TiECON 2019: Built In Atlanta, the one-day annual entrepreneurship conference, met with a packed house celebrating the rise of Atlanta as the newest hub for entrepreneurship. 

Taking place on Sept. 27, 2019, at Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter in Dunwoody, GA, the conference welcomed some of the city’s leaders who have built and brought this city to become a leader in innovation and investments. 

Built In Atlanta opened with keynote speakers Robert Frohwein and Kathryn Petralia of Kabbage, an Atlanta-founded company that supports small businesses through straightforward, flexible access to capital. Kabbage is valued at over $1.2 billion dollars.

Kabbage co-founders Frohwein and Petralia spoke about the early days of Kabbage, finding the right co-founder and what entrepreneurs should take away from the startup days. 

“Keep asking. Eventually, those 'No's will turn into a yes,” said Petralia, reflecting on the hustle to seek out investors and belief in their idea. 

Then, the afternoon welcomed the much anticipated Built In Atlanta panel that featured investors and leaders from various companies in Atlanta to discuss their journey and growing landscape of Atlanta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. 

The panel included Hala Moddelmog, president and CEO of Metro Atlanta Chamber; David Cummings, entrepreneur; and Michael Tavani, founder of Switchyards. The panel was moderated by John Yates, partner at Morris, Manning, and Martin.

Collectively, these individuals have been responsible for over $2 billion in wealth creation, over 5000 new jobs and uncounted hours each of these entrepreneurs have given back to support the Atlanta ecosystem. 

Cummings, Moddelmog, and Tavani discussed the state of investments, why it’s a prime opportunity for non-tech industries and what makes Atlanta so special.

“The can-do attitude of Atlanta is tremendous. One of our biggest strengths is how open and welcoming we are,” said Cummings. 

Tavani, who is focused on investing in business-to-consumer startups, also pointed out that the focus should be on non-tech startups too. He noted that Lil’ Nas X, the rapper who has broken Billboard records, is one of the biggest non-tech startups to come out of Atlanta in recent years. 

Additionally, Moddelmog touched on the availability of capital. “We’ve got to change the narrative of the capital here so we can do more business and create more access,” she said. 

Closing the event was Robert Nardelli, a global executive who has led The Home Depot, GE and Chrysler. In a fireside chat, he had an authentic conversation that discussed leadership, mentoring, and why embracing innovation is the only way to stay operating as a business. 

“You have to innovate, otherwise you will evaporate,” he said, advising the packed room of the importance of thinking ahead and building for the future.

The conference also hosted four breakout sessions: Perfect Your Pitch, Get Funded, Diversity and Inclusion, and Innovation in Atlanta. The panels featured leaders from Delta Airlines, Mailchimp, Goldman Sachs, and more. 

Closing the event was the 2019 TiE Top Entrepreneur Awards. An annual event, the awards recognize top entrepreneurs and small businesses in Georgia. The awards evaluate a company’s growth, profitability, and sustainability through applied strategies for success, management style, innovation, and culture. The honorees are then ranked according to the criteria. Nominees must have been in business on January 1, 2015, and have a minimum of $2 million in 2018 revenue but no more than $100 million.

For 2019, the rankings were:

1. Sandeep Gauba, GoProcure
2. Yaser Hameed, Cloud IQ
3. Brian Dally, GROUNDFLOOR
4. Trenton Spindler, GreenPrint Corp
5. Rajen Sheth, Boardwalk Development Group
6. Gary Simat, Total Server Solutions
7. Christy Johnson, AchieveIt
8. Ilana Alberico, ISM Spa
9. Deb Rowe, Shenanigans Irish Pub & Bourbon Street Grille
10. Johanna Thomas, Strategic Security Solutions

The event was hosted by TiE Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that invents, invests in and inspires entrepreneurs through its funding, mentoring, educational programs and global network of 15,000 members and 61 chapters in 14 countries.

Photos of the conference are available here.