all the ecosystem activity while heads down in their venture. 

By consolidating upcoming events, application deadlines, and resources in one central location with the help of a technology-based solution, entrepreneurs can more easily identify and pursue crucial opportunities to help sustain and scale their business. 

Although Startup Atlanta’s solution aligns most closely with the “Data and Impact” Challenge dimension, it undoubtedly has impacts on financial readiness, business development & procurement, financial health, and employee advance through the resources and events we share from our ecosystem partners that specialize in those domains.

Our solution conveniently consolidates critical resources, events, and opportunities for entrepreneurs that will help them sustain and scale their business. Although the output is a technology solution (Ecosystem Guide and Community Calendar) for resource sharing, the outcome is enabling businesses to reach new customers, achieve greater operational efficiency, facilitate partnerships that strengthen the entrepreneurial community, among others as a result of pursuing and participating in events from the Community Calendar and programs from the Ecosystem Guide. 

This model of ecosystem building and resource mapping has demonstrated success in other emerging startup ecosystems, like the Kauffman Foundation’s case study on St. Louis, citing the following discoveries:

“This activity is happening both between entrepreneurs and between organizations that provide support, such as mentoring and funding, to entrepreneurs. As these connections deepen, the strength of the entrepreneurial ecosystem grows. Another finding from the research is that activity-based events, where entrepreneurs have the chance to use and practice the skills needed to grow their businesses, are most useful.”

https://www.kauffman.org/wp-co...

It is estimated we serve 500+ entrepreneurs and 300+ Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) ecosystem members locally in Atlanta currently. However, the Ecosystem Guide reaches a broader audience nationwide with 15,000 viewers annually.  

With increased capacity and the adoption of new technologies, we aim to increase the number of entrepreneurs supported annually with relevant resources and events by 20% (in one year, 600 total entrepreneurs and in five years, 1,000 total entrepreneurs).

Startup Atlanta serves growth-focused entrepreneurs in the Atlanta region who are focused on scaling their business. As a neutral non-profit, our only interest is in seeing our startup community thrive. Our stakeholders are vast and diverse, including entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders, incubators, accelerators, capital providers, investors, government officials, universities, researchers, economic developers, service providers, and more.

As a non-profit organization without any full-time staff, community engagement and trust is heavily dependent on the involvement of Startup Atlanta’s Board of Directors (15 members). This diverse board is greatly involved in the communities they serve, representing organizations like Invest Atlanta, Venture Atlanta, Goodie Nation, Atlanta Technology Development Center, Google for Startups, Silicon Valley Bank, and Boomtown Accelerators. Several board members are also founders and CEOs of their own companies. Outreach is largely through community events and webinars, coupled with digital engagement channels including: 12.5K newsletter subscribers, 4.9K Instagram followers, 1.9K Facebook followers, 2.5K LinkedIn followers, and 13K Twitter followers.

With a 10-year track record of growing the local Atlanta startup community, Startup Atlanta is seeking to scale its impact. 

Earlier this year, the Board of Directors developed a 3-year strategy to scale the organization’s infrastructure and impact, setting an ambitious fundraising goal of $2,250,000 ($750,000/year) to hire a full-time Executive Director, Development Director, and Community Coordinator while engaging financial administrative support and marketing support. 

Though continuing to implement digital tools like the Ecosystem Guide and Community Calendar create value, we recognize the need for human capital to more effectively grow the toolkit of resources for entrepreneurs.

Although the grant funding would be greatly appreciated, it is the capacity-building resources that attracted Startup Atlanta to this opportunity. Having access to consultants, subject matter experts, resources, and workshops would offer significant value to the Startup Atlanta Board of Directors in achieving our scalability goals over the next three years, including hiring the organization’s first full-time staff members. This increased capacity would allow us to have increased impact to continue improving and expanding our toolkit for Atlanta entrepreneurs.

To effectively attract the talent and capital to Startup Atlanta to scale, we must first fine tune our data collection processes to more clearly articulate our impact within Atlanta’s startup ecosystem. This will improve our branding and marketing strategies and refine our pitch while fundraising. With additional funding, the ability to onboard the organization’s first full-time employees will introduce human capital and legal matters that the Board has not experienced to date within the non-profit.