In Case You Missed CodeLaunch ATL 2021

By CA Staff Blogger August 24, 2021

If you missed CodeLaunch ATL 2021, you should know that it was a huge success! As the first CodeLaunch ever held outside of DFW, we worked tirelessly to make sure it was just as much of a triumph in Atlanta. After many months of planning, we welcomed close to 400 attendees into the Legacy Theater at Phase Events in Alpharetta, GA. This blog highlights CodeLaunch ATL for anyone who missed the event or for those who want to relive their CodeLaunch experience.

All About CodeLaunch

CodeLaunch is a travelling seed accelerator and startup expo that connects early-stage startups with invaluable seed services critical to stimulating their business. Unlike many startup accelerators, CodeLaunch is completely free to apply, and there is no equity surrendered. CodeLaunch ATL 2021 featured several innovative concepts from across the United States, highlighted by our Overall Winner Evva Health.

The professional hackathon is what makes CodeLaunch truly unique. Each finalist is paired with a professional development team that accelerates product development and builds out as much of their MVP as possible in a 2-day time frame. During the pitch competition, the product is demoed live and for the first time in front of a live audience, who then vote for the Overall Winner. CodeLaunch ATL professional hackathon teams were provided by Build Technology Group, Improving Atlanta, Improving Houston, and Code Authority.

Carl Hanna, Co-Founder of Evva Health, said, “I loved the hackathon. Usually hackathons are with college students, but this was different because we were paired with professional developers. It was really a matter of aligning priorities and features to showcase during the demo. It was truly great working with Improving Atlanta.”

CodeLaunch ATL 2021 went above and beyond our expectations! With close to 400 people attending, the turnout was huge. A big thank you to the Alpharetta Chamber and Improving Atlanta, including Scott McMichael and Emily Rosselle, for welcoming CodeLaunch with open arms.

The Legacy Theater at Phase Events was an amazing venue that was perfect for CodeLaunch. The expo hall floor was filled with attendees, sponsors, community partners, and startups. Overall, there was great community support that CodeLaunch is more than grateful for.

Rashedia Mahane, Founder of Greenchips, said, “I really enjoyed CodeLaunch. It was like a movie because it was an opportunity to get on stage and have the crowd respond. Though I did not win, I left with an intern and interested investors. We left feeling like winners. Jason and Raheel were so encouraging. I loved the hackathon team, Build Technology Group, too.”

Stephen Mallik, Co-Founder of iStory, said, “CodeLaunch was a blessing for iStory. We got 10 minutes of time with an audience of 350+ to showcase our product and tell our story. Plus, we got a good push on our Studio MVP via the professional hackathon. It is of tremendous help for our startup.”

Finalists & Overall Winner

CodeLaunch ATL 2021 featured some of the most unique startup concepts yet. The CodeLaunch Finalists included:

Evva Health, Atlanta, GA

Evva Health is a platform that is centered around family caregivers to better help them care for their loved one as well as themselves. Their platform creates a “superhighway” between patients, family members, and doctors as well as the community as a whole.

Greenchips, Atlanta, GA

Greenchips helps women gain the financial confidence and control needed to create the lives they deserve. This is achieved with their thoughtfully designed software which helps women thrive as they navigate through Greenchips’ four-step process

Tinysponsor, Los Angeles, CA

Tinysponsor is an influencer marketplace for content sponsorships. They help content creators, bloggers, YouTubers, podcasters, etc. directly sell sponsorships to brands for placements. Essentially, they are like an Etsy or Shopify for influencing.

iStory, Alpharetta, GA

iStory is the first interactive storytelling tool for digital marketers that integrates voice/AI, rich media, and analytics.

Overall Winner

Using the ProTexting platform, the CodeLaunch audience voted, and with 39% of the votes, Evva Health was named the CodeLaunch ATL 2021 Overall Winner.

Evva Health was able to demonstrate the product from the hackathon in front of a diverse and engaged audience. “Rehearsal was more stressful than the actual pitch itself. The energy in the room was great, and I really enjoyed it. I was in the zone because I knew the message. It flowed well, and it seemed like the audience loved it as well,” said Carl.

Carl said he would definitely attend a future CodeLaunch. He would also be open to being a speaker. “I feel like I’m a part of a family. We want CodeLaunch to be part of the Evva Health family too. We will be attending another one for sure,” he said.

Evva Health’s next steps are raising funding. “We had a couple of VCs reach out to us, so we’re setting up meetings to hopefully get the funding we need. We are planning on launching a crowdfunding campaign, so investors, be on the lookout,” said Carl.

Sponsors & Community Partners

CodeLaunch is grateful to our many sponsors. Without them, the event would not be possible.

The CodeLaunch ATL 2021 sponsors included:

Build Technology Group helps their partners solve problems using technology, innovation, business, and technical thought leadership so they can establish a clear and sustainable direction for the future

Chick-fil-A is one of the largest American fast food restaurant chains. Chick-Fil-A Avalon in Alpharetta, GA provided the professional hackathon teams with food and drinks.

Cybriant assists companies in making informed business decisions and sustaining effectiveness in the design, implementation, and operation of their cyber risk management programs.

FirstGen Agency with pitching, branding, go-to market strategies, and generating revenue for early-stage companies.

Founders Legal is a Corporate & Intellectual Property Law Firm based in Atlanta, Georgia USA, that focuses exclusively on complex matters in the areas of Intellectual Property, Corporate, Transactional, and Securities law.

Frontline Capital Partners is a business advisory firm assisting lower middle market companies in developing capitalization and operating strategies that maximize liquidity event valuations. They provided judge, Jim Bryja, Managing Partner of Frontline Capital Partners.

Fuel Coffee is a premier and authentic Coffee Shop that has been proudly serving the North Georgia area and beyond since 2021. Fuel Coffee provided the professional hackathon teams with coffee and drinks.

Established at the intersection of managed services and software-as-a-service, Montra’s solutions are delivered by industry veterans who balance the leading-edge capabilities you want with reliability you can count on. They provided judge Scott Ryan, CEO of Montra.

For almost two decades, Panoramic Ventures has opened new doors for overlooked founders, giving more entrepreneurs access to capital to build leading tech companies. They provided judge Mark Buffington, CEO BIP Capital.

Visionaire Partners is an award-winning staffing firm. They were founded in 2008 in Atlanta, and their executive management team average 25+ years’ experience in IT Staffing. Visionaire Partners are focused on finding the best IT resources that drive results for their clients.

CodeLaunch ATL also had many local community partners who lent their support.

CodeLaunch ATL 2021 community partners included:

The Future of CodeLaunch

With the huge success of CodeLaunch ATL 2021, we are not stopping there! Follow CodeLaunch on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to stay tuned for events across the United States in Improving markets.

CodeLaunch DFW 2021 takes place November 17, 2021 at the Comerica Center. Applications are currently open and close September 15^th!