Bob Cramer's Blog

The always informative and fun networking bonanza known as Venture Atlanta had its annual conference last week at the still relatively new College Football Hall of Fame, where you can watch pitches from our region’s most promising startups while sitting, not kneeling, under the lights on the hash marks of a makeshift football field in the middle of downtown.

It was another great event for Atlanta’s up-and-coming tech community, as we heard about record number of out-of-town investors, record number of applications and record number of attendees. Simply put, so many records were broken that something must qualify for enshrinement in a small corner of our host building.

The conference format includes multiple six-minute presentations from capital-seeking companies who have shown true market fit and hockey-stick-like revenue projections interspersed with interviews with successful investors and company CEO’s. As far as I could tell, two themes stood out: be nice to each other and a background in sports is a winning factor to being a successful entrepreneur.

There was also a consolation prize for some companies that weren’t quite up to the judges’ snuff on market fit and growth traction but promising enough to not be left out. These companies were banished to a small room on the second floor amidst the Heisman Trophy and a bird’s eye view of the football field ballroom below. Personally, I felt bad for them; they seemed all alone, eager to show off their wares but with few takers. Next year perhaps they can be more visible.

As my company sponsored the coffee cups, I must say the espresso machines were a big hit, except that the lines were a bit long because we only had one barista at a time. My attempt to cut the line claiming my company was the sponsor was unfortunately met with scorn and derision.

There is a bit of a caste system at Venture Atlanta. Certain events are deemed “VIP” like the early morning breakfast on the second day and a big shindig after day one, complete with transportation to and a rooftop buffet at Ponce City Market. As the coffee cup sponsor, you would have thought I’d qualify for this opportunity to have some real food but I guess not, and I sheepishly had to walk in the oppressive October heat to MARTA while my peers sat on their air-conditioned buses ready for a big night out.

Besides that slight slight, I leave Venture Atlanta proud to be a small but consistent member of the Atlanta tech community. So many fine people, really impressive companies and an emerging track record of highly successful exits. Atlanta is cooking up all the needed ingredients to continue its ascent as a top-tier tech city and we have come a long way since I started A.D.A.M. Software back in the late 80’s. Here’s to continued success.