Newsletter Edition #1226: Why A Tiger Global-backed company sees opportunity IRL in Atlanta
Wrapping up another week with the updates you need to know out of Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville, Charlotte, Memphis, Tampa, and around the Triangle.
What we're talking about today:
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This edition of Hypepotamus is brought to you by Live Oak Bank.
The Big Headline: Obvious is betting that building with AI will be a team sport. Its workspace lets people collaborate on projects alongside AI agents, and its in-person events bring teams together IRL. Obvious CEO Davorin Boskovic talked with Hypepotamus about the company’s Atlanta roots, why people still need to connect in person, and the opportunities he sees in the AI era.
Startup To Watch: Kenneth Burke spent a decade helping grow Text Request past $20 million in revenue as the bootstrapped company's marketing lead. Along the way, he learned just how hard it is to tell which marketing dollars are paying off. Now he and fellow Georgia Tech executive MBAs are building Genius, an Atlanta startup that pulls together ad data from platforms like Google, LinkedIn and Meta and recommends what marketers should do next.
Get the inside scoop on the MarTech startup Genius here.
Accelerator News: Alabama is testing a different way to grow its startup ecosystem. With the Innovate Alabama Venture Studio, they are starting with problems companies already face, then build new businesses to solve them. Alongside Birmingham’s Harmony Venture Labs, the Studio just launched its first two startups.
Meet the two new startups coming out of the venture studio here.
Live Oak Bank's (NYSE: LOB) Venture Banking team provides non-dilutive growth financing that complements equity, along with tailored banking solutions, for venture-backed B2B software and healthcare companies at every stage of their financing journey. We understand entrepreneurs because we are entrepreneurs. Member FDIC.
Upcoming Deadlines
Featured Events
- ATL AI Build Night Kickoff with Lovable: Oct 1
- HR Excellence Awards Gala: Oct 8
- Avant South: Oct 12
- Startup Mountain Summit: Oct 12
- Venture Atlanta: Oct 14-15
- DelTech Memphis: Oct 14-16
- Venture135 Charlotte: Nov 19-20
Job Openings
Browse All Jobs - 2 new
We Want To Talk To...
- Startups trying out some unique marketing tactics
- Y Combinator graduates
Fit these descriptions? Tell us more. Prefer to email? Reach out here.
Word On The Street…
- 4 Southeast startups (and more semi-finalists!) named Most Fundable by Pepperdine U
- Matt Lohman joins as Chief Commercial Officer for Ditto
- Alpharetta's cybersecurity startup ZeroRisk raises $10M Series A
- Angel group WCT in Atlanta makes first investment
- Michael Simas joining board of Embarc Collective
- NC's RevTech Labs cohort coming to Atlanta
- Tampa Bay Wave teams up with Vanderbilt Health for HealthTech program
- New startup alert: SwipeTheVote
- BIP Partner's VP of Eng Neil Amin departs firm
Keep Reading
The interviews and topics you missed in the last newsletter:
Maija Ehlinger
Maija Ehlinger
Maija Ehlinger
Maija Ehlinger
