Spotlight: How Emory University Contributes to Atlanta’s Innovation Hub

Atlanta – home to some of the largest companies you may know, such as Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, CNN, UPS (just to name a few) – is now garnering attention as a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship. Some may even go as far as calling Atlanta the “Silicon Valley of the South.”  As a student of Emory University, located in north Atlanta, let me show you four ways in which my school promotes this atmosphere of innovation and entrepreneurship within the student body.

1. The Hatchery

In 2017, when Professor Robert Kazanjian submitted a proposal to receive sponsorship from the Goizueta Foundation to create an innovation space for students, the school’s hope was to receive 20 student applications to use the space for their entrepreneurial endeavors. Instead, nearly 60 applications rolled in to use The Hatchery.

Located at Emory Point, The Hatchery is a space where students, Emory faculty, alumni, and outside organizations can gather to innovate, collaborate, and engage. It is a modernized working space: a drop-in makerspace, materials and tech, meeting rooms and classrooms with AV equipment, etc. These amenities allow for class meetings, mentorship programs, startup workshops, prototype testing, and networking events for entrepreneurial students. 

2. Emory Entrepreneurship & Venture Management

A premier student entrepreneurship organization, Emory Entrepreneurship & Venture Management (EEVM) provides students the funding, marketing, resources, and mentorship to build their own company. Through the organization, student startup founders can apply for HackATL in the Fall, the most prominent business hackathon in the Southeast; entrepreneurs can enter EEVM’s selective incubator program, “Excellerator”, and receive the necessary coaching to accelerate the growth of their startups; students can write and submit content for IQ Magazine, a multimedia entrepreneurial digital newsletter. This doesn’t even include all the many other VC events students can participate in throughout the school year. In addition, students can apply to be a part of the EEVM executive board and become leaders in facilitating these resources and meeting entrepreneurs on campus. 

3. Emory Startup Launch

Run by some of Emory Goizueta Business School’s faculty, Emory Startup Launch is an eight-week incubator program for early-stage founders. Participation is open to the entire Emory community for free– students, faculty/staff, and alumni are welcome and encouraged to apply. Every week, startup founders will meet for three-hour long night sessions to give a weekly team update, present documented customer interviews, and receive coaching on how to execute their business model. It is a rigorous yet insightful program that requires substantial time both in and outside the classroom. Successful program graduates will be invited to present their startups to the Emory and Atlanta community.

4. Entrepreneurship Fellows Program

The Entrepreneurship Fellows is a selective program at the Goizueta Business School that recognizes students who demonstrate an entrepreneurial mindset and actively contribute to some of Goizueta’s entrepreneurship organizations and activities. Those selected as Fellows will have exclusive access to a variety of benefits, some of which includes membership access to Atlanta Tech Village, networking opportunities at entrepreneurship-related conferences (with a $250 credit to attend said events), opportunities to get involved in supporting entrepreneurship initiatives around campus, mentorship, etc. Both MBAs and BBAs may apply to become a Fellow.