This week's Atlanta Startup Village was truly one for the books. I have never seen such a prepared, put-together group of pitches in one place, and that's including most of the 30-second volunteer lineups in between. (Did you know you could do that? Help set up chairs and get 30 seconds between pitches? You should do that, job-seekers and recruiters and generally anyone who needs help in the startup community. You should do that.)
Read moreFive things we could all learn from Bruce Springsteen
A packed house for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band in Atlanta. You know it's a great concert when you're this far away and you didn't really realize it until you saw the pictures later.
A couple of weeks ago, my husband's generous boss offered us a set of tickets for a Bruce Springsteen concert. Full confession time, okay: I've never been a Springsteen fan. I'm not not a fan, I was just sort of, well, neutral. I knew a few songs here and there, but that was about it. (I know, I'm sorry!) But he's got to be iconic for a reason, right?
Most definitely.
I walked out of that show energized, excited, galvanized ... I really don't have enough inspirational words here. Springsteen is just really, truly motivation in action.
Read moreReinventing the Wheel: ParkENT Cycles & the Future of Bike Locks
According to the National Bike Registry and FBI, $350 million worth of bicycles are stolen in the United States each year. This roughly means that every 30 seconds, someone somewhere is losing a $400 bike.
At this point, if you're like me, you're wondering what the heck everyone is doing with all of these stolen bikes. A bicycle doesn't seem like the most productive thing to steal and fence. But apparently, if you model it just like any other financial decision using a risk-reward curve, it turns out stealing a bike is essentially a risk-free crime — though you might go to hell for stealing little Timmy's bike, you won't go to jail.
Read moreEVENTful | Switchyards: The Consumer Show
A packed house as Michael Tavani opens the first Consumer Show at Switchyards. PHOTO | Jason Seagle
There's definitely been a heavy tilt towards the B2B tech space. This isn't surprising, considering that it's hosted at the Atlanta Tech Village, but it can also feel like a weird fit for entrepreneurs with a B2C focus or a more abstract concept.
If you're one of those entrepreneurs, fear not: There is now a place for you, too! In keeping with their mission of creating beautiful startups for consumers, Switchyards Downtown Club has just launched The Consumer Show, a monthly pitch event that is — you guessed it —only for startups that build products for consumers.
Read moreConference Call: Are you in for Rainmaker 2016???
PHOTO | SalesLoft
On Friday, SalesLoft had a company meeting to prep for our upcoming national conference, Rainmaker 2016. (And by "upcoming," I mean, "It starts tomorrow!") Our CEO, Kyle Porter, and our outstanding marketing team walked us through the timeline and strategy for each day, and gave us the insider scoop on all things sales development.
And, y'all, I. AM. PUMPED!!!
I hope you are going to be there, because it is going to be amazing!
Read moreEVENTful | TechCrunch Meetup ATL 2016
A couple of nights ago, I was in a nightclub. I was standing on a balcony, chatting with friends, holding a drink and looking out at an overflowing crowd glowing green under tinted lighting. There was a waiting line out the door, the temperature was rising as people packed in, and the sound was deafening.
Okay, so it was 6 o'clock at night. On a Thursday. For a startup event. With one drink ticket. But still.
Hello, TechCrunch Meetup + Pitch-Off. We missed you!
Read moreFaking it: Knock it off with the automated Twitter messages already!
Okay, I'm going to briefly rant about a Twitter thing. (Fair warning. If you're totally not interested in Twitter, you can skip this post entirely. We will return to the regularly scheduled programming of rainbows and unicorn companies shortly.)
For those of you still reading, I consider this a PSA, really. And here is my plea: Please, please, please, STOP SENDING AUTOMATED TWITTER DIRECT MESSAGES TO YOUR NEW FOLLOWERS.
Read moreSwitchyards | So Much Soul
The obligatory across-the-street Switchyards shot. Which of course looks like everyone else's — it IS the building's best side, after all.
There's a new startup space in town, and it's creating some serious buzz among Atlanta entrepreneurs. It's crystallizing vague business proposals and turning "one day I will ..." thoughts into "today I will" motivations. It's galvanizing business-to-consumer discussions all over the city.
It should. It's designed to.
Read moreEVENTful | #ATLSV34
I know, it's been silent over here for a bit, but with the new year I'm finally getting a handle on a project that's consumed my life (and once I get over the PTSD of software implementation, I'll tell you all about it.... but that's another blog post). This week is also bursting with new events, new places, new people, so I had to get caught up so I could share.
Read moreIntermission!
Apologies for the blog silence, guys -- we've had a few recent changes at SalesLoft that you may have heard about (yay, funding!).
That has been awesome (literally, awesome. As in, actually inspiring awe), but has also made for some late nights, so I'm just now getting back to a semblance of spare time. I have several blog topics that have been jockeying for space in my head, though, and I promise those are coming soon.
If you're interested in more info on SalesLoft, check out this masterpiece of humbleness and transparency on the funding details from our CEO, Kyle Porter.
In the meantime, here is a GIF of a herd of Corgi puppies. Because, why not?
