This Software Engineer Has Built A New Type of Tech Conference

When a city’s mayor shows up at a work conference, you know there is something special going on. 

Mayor Andre Dickens — along with an impressive “who’s who” list of Atlantans in tech, music, arts, and business — took part in the Render(ATL) conference this year. This has quickly grown to be a prime tech conference in Atlanta and throughout the East Coast. 

Justin Samuels, senior software engineer and tech lead at Mailchimp, founded Render(ATL) to help put Atlanta on the map as the spot to recruit engineering talent.

In the lead-up to the event, Samuels told Hypepotamus it was important to him to help change the narrative about the talent pool already here in Atlanta.  

It is something deeply personal for Samuels. As a software engineer himself, he said he was pulled to the West Coast several years ago, but recognized that travel wasn’t necessary. “When I got there, everybody treated me like I’m some kind of like a unicorn, where I was the only Black person in a room that knows how to problem-solve or understand how to get the job done. And I was like, y’all, this isn’t true. Have you ever heard of the magical city of Atlanta?” he said. 

This year’s attendees attended educational tracks on a range of topics, including trends in Web3, product design, and mobile app development. But creating better tech culture took center stage throughout the 3-day conference. 

The goal of the conference is to showcase Atlanta’s home-grown engineering talent while helping people from other tech hubs better experience Atlanta’s unique culture. 

And in true Atlanta form, attendees were treated to good food and even better music throughout the event. 

Microsoft, Mailchimp, Google, Amazon, and other international tech companies were part of bringing the event to life. 

(Catch a glimpse of the event with the Night 1 kickoff party recap). 

 

 

Render(ATL) brought in 6,500 participants this year at The Gathering Spot and other locations across the city. That is impressive growth for an event that just got off the ground last year in a fully remote setting. 

So what’s next for Render? Samuels said the team is already planning for 2023 and looking for more space to accommodate the number of individuals and companies looking to take part. And…they are hiring new talent to help bring the event to life next year. Check out the open positions here!).