Metro Atlanta Chamber Introduces Five New ‘Backed by ATL’ Scaling Startups

Backed by ATL 2019 cohort

The Backed by ATL program, an initiative to support and accelerate scaling-stage startups in the city, has announced an additional five companies to enter the program. The Metro Atlanta Chamber launched Backed by ATL two years ago and is now on its third cohort.

The companies inducted into this cohort were:

  • CulturaLink (Norcross, GA): A company that provides training, consultation, language interpretation, and document translation services to health providers serving diverse populations
  • NOW Corp (Atlanta, GA): A startup that enables business growth by making it easier for companies to get paid
  • Revenue Analytics (Atlanta, GA): A company that uses a mix of machine learning and human intelligence to predict and adjust pricing patterns
  • Trella Health (Atlanta, GA): An enterprise dedicated to data-driven solutions to issues associated with post-acute healthcare
  • The Gathering Spot (Atlanta, GA): An invite-only co-working and meeting space with locations in Atlanta and Washington, D.C.

“We have an opportunity to focus on next-gen companies and next-gen talent,” MAC president and CEO Hala Moddelmog said on stage. “Our goal is still the same: We want to have a more prosperous and vibrant community, and we want Atlanta to be a top-tier global competitor.”

Once selected for the Backed by ATL program, the Metro Atlanta Chamber partners with each company for free to develop a customized acceleration plan based on the organization’s growth strategies.

This plan could comprise making connections with potential customers and partners, talent recruitment and retention, funding strategies, and more.

“We are honored to be selected as a company that MAC wants to support,” said Yolanda Robles, CEO of CulturaLink, in a statement.

“CulturaLink has undergone tremendous growth in the past few years due to innovative technology achievements that are making healthcare safer for the diverse world in which we currently live, and we can’t wait to network and learn from other evolving metro Atlanta companies.” 

PJ Bain, CEO of supply chain fintech company PrimeRevenue, spoke about the benefits of being taken under Backed by ATL’s wing.

Bain recently used the program’s connections to solve a problem that arose when the second cohort company unexpectedly grew too quickly.  

“We outgrew our space,” Bain said on stage. “The team at the Metro Atlanta Chamber marshaled some resources and really helped us to break down some barriers so we could move our corporate headquarters. We never would have been able to meet that timeline without the support of the Backed by ATL program.”

Although Backed by ATL provides many resources to the companies it selects, at least one founder feels that one of the larger benefits of the program is the camaraderie between the companies themselves.

“I’m lucky to be in the community business,” Ryan Wilson, co-founder of The Gathering Spot, told Hype.

“This gives me the opportunity to talk about people that I know are doing great things, too. I hope the residual impact will be that there are more companies that will benefit from all that comes with being part of this cohort.”

Scaling startups on the Backed by ATL’s roster already include: Ally Commerce, First Performance, MaxEx, Nolan Transportation Group, Patientco, Pindrop, PrimeRevenue, QGenda, Rubicon Global, SalesLoft, Skillshot Media, Springbot, Terminus, TruRating, and Urjanet.

These companies have raised nearly $1 billion in capital and created more than 3,000 jobs to date.

“These are companies that we know are going to scale,” says Moddelmog. “We know that they’re going to grow, but we believe that, hopefully, with the help that we can give — maybe they can grow faster.”