Investor-Approved ATL Events (Mark Your Calendar!)
Kids in Atlanta are heading back to school which can only mean one thing…terrible traffic. 🥴
On the bright side, the fall startup events calendar is packed!
Goodbye vacations and summer camps, hellooooo human interaction and company-building!
Here are a few that I’ll be hosting, attending, am excited about, or all of the above.
Will you be there? Shoot me a note! What’s your fave kind of networking?
Please add other events in the comments!
1. Venture Atlanta
📅 Wed, Oct 15 - Thu, Oct 16
📍Woodruff Arts Center
**FOUNDER PSA** → APPLY TO PITCH BY FRIDAY, AUGUST 8.
Venture Atlanta is the largest venture conference in the Southeast. (Prepare yourself.)
It’s a great place for a scrappy startup to meet investors or get customers. (My best startup conference tips.)
Want to host an auxiliary event? It’s not too late but you need to start yesterday!
#protip: the Founder Funder Jog (see below 😉) was a blast last year!
2. Atlanta Startup Awards
📅 Thu, Oct 9, kicking off InnovATL
🎟 Early bird tickets on sale in Aug
If you are reading this from Metro Atlanta, you or someone you know deserves a Startup Award!
**FOUNDER PSA #2** → NOMINATIONS DUE BY SUN, AUG 10!
Here’s a sampling of awards categories:
Best New Startup
Best On-Campus Startup
Best Underrepresented-Founded Startup
Best B2B Startup
Best B2C Startup
Best Startup for Good
Startup Mentor of the Year
Community Builder of the Year
Investor of the Year
(Last year’s winners for inspiration!🏆)
3. Create-X Demo Day
📅 Thu, Aug 28, 5-7p
📍Exhibition Hall, Georgia Tech
What do you get when you combine the talented students of Georgia Tech, amazing startup mentors, and a tried-and-true entrepreneurship curriculum?!?
The 8th cohort of Create-X!
Fully expecting to meet the next Atlanta unicorn somewhere on demo floor.
4. Atlanta Healthcare Entrepreneur Meetup
📅 Wed, Aug 20, 9-10a
📍Virtual
Join us (from anywhere) to meet other founders, techies, healthcare professionals and hear about these amazing companies:
COMING SOON: *In-person* Healthcare Meetup on Wed, Oct 29, 8:30-10a at Atlanta Tech Village Buckhead! Check back here for more info and registration.
5. Modular 2025
📅 Wed, Oct 22
📍The Eastern
One day summit for brand leaders and storytellers…featuring Andrew Huberman and Casey Neistat!?! 🙌 🤯💪
Hosted by AdPipe (we’re investors), the event will be a masterclass on authentic video storytelling with AI.
Is this an amazing topic where I’ll learn a ton? YES.
Is AdPipe an incredible company on the forefront of AI? YES.
Am I a wellness nerd who can’t wait to hear Huberman in person?!? YOU KNOW IT.
6a. Founder + Funder Jog (Sweaty August Edition)
📅 Thu, Aug 28, 6:45a
📍Tech Square - Biltmore Ballrooms
Don’t miss your chance to try to beat me as the sweatiest-person-of-all-time!
Join us for a leisurely 3.5-4 mile jog around Peidmont Park with other founders, investors, and startup folks.
Huge thank you to Katie Begando, Denis Cranstoun, and Julie Pierre for hosting. 🙏🙏🙏
Very friendly, lots of selfie stops and shortcuts, with coffee (and water 🥵) at the end.
P.S. If you’re a founder in the human performance space and would like to be featured or promo a product during the event, reply to this post or reach out to Katie Begando!
6b. Founder + Funder Jog (Venture Atlanta Edition)
📅 Wed, Oct 15, 6:45a
📍Starling Hotel
A 5 year tradition!
Kick off Day 1 of Venture Atlanta with the ultimate multitask:
4 mile run
networking with founders and investors
It’s a great way to get to know folks before heading to the big dance.
7. Pitch Practice
📅 1st & 3rd Fridays, 1p
📍Atlanta Tech Village - Buckhead
📅 1st Tuesday, 1:30p
📍Atlanta Tech Village - Sylvan
Led by the brilliant Jacey Cadet, get *FREE* help on your startup pitch!
Register for the session that works best for you here.
8. Office Hours with Atlanta Ventures
📅 Thu, Aug 14, 12p
📅 Thu, Sep 11, 12p
📍Virtual
Join me and fellow Atlanta Ventures partner, A.T. Gimbel, for an informal Q&A sesh.
Common topics include fundraising, product development, how to get early customers, what we look for when investing, and more!
We do these every month. Check out future dates on the Atlanta Ventures events page.
9. InnovATL
📅 October
📍All Over Atlanta!
The most exhausting exciting month of the year!
In case you didn’t already pick up on this, October is an Atlanta innovation bonanza — and that’s not a coincidence.
It’s InnovATL!
Awards, demo days, pitch competitions, Venture Atlanta, and sooooo much more!
Specific events and schedule are being finalized now so check back to get the latest.
What Else??
Did I miss something? Of course I did! I can never capture all that’s going on in this bustling startup world!
Here are some of my favorite event calendars:
And even more — a list of my favorite resources, groups, and tactics for getting a pulse on Atlanta and finding other tech folks.
Please feel free to drop other upcoming events with details and registration links in the comments below! 👇