This year, the Advanced Technology Development Center in Atlanta formalized a new partnership with the Athens-based economic development nonprofit Four Athens and named that organization’s executive director, Jim Flannery, to its Community Catalysts team.

A vital part of the tech startup education and acceleration efforts centered around Atlanta’s Tech Square, ATDC fosters a community of startup entrepreneurs focused on developing tech products and services, and offers its members coaching, education, and connection opportunities to increase their chances of success. ATDC’s mission to support startup ventures across Georgia aligns with that of Four Athens, which has been steadily coalescing and building the startup community in greater Athens since 2011.

The new partnership brings ATDC resources to the growing tech scene and startup activity in Athens, while increasing awareness of Athens startup activity to the ATDC network of experts, mentors, and investors across Georgia in Atlanta, Alpharetta, and Augusta, said Jen Bonnet, ATDC’s Acting General Manager.

"ATDC has been connecting promising companies to the coaching, capital, customers, and resources they need to thrive for more than three decades,” Bonnett said. “We help Georgia entrepreneurs turn their passion into reality, and our Community Catalysts get that process started in communities across the state. The burgeoning tech scene and startup community in Athens is a perfect fit for that effort."

Monthly ATDC @ Four Athens events began in September, bringing an ATDC expert to Athens every third Wednesday of the month for a comprehensive series of education and networking events throughout the day that include:

- a coffee meet-and-greet at The Quad, the co-working space in the Bottleworks
- lunchtime presentations by visiting ATDC representatives focused on their expertise
- open office hours in the afternoon at The Globe in downtown Athens
- weekly Wednesday Four Athens happy hour at The World Famous in the evening

The next ATDC @ Four Athens is scheduled for Wednesday, November 18 with Pete Santora of ATDC. Details and RSVP information for the day’s events are at: fourathens.com/atdc-four-athens. All events are open and free to the public.

Four Athens is thrilled to expand partnership opportunities throughout the area, like the one with ATDC, to continue building local capacity to support entrepreneurs and sustain the startup community in Athens. Four Athens was started to discover startups, build community, connect creativity, accelerate growth and invest in success. As a local economic development nonprofit, Four Athens accomplishes this by connecting startup founders to the support they need and by expanding tech education efforts for adults and children across Athens.