“Speed Dating for Startups” Event Returns to Atlanta


The annual Startup Riot event returns to Atlanta on February 20th.

Now celebrating its 6th year, the conference is a daylong opportunity for entrepreneurs to present their companies to investors, venture capitalists, and marketing professionals in 3-minute segments. This format, unofficially called “speed dating for startups,” has been covered by CNN, the Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

One example of a business who began after a successful pitch at Startup Riot is Pardot, a company specializing in marketing automation solutions. In 2012, the Atlanta Journal Constitution named Pardot as the “#1 Small Business to work for in Atlanta.” The company is currently ranked #172 on the Inc. 500 list.

Keynote speakers include T.A. McCann , the founder and CEO of Seattle-based Gist, Inc., and now vice president at Research in Motion, and Adam Rich, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Thrillist.com, which serves over 3 million subscribers. Some of the benefits to top presenters include prizes like a $5,000 cash investment, $1,000 in custom web design services from The Creative Momentum and meetings with investors.

Entrepreneur Sanjay Parekh started Startup Riot as a way to assist the community with an innovative environment that would foster collaborations between investors and startups.

“I sold my company, Digital Envoy, in 2007 and was looking for a way to give back to entrepreneurs,” said Michael White, co-founder and VP of Customer Relations for The Creative Momentum. “We want to show our support for Atlanta’s entrepreneurs and even offer some of our custom web design services because we have never seen anything like this. Our clients are looking for an opportunity to jumpstart their company and Startup Riot is a perfect fit.”

Applications for presenters can be found at http://startupriot.com/show/present-atlanta and are due by January 31st. Investors and other business attendees must register by February 7th at http://startupriot.com/show/attend-atlanta.


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