Atlanta Tech Week 2024 in pictures

102 events in one week?

That would be a difficult feat for any conference to accomplish. But Atlanta Tech Week has proven to be a departure from the traditional tech conference. And to achieve this, organizers turned to the community.

Instead of booking a giant conference room and gathering tech enthusiasts in one place, Atlanta Tech Week functioned more like a roadshow. Each day, events were centralized in different parts of the metropolitan area. This gave out-of-town attendees and Atlanta locals a chance to break out of their bubble and see all of Atlanta’s tech hubs. Events took place at Atlanta Tech Park in Peachtree Corners, Atlanta Tech Village in Buckhead, Atlanta Blockchain Center, Science Square in West Midtown, Microsoft Offices, Ponce City Market, ATDC in Midtown, the Indigo Hotel in Downtown and The Gathering Spot, just to name a few.

Yes, there have been standard panels on what venture capitalists are looking for… and there have been more than a few happy hours to help tech professionals mingle with each other. But there were also in-depth analyzes on how companies can secure government contracts, practical advice on preparing to exit a startup, and feel-good events for stressed-out founders. Instead of a centralized agenda that guided people from one activity to the next, organizers let community members create their own technology-focused events throughout the week. This meant the week played out more like a “choose your own adventure” than a set conference menu.

The Hypepotamus team was on the road all week meeting startup founders and enjoying the energy of the city. Although we didn’t attend all 102 events, we’re here to give you a little insight into how the week went.

Here are some photos of the events that took place:

Is it even a technical event if there’s no coding challenge included? To kick off the week, Build Day X came to town to host its 24-hour sprint and bootcamp. Participants built an MVP via ACT House’s gamified design sprints.

Part of the fun of the week was seeing startups in action. One example was StageWing, an equipment rental marketplace for AV professionals and DJs. Not only was the startup selected to participate in the Atlanta Tech Village Showcase on Tuesday, but it also brought the rhythm and energy as musical entertainment for the crowded happy hour that followed at Kula Coffee.

Pitchfest brought together over 100 people to the small but mighty Buckhead location of the Atlanta Blockchain Center. 11 local startups pitched. More than 100 people came to see presentations from 11 amazing startups. The overall winner was Yamini Sagar of Instarails, who received an investment of $25,000.

Hypepotamus also got in on the action on Monday, participating in the panel on what startups need to know about journalists and PR professionals. The panel included Meredith Fletcher (Fletcher PR), Mirtha Donastorg (AJC), Maija Ehlinger (Hypepotamus) and Ekaette Kern (Tenet Consultancy). Audience members were able to hear first-hand what technology journalists and business journalists want to see from startups seeking press appearances. One big takeaway: the press release is dead. Organized and personalized pitches are available!

Part of the team behind Atlanta Tech Village, Jon Birdsong, Aly Merritt, Julie Pierre and Nisha Kavalam took the stage to explore the future of The Village in Atlanta. Late last year, David Cummings and Jon Birdsong announced that they had purchased a large portion of South Downtown, an Atlanta neighborhood that they said had the potential to become the next tech hub of a big city. Our Key Takeaways: ATV is looking for ways to integrate and honor the business community already present in South Downtown. It also shows off South Downtown and is an extension of ATV’s original mission to grow the city’s startup scene. But the team is struggling to figure out how to create a sense of community cohesion across two disparate sites.

Of course, no conference is complete without plenty of opportunities to connect over beers, mocktails, and appetizers. Atlanta Tech Village was filled with networkers on Tuesday, and the party moved to Midtown on Wednesday with several rooftop parties helping the local community connect.

And after?

Tech Week continues through Saturday the 15th, as the focus shifts to RenderATL, a growing technology-focused conference for engineers and technology professionals. We’ll be updating this page with more photos in the coming days…so check back often for a full recap!