Thank you Startup Atlanta for the honor of being chosen as your Investor of the Year 2024! Grateful to visionary sponsors IFUSION CONSULTING LIMITED and Jacqui C., Dell Technologies, J.P. Morgan, and more for making this celebration of our ecosystem possible.
Two quick reflections:
1. Right after stepping off the stage, someone congratulated me with, “I remember meeting you and thinking, who IS this #woman starting a venture firm?” Yes, that’s me—the first woman to launch a VC in Atlanta. 😁 Being FIRST is something so many of us share in this city. I stand with a growing army of Atlanta pioneers in #innovation, and many of you heroes are Valor VC investors--thank YOU for making this recognition (and our successes) possible.
2. When Atlanta plays any game--soccer, football, or innovation--we don’t just raise the score; we challenge the rules. We have a unique culture that's diverse, inclusive, pragmatic, and friendly. We have a LOT to bring to #venture. The broader #VC world doesn’t quite know what to make of Atlanta’s everyday inclusion and boldness, but we're educating them. 😃 Atlanta owns the will and the talent to win big.
One thing we need more of, is capital. So today, I'm asking you--please ask your financial advisor, RIA, college endowment, or employer pension fund just how they’re exposing YOU to this booming ecosystem and the wealth we're creating in it. It is large institutions that fuel venture capital globally. In Atlanta, very few of these organizations have chosen to fund local venture firms that fund local founders. YOU can change that. No one’s coming to do it "for us." We build the culture we get to thrive in every day. Now is the always the right time to choose to win here, where we live, together.
Kauffman Fellows Donnie Beamer Jr., CFA
+Thank you Aqila Zafar Jafri for the video!
