March 15, 2022
Digital Roadtrip to Atlanta and Nashville
We are hitting the road again and learning about all the other "emerging" ecosystems. This time we are heading to the Southeast and making pitstops in Atlanta and Nashville. We are joined by Blake Patton, Managing Partner Tech Square Ventures, and Brian Moyer, President and CEO at the Greater Nashville Technology Council to discuss their regions. We discuss their history, what's the secret sauce that is driving their growth, and how are they adapting to the changing dynamics of work and innovation. What's next everywhere else!
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Transcript
Episode Highlights:
- Nashville’s brand is “Music City,” representing about $15B and 41K jobs. However, the healthcare industry is four times the size and represents almost 170K jobs.
- Atlanta is now home to the headquarters of 29 of the Fortune 1000. And these big companies are leaders in their fields (Coca Cola, Home Depot, etc.). While other companies are expanding their presence in the area (Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, and more).
- Atlanta is leading the charge to create a new brand, the “Super Southeast.” Stretching from Texas to Washington DC – although I don’t think anyone asked Texas if they wanted to join. Nashville is part of that brand building exercise and collaborating with Atlanta.
- The Super Southeast represents about 23% of the nation’s GDP, but only 7% of venture capital investments, leaving a big gap that they are trying to fill. New, stronger angel networks are growing in the area, and with exits comes more local leaders recycling their money into new startups.
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