Atlanta Startup Podcast

With over $2B in assets under management, Drive Capital is a significant lead venture capital firm focused on backing startups between the coasts. On today’s episode, we’re joined by one of Drive’s newest General Managers, Avoilan Bingham, who is opening their new Atlanta office. Avoilan writes $500K checks for visionary pre-seed founders seeking to innovate in billion-dollar markets.Avoilan shares his insider perspectives on the budding Atlanta ecosystem, his advice for founders fundraising right now, and his passion for Generative AI.Connect with Avoilan and the Valor team in person this Thursday, December 15th for the 17th Showcase of the Startup Runway program, where Aviolan is a judge. You'll hear 10 underrepresented founders pitching to the VC Judges including Drive Capital, and Coinbase Ventures. Register for free for this in-person event at startuprunway.org Let's take this conversation to real time. Join Valor for an upcoming event.

Join Jonathan King, Principal at Coinbase Ventures, who guides investment strategies in Web3 and blockchain tools. He shares insights on how Coinbase became a leading VC in crypto. Discover the booming crypto scene in Atlanta and what 2023 holds for it. Jonathan discusses challenges faced by crypto founders, the need for robust infrastructure, and the potential of decentralized applications. He highlights Atlanta's rising role as a crypto hub, emphasizing innovation and inclusivity in the local startup ecosystem.

Meet De’Havia Stewart, an early-stage FinTech investor at Anthemis, where she is responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and executing deals of pre-seed to Series A startups. Anthemis Group is an early-stage venture capital firm based in London, UK, with $1.5BN+ in AUM. De'Havia previously worked at Softbank, supported the SoftBank Opportunity Fund, and helped deploy $100M+ into black and brown founders. Learn the types of companies that Anthemis is investing in and some of the key metrics they look at when evaluating startups.Catch up with Valor in person. William Leonard will be in Miami on December 1st. He will be judging the Black Founders Demo Day. Startup Runway is at the Woodruff Arts Center on Dec 15th. You can register to attend and meet VCs, including Avoilan Bingham, General Manager of Drive Capital, Jonathan King, Principal of Coinbase, and Vanessa Villaverde, Healthcare and Femtech Investor of Vamos Ventures, at startuprunway.org.Let's take this conversation to real time. Join Valor for an upcoming event.

Meet Stefanie Diaz, Manager of Industry Discovery and Research at Catalyst by WellStar. WellStar is Georgia's largest healthcare system. Catalyst is a First-of-its-Kind Global Digital Health and Innovation Center right here in Atlanta looking to invest in and engage with early-stage startups. Learn how they invest in this must-listen episode for early-stage founders.This week, join Valor at the Who's Who in ATL event at Atlanta Tech Park on Wednesday, Nov. 16th from 6-8 pm. You can register online at https://hub.tie.org/e/nov2022mm. Startup Runway is just weeks away and If you're interested and want to enter for a $10,000 pre-seed startup grant, apply to startuprunway.org. Looking ahead, Valor's VC Day is taking requests to register for this exciting event, with $1B of capital pointed at Atlanta. Learn more at  VC.day.Let's take this conversation to real time. Join Valor for an upcoming event.

Atlanta founder Hannah Olson was forced quit her dream job due to Lyme Disease. But she didn't let this setback halt her entrepreneurial aspirations. Today as the CEO and Co-founder of Disclo, she's the visionary behind the compliance platform managing employee disclosures and helping organizations meet employee needs in a HIPAA and ADA-compliant manner. Research shows over 133 million Americans are struggling with a chronic condition and seeking additional support and accommodations in the workplace. In this episode, you'll hear more in-depth about Hannah's empowering journey of battling Lyme Disease, her insight on building Disclo as her second startup, how she envisions this space evolving, and her important fundraising advice for early-stage founders. Let's take this conversation to real time. Join Valor for an upcoming event.

The Plug and Play Tech Center is making waves in Georgia. As the largest innovation platform in the world, they're focused on the brightest startups building the future of supply chain, retail, eCommerce, fintech, digital health, and more. Director of Corporate Partnerships Jessica Vargas and Senior Director of Enterprise Technology Nate Hinman join William on the podcast for a rich conversation outlining the unique corporate access points Plug and Play offers its startups, their outlook for the newly launched Plug and Play Savannah Accelerator, a deeper dive on why they're hyper-focused on Georgia's burgeoning tech scene, and their expansion plan for Atlanta.Let's take this conversation to real time. Join Valor for an upcoming event.

Get to know seed and Series A investor Steve Hasty of Circadian Ventures, an Atlanta investor. He talks about his introduction to venture capital in Atlanta and how helpful a chance connection with John Yates was in his journey. Plus, learn more about how to apply for grants that will be presented December 15 by the Startup Runway Foundation.Let's take this conversation to real time. Join Valor for an upcoming event.

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!Let's take this conversation to real time. Join Valor for an upcoming event.

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.Let's take this conversation to real time. Join Valor for an upcoming event.

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.Let's take this conversation to real time. Join Valor for an upcoming event.