Top Atlanta Startups to Watch (and Work for) in 2023

My Background

Hi, I'm Kieran! I worked in startups for five years at On Deck and Wefunder. Some of my favorite things that I've worked on during my career include:

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Wefunder Workaway: 12 founders working on a new idea, 7 days, 1 mansion in Hawaii. One of the teams we picked raised a Series A from Andreessen Horowitz, and two people who met during the trip got married...

On Deck: As employee #15, I contributed to the startup's growth from no revenue to a $20 million run rate in less than a year. I led the team that built the admission infrastructure to support and scale ~20 fellowships for founders, capital allocators, operators, and creators.

XX: Worked on a pre-YC accelerator program that invested $125K on an MFN SAFE into 8-10 teams per cohort.

ODX: Worked on a $100 million accelerator program that invested $125K for 7% into 100s of startups. We partnered with leaders like Flexport to build vertical industry tracks around supply chain & logistics, etc.

Ryan Marketing: Created an influencer marketing startup (2 million+ Instagram followers) during college with my twin brother and realized early that monetization for creators was broken. I learned a lot, and it paid enough to cover my schooling, rent, and meals.

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The Methodology

I considered several data points to arrive at the startups selected on this list, including company traction, funding raised, valuation, and investors. From my initial list, I then referenced each startup with my personal network to narrow down the list to the one you see below. I take my credibility seriously, so I do not take any money from startups who want to be included on this list to remain impartial. If you want to understand my analysis of startups and prefer long-form content, read my research on the top startups of 2023 afterward.

Calendly

Free online appointment scheduling software.

Headquarters

Atlanta, Georgia

Industry

Scheduling Software, Cloud

Founded

2013

Funding

$350.6 million

Valuation

$3 billion

Traction

Calendly has 10 million users with monthly active users in 155+ countries.

Calendly serves 50,000+ corporate customers, including Dropbox, Twilio, Lyft, Zendesk, Compass, L'Oréal, eBay, and Ancestry.

Calendly has built 100+ partner integrations with companies like Zoom, Slack, Typeform, Salesforce, Hubspot, Zapier, and Microsoft Teams.

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Full Profile

Stord

Make your supply chain a competitive advantage.

Headquarters

Atlanta, Georgia

Industry

Logistics

Founded

2015

Funding

$325 million

Valuation

$1.3 billion

Traction

As of July 2023, Stord reported 300% YoY growth.

As of May 2022, Stord has a warehouse network of 1,000+ facilities.

Stord targets enterprise customers that ship 1,000+ orders per day and count American Giant, TULA Skincare, Bodyarmour, Native Deodorant, Alex and Ani, goodr sunglasses, Coca-Cola, Dollar General, and Thrasio among its customers.

Full Profile

Flock Safety

Public safety operating system.

Headquarters

Atlanta, Georgia

Industry

Hardware, Security

Founded

2017

Funding

$380 million

Valuation

$3.5 billion

Traction

As of July 2023, Flock Safety supports 2,500+ communities, up from 1,500 in February 2022.

As of July 2023, Flock Safety has 2,000+ law enforcement agency partners and one billion+ vehicles captured monthly.

As of July 2023, Flock Safety claims its operating system reduces crime by up to 70%.

As of February 2022, Flock Safety helps communities solve 500+ crimes daily, accounting for 2.3% of the reported crime total in the United States.

Full Profile

Popmenu

Turn more first guests into regulars.

Headquarters

Atlanta, Georgia

Industry

Food & Beverage, MarTech

Founded

2016

Funding

$87.1 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of July 2023, Popmenu has 10,000+ customers, 9.8 million followers created, $125 million in commission-free online ordering revenue generated, and 1.5 million menu items.

As of July 2023, Popmenu reported a 4.7/5 star average client satisfaction score over the last 90 days.

Popmenu customers include The Freakin Incan, Ocean Deli Pizza, Terra Terroir, Hail Mary’s Food & Drink, and Ocean State Sandwich Company.

Full Profile

Loyal Health

Digital health platform.

Headquarters

Atlanta, Georgia

Industry

Healthcare

Founded

2015

Funding

$12.5 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of July 2023, Loyal Health is used by 35+ health systems, 290+ hospitals (up from 30 hospitals and health systems in October 2020), and 55,000+ providers.

Loyal Health customers include Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Baptist Health South Florida, Frederick Health, ScionHealth, UCLA Health, and University of Michigan Health.

Full Profile

Momnt

We make embedded lending easy.

Headquarters

Atlanta, Georgia

Industry

Fintech

Founded

2020

Funding

$18 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

In September 2021, Momnt announced a funding partnership with Primis Bank, the most significant commitment to date to its credit platform.

Full Profile

Relay

Digital payments for logistics.

Headquarters

Atlanta, Georgia

Industry

Fintech, Supply Chain & Logistics

Founded

2019

Funding

$43 million

Valuation

Undisclosed

Traction

As of January 2021, Relay reported 150,000 monthly transactions and $300 million in volume annually.

As of May 2023, Relay has 300,000+ users, including drivers and carriers from companies like Travis Trucking, Dagget Truck Line, and LaPlace Travel Center.

Full Profile