Peachtree Corners, the three-year-old city on the north side of Atlanta Metro, is living up to its tagline of “Innovative and Remarkable” with the launch of a business incubator. Its city council is giving $300,000 to develop the program, which will support emerging entrepreneurs in the area.
“The Peachtree Corners community is the ideal location for an incubator,” said Wayne Hodges, a cofounder of Georgia Tech’s highly successful Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC). “A recent readiness study showed there is a real need and tremendous support for an incubator.”
The city is partnering with ATDC, currently ranked as one of the world’s top incubators by Forbes, as well entrepreneurial advisors from across the region, including its principal consultant Sanjay Parekh.
Hypepotamus met with Parekh, who has started several businesses including Digital Envoy, is the founder of Startup Riot, and the Associate Director of CREATE-X, an initiative helping Georgia Tech students gain entrepreneurial confidence.
What is going on with the Peachtree Corners Incubator?
There’s tons going on. The city has approved an initial budget of $300,000 for the first year and I hope to see their ongoing financial support in the future. Right now it is quite an effort trying to figure out location, name, and website, all the things that any startup has to do. There is a lot of activity right now, as well as talking with people who want to be involved in one way or another – from sponsors to marketing to entrepreneurs who may want to be housed in the incubator.
Why is this area positioned for an incubator?
When you look at that northern arc of Metro Atlanta, there is really nothing there. You see two areas where technology is developing. You see so much technology going on in those two quarters. You have one going up on GA-400 toward Alpharetta and you have one in Technology Park stretching from Peachtree Corners and Norcross, up to Johns Creek. You have these two major technology hubs and yet you don’t really have any support for startups or entrepreneurship. A lot of Atlanta’s tech history comes from some of those northern areas. The desire to support entrepreneurship has been around for decades, but not until now has there been a concerted effort to support startups in the northern arc of Metro Atlanta.
What is your role as lead advisor?
I have a long history of entrepreneurship, founding my former company, which is currently based in Peachtree Corners, and then spending time as an angel investor. I am now doing work at Georgia Tech helping students launch startups and organizing Startup Riot annually. My experience runs the gamut. But in my heart I am an entrepreneur and I am motivated to help other entrepreneurs succeed. Everyone wins when entrepreneurs succeed. With the incubator, we are going to optimize the return, not just financially, but with lifestyle and access. The incubator will be successful if we do that. This success will help others in the region, Metro Atlanta and the State of Georgia. All of these are tied together.
