Atlanta really flexed its startup muscles with a jam-packed week of amazing, well-attended events, proving that there’s great ideas, top talent, and investment money in this Southern power-city. It was the official launch of Startup Georgia, the regional chapter of the Startup America partnership, and Agency Spotter was right in the mix, sharing our mission to help connect businesses and agencies.
First, we hit Startup Rally at the beautiful Biltmore Hotel. This was billed as the “Largest gathering of startups in Georgia since 1895!”. While we can’t prove that, our strained voices and overflowing contact cards sure make the case. 
The event included over 100 startups from the region showcasing their stuff to an audience of 800+ startup enthusiasts, investors, media, and …music fans? Yup, the event already had an impressive line up for panels, but it went overboard when Jermaine Dupri (CEO of So So Def Recordings) took stage to share his insight into starting a business in Atlanta and the drive it takes to bring success. A huge thanks to Hypepotamus for organizing and funding this event!
Next, we hit the Founder Fables after-party where we got some down-time to chat with other startup founders, sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly of starting your own venture.
Then, the highlight of the week was being selected as one of 30 startups to pitch at Startup Riot at the amazing Tabernacle in downtown Atlanta. 
The day started early with a bit of manual labor, some nerves, and a lot of coffee. The Agency Spotter team was in full-force with iPads in-hand, sporting our new t-shirts while demoing for over 8 hours. These events always wear you down but in the end are completely worth it.
Our co-founder with a stomach of steel, Joseph Raccuglia took the stage mid-morning presenting our 3-minute (to the second) pitch to an audience of 450 people and a panel of judges.
Within seconds, the Tweet board was rolling with 140 character high-fives from fans and supporters, old and new!
Here are two of our favorites: 
Want to hear more about our experience at Startup Riot? Listen to the Business RadioX interview with Joseph.
Finally, to release some of the pressure from the week, we hit-up Joystick Gamebar in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward for some retro-arcade action.
Some of us remembered the Flying Liu Kang Kick, others struggled just to stay alive.
As always, sign-up to start finding the right creative agency or to get your agency listed! Thanks to everyone who helped make our week super fun and a great success!
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