Our editor-in-chief announces her departure from Hypepotamus and shares a farewell.
Just over a year ago, an hour before the application was due, I submitted my name to be the editor-in-chief of Hypepotamus. It turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life.
In my inbox, I had a course schedule to work on my Ph.D. at Stanford and a six-figure offer letter from one of the biggest tech companies in Silicon Valley. I just spent all my savings on a coding academy. I lived in temporary housing. Joining Hypepotamus didn’t make sense. Yet, the little Atlanta publication promised something that other opportunities didn’t. Authenticity. Need.
In a sea of technology and entrepreneurship news, the South is often overlooked. Working for a research university and national lab in the region, I knew that innovation lived here. I knew it. I know it. It thrives around us. Atlanta is home to some of the world’s most successful companies, a benchmark for female and minority entrepreneurship in the nation, and leads advancements in fintech, cybersecurity, health IT, manufacturing and marketing. It is a place where you can “do a lot with what you got.” A heck of a lot!
All the South needs, like most underdogs, is a loud voice to bark.
Since September 2015, our incredible team at Hypepotamus has nearly doubled its subscribers, increased its outreach by three, and boomed its voice across a rapidly growing social network. Our newsletter hits more inboxes each week than students currently enrolled at Georgia Tech. This reach includes numerous editors and writers from some of the world’s leading technology and business publications.
I love our Hype family! Our talented troupe of writers and hustlers have:
- Unearthed some of Georgia’s most promising startups;
- Shared advancements to the city made possible by its backbone companies, Coca-Cola, Cox, Home Depot, IBM, and others;
- Partnered with and advocated for thousands of tech and business events;
- Cheered on the triumphs happening at the Atlanta Tech Village, ATDC, Switchyards, TechSquare Labs, Techstars, and elsewhere; and
- Helped hundreds of people find jobs through our tech talent profiles and exploding career board.
Hypepotamus is currently a finalist for the Social Savvy Award from the Technology Association of Georgia. Earlier this year, it was a Finalist for Best Marketing Tech Startup by the American Marketing Association of Atlanta (losing, appropriately, to Terminus, the fastest-growing martech company in ATL). Yes, Hype, y’all! We have no marketing budget, we aren’t monetized. Everything we do is organic. We write with grit. We strive for originality. We do things the Southern way. We lead our activities with spirit and kindness.
With, seemingly, one other news source in town covering technology and entrepreneurship, Hypepotamus is the alternative voice to business deals and real estate. We are a “gateway drug” to entrepreneurship in Atlanta. It starts with a cool newsletter and leads to (emotional and financial) investment into the city’s hustle. Sometimes you just need one source to pay attention to you before you can make it to the next level. After features, we watch companies quickly grow, tech talent scooped up within days, jobs filled, events packed, and Atlanta startups hit national news outlets.
At Hypepotamus, it happens every day.
Last week, a burly man pulled me aside, his voice filled with choked tears. He told me that due to a feature in Hypepotamus he was able to save and build his business. That is what Hypepotamus is about. It is about fostering entrepreneurship in Atlanta. It is about attracting and retaining talent and dollars in the South. It is about saying that you don’t need to pay for 18-dollar toast from a caffeine oxygen bar on the West Coast to be fueled for entrepreneurship. Every resource you need to succeed is available in Atlanta. (Should I repeat?) It’s been an honor to hold the bullhorn that shouts that message. Thank you, Hype readers!
Now, as I step down, we look for the next Editor-in-Chief of Hypepotamus. Do you have passion, direction? Consider applying. It may change your life, too.
Oh, and me? I will be staying on as Editor-in-Chief until the end of 2016, from which time I will transition into an advisory role at Hypepotamus (and maybe contribute an article or two). I will continue to build my company, the Redeor Strategy Studio, which presently serves clients across twelve states. I also will begin a year a travel around the world. Feel free to follow my adventures on Twitter at @kiki_roeder or kikiroeder.com. 
