CITY FOCUS | ATLANTA
70
In 2012 , alongside David Lightburn , Cummings created the Atlanta Tech Village ( ATV ), the fourth-largest tech space in the US which , within its first year , was host to more than 180 startups .
Today , the ATV works to continue creating and supporting a community of innovation , with the goal of generating more than 10,000 jobs in a bid to bring Atlanta ’ s scene from the 26th best in the world to the top five . “ When I first moved to Atlanta in 2002 , I had a really hard time finding other tech entrepreneurs to connect with ,” said Cummings in an interview with Atlanta Magazine last year . “ A lot of entrepreneurship is driven by serendipitous interaction with people who are good with one thing helping other people that are good at something else .”
The methodology seems to be working . In September , the ATV announced that its startups had collectively raised more than $ 839mn since 2012 , and are on track to hit $ 1b in 2020 . “ We need more big-time success stories ,” said Cummings . “ That ’ s the next phase for Atlanta .”
JANUARY 2020