Student Entrepreneurs Connect at Startup Exchange Summit ATL
Student entrepreneurs face unique challenges launching startups while balancing academics. To address this and much more, the Startup Exchange Summit ATL, hosted in The Clubhouse, boasted an evening dedicated to connecting founders and funders through a celebration of innovation and creativity right in the heart of Atlanta.
The event offered students an opportunity to learn from notable founders and leaders in venture management, gain access to opportunities at startups, and connect with other student founders.
Via a booth expo, attendees connected with notable startups around Atlanta, plus student entrepreneurs from Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, Emory University, University of Georgia, Spelman College, and Morehouse College.
Next, Obi Akpuda from Microsoft for Startups took the stage to talk about the journey from “Zero to One: Idea to Product.” The presentation touched on the following discussion questions:
How do you go from idea to product?
What are the steps for building a Minimal Viable Product (MVP)?
What resources can founders leverage when starting out?
How can Microsoft for Startups help early stage companies?
What are common pitfalls startups face and how can they be avoided?
What advice does Microsoft for Startups have for new founders?
Immediately following, the newest, most innovative upcoming startups from the Startup Exchange (SX) incubator program pitched to a panel of investor judges for cash prizes – and to showcase the months of hard work developing their products. They also touched on their target customers, product features, technical architecture, funding needs, and their three-to-five-year vision. During the pitch competition, the investor judges asked probing questions for specific topics:
Traction and Growth
How many users so far?
What is the go to market strategy?
Competition
How does the product differentiate itself?
What gives it an edge?
Business Model
How does the startup plan to monetize?
What are future revenue streams?
Team
Why is the founding team equipped to succeed?
What domain expertise do they offer?
The Atlanta startup ecosystem is thriving, but pitch competitions like these are crucial for exposing founders to investors, getting candid feedback, and receiving vital capital to accelerate growth. The SX Summit ATL demonstrated the value of these opportunities by showcasing innovative early stage companies across industries like healthtech, fintech, edtech, and more.
All of which was made possible by SX’s incubator program, which enables students that are designers, developers, engineers, tinkerers, inventors, builders, and makers interested in creating something that people love – or need. They accomplish this support through their unparalleled access to a premier network of talented students, domain experts, mentors, and investors. And beyond their network, their organization offers access to meetups, hackathons, and pitch competitions that enable students to further refine their ideas.
There was also a startup founder panel that discussed challenges like hiring, fundraising, product-market fit, and scaling. The audience had an opportunity to ask the founders questions as well.
Overall, the event was quite a success, offering great networking and inspiration, as well as a chance to truly celebrate the thriving startup ecosystem here in Atlanta. Attendees of all kinds gained valuable insights into launching a startup, connecting with key players, and bringing an idea to life.
Do you have any startup ideas, but don’t know where to start? Comment below and we’ll be sure to help get you connected!