Huge loves Atlanta and we love making things.
On Thursday, November 20th Huge Atlanta hosted a panel discussion with four individuals who are passionate about helping lead and shape our city. Group Creative Director Derek Fridman moderated the discussion and was joined by Root City Market’s Jen Soong, Deer Bear Wolf’s curator Davy Minor, Brash Coffee’s Creative Director Matthew Ludwikowski, and Switchyards’ Michael Tavani.
Together, the panelists delved into issues affecting Atlanta – from economical challenges to creative, tech, and business accomplishments– and offered insight to help take our city to a new level.
All the panelists agree that Atlanta offers the opportunity, hometown support, identity, and inspiration to make the city flourish.
Opportunity. A lot of efforts are happening in Atlanta right now, but Michael Tavani believes there may be too many. In order to help propel this city’s entrepreneurs and the city as a whole, some of these initiatives need to join forces and leverage each other’s efforts. This was the thinking behind Switchyards, his new consumer and design-focused startup hub.
Michael explains, “Our goal is to curate. We want 20-25 solid, effective consumer companies in the same building and let the magic happen organically.” There is power to collaboration and leaders in Atlanta are looking to empower each other.
Davy Minor agrees and added, “ a whole lot is going on here, but so much in Atlanta lays in isolation of each other.” All of our panelists are passionate about the opportunities in the city and bridging the existing gaps.
“There’s room for us to make an effective impact in the city,” says Matt, of Brash. If a brand has soul, the community will get behind it and support it. There is opportunity to make a big impact in not a long time.
Hometown support. Jen Soong remembers that as she was starting out, she wasn’t sure anyone would come out and support Root City’s first holiday market. Over 1000 people were in attendance its first year.
People are willing to support local. “If you’re building something cool, people will get behind it; the community isn’t big enough for anyone to get lost in the crowd and creatives support one another.”
Davy Minor agrees and adds that there is a new sense of community building up, that has never before existed so strongly in Atlanta. Initiatives such as DeerBearWolf are helping connect the community and provide more accessibility for people to support local arts initiatives. The panelists agree, there is a deliberate movement and sense of community and collaborations happening between the different creative mediums in Atlanta.
Talent. The talent is here. Atlanta has incredible creative talent coming out of GA Tech, Emory, and SCAD among others. The challenge is keeping it here. Young people think the best, sexiest work happening is in New York or LA. That’s not true anymore. Large agencies such as Razorfish, JWT, and BBDO all have shops here. Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola and Delta call Atlanta home.
Michael Tavani who was born and raised in Atlanta accurately stated, “Atlanta is the best city in the country to get shit done.” For young startups, the cost of living and quality of life in Atlanta is hands down better than the alternatives. In Atlanta you’re amongst magical things happening, but in a market that’s not yet overly saturated.
Identity. Atlanta is viewed as a transient city. To an outsider, Atlanta is almost there, almost doing interesting things, but we’re not recognized nationally and don’t have an established identity. Lack of identity isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Panelist Davy Minor says, “We don’t have a top down identity. It’s kind of a blank slate – we have the resources of a big city, but not big institutions that already exist shaping the city.”
Atlanta has all of the raw elements for creative entrepreneurs to be successful. Jen Soong’s efforts include turning Atlanta into the Maker hub of the South. Matt, of BRASH coffee is creating a brand that eliminates the pretension from coffee and brings people together. In Atlanta, you can establish your own individual identity and help shape the city’s identity as well.
Inspiration. Each of our panelists has chosen to start their companies in Atlanta and call Atlanta home. To people starting out or deciding what path to take or whether or not to make a big move, our panelists agree: move to a place that encourages creativity and fosters a sense of community. Find likeminded people that support your work. Be a maker and do something, take a step in the direction of your dream. Build something with heart. Investors, your peers, the community will notice the talent and hard work behind a good brand. As Michael Tavani said, “It’s like porn. You know it when you see it.”
