When you think about entrepreneurial “hubs,” a major city corridor or a downtown building probably comes to mind. That has historically been the case for cities like Atlanta, where Midtown’s Tech Square and the area around Buckhead’s Atlanta Tech Village have been magnets for entrepreneurial talent over the years.
But these hubs aren’t close for the vast majority of Atlantans. Quite simply, there are more people living in the suburbs around Metro Atlanta than are in the actual city. So the majority of people are commuting long distances to find the startup resources, community, and networking opportunities they need to start or scale a business.
The team behind HatchBridge wants to change that. Alongside places like Tech Alpharetta and Curiosity Lab at Peachtree Corners, HatchBridge’s business accelerator program on Kennesaw State University’s (KSU) campus wants to prove that entrepreneurs can build and scale from the suburbs.
Why Build In The Burbs
HatchBridge started as a collaboration between KSU and the Cobb Chamber of Commerce. Today, it is filling a gap within the business community by bringing “hands on, face-to-face training” closer to where people live, HatchBridge Program Manager and startup veteran Graham Gintz told Hypepotamus.
“COVID changed the way that we think about the office, but it hasn’t changed our need for community. And so we’re trying to give community options that are closer to home for some folks,” added Colin Ake, HatchBridge’s Director of Incubation and Commercialization.
While still a young space, HatchBridge has quickly become much more than just a startup office building in Kennesaw. Its accelerator program has helped twenty companies – ranging from pre-idea to Series A – access the startup resources they need over the last year alone.
“We want to be more than just walls,” added Ake. “We want to be a place that serves people where they are. Because entrepreneurs don’t need to drive 45 minutes to find a program. They need support where they are. They need community where they are.”
Kennesaw’s Entrepreneurial Scene
KSU looks very different than it did even just a few years ago. Located 25 miles north of downtown Atlanta, the once largely commuter campus is now one of the 50 largest universities in the country based on enrollment. It has opened up the Robin and Doug Shore Entrepreneurship Center and has launched several new programs designed to educate the next generation of AI and STEM-related professionals.
So it makes sense that more students on campus are getting bit by the proverbial ‘startup bug.’ Many of those who have joined HatchBridge’s programs or intern at the center so far are KSU students looking at careers in entrepreneurship and startups.
But HatchBridge is not just for students and faculty members. It is open to community members throughout the Metro Atlanta area. Nor is it only limited to technology-focused founders. Hatching Success is a four-month long program to help entrepreneurs based on their specific needs, be it learning how to find customers for a service-oriented business or how to court investors if venture capital is needed.
HatchBridge has graduated two Hatching Success cohorts so far and is gearing up to launch its third. The goal is to bring in entrepreneurs who are ready to “run active experiments” as they look to hone in on a successful business model, added Gintz.
Growth Mode
HatchBridge is in growth mode. In 2024, the organization will bring in its first Entrepreneur In Residence, build out its mentor network, and will look to roll out more structured programs to help entrepreneurs at different stages and life cycles. It could also be the “epicenter of KSU’s commercialization” efforts.
While HatchBridge is growing on KSU’s campus, it is also expanding its presence in cities and counties across Atlanta’s northwest suburbs. Its first pilot, called LaunchPad Bootcamp, is working with Cherokee County and its Office of Economic Development.
Suburban Development
It is all about ensuring that entrepreneurs, regardless of location, can build the communities they want. And that means reshaping the traditional business accelerator program to meet the needs of the local community.
“One of the things that we figured out really early on is that many of the entrepreneurs that we serve are people that had young families, so being home at seven o’clock is super important,” added Gintz.
For HatchBridge, that means replacing the traditional after-work happy hours with monthly hikes on Kennesaw Mountain, which Gintz said is a way for mentors, community members, and entrepreneurs to connect and bounce ideas off each other while enjoying some fresh air. It also has put together its “Build In The Burbs” speaker series to highlight entrepreneurs who are intentionally building businesses outside of Intown Atlanta.
But Gintz and Ake are intentional when they say that “Built In The Burbs” might be a motto born at HatchBridge, it is designed to unite the region.
“There’s been a lot going on up here [in the burbs] for a long time,” Gintz added. “This is a great starting point for building a startup community.”
