A Founder’s Guide to the Startup Events Worth Attending (Spring 2026)
9+ Events You Don't Want To Miss This Spring 2026
Was one of these a New Year’s Resolution?
Do more networking
Get better at sales
Start running again
Raise money for your startup
Build relationships with investors
IT’S YOUR LUCKY YEAR!!
These upcoming events will accomplish some or all of your goals!
What else should we know about?? Add to the comments any events you’re hosting or attending!
1. Atlanta Healthcare Entrepreneur Meetup
📅 Wed, Feb 4, 8:30-10a
📍Atlanta Tech Village - Buckhead
Join other healthcare founders, investors, and leaders for networking and alll the startup lessons and advice from Chris Spears, founder and CEO of OrderlyMeds.
2. Women Founders, Funders & the Future of Tech
📅 Tue, Feb 25, 4–6p
📍 Atlanta Tech Village — Buckhead
Join Atlanta Tech Village’s Women + Tech Program and the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative for a panel of women investors and operators (including yours truly 🙋♀️) sharing real insights on accessing capital, scaling responsibly, and navigating growth.
It’s an honor to be part of this all-star lineup:
Jennifer Bonnett – VP of Technology & Entrepreneurship, Invest Atlanta
Jewel Burks Solomon – Managing Partner, Collab Capital
Stefanie Diaz – Principal of Innovation & Venture Strategy, Catalyst by Wellstar
Alaina Percival – Venture Partner, Valor Ventures (Founder, Women Who Code)
Register here.
3. ATL Global Innovation Weekend
📅 Fri, Feb 20 - Sun, Feb 22
📍 South Downtown
Is this the coolest weekend ever? Urban innovation + World Cup + Atlanta’s Downtown. Let’s GOOOOOO! (Read more here.)
A 48 hour civic build moment for students, entrepreneurs, technologists, creatives, civic leaders, and neighbors to collaborate on ideas and innovations around:
Public Safety & Walkability
Cultural Preservation & Storytelling
Economic Opportunity & Business Vitality
Sustainability & Public Space Activation
Civic Engagement & Advocacy
You will directly impact what happens in Downtown Atlanta for the World Cup and generations to come!
4. The Power of Repositioning: Rethinking Your Career Narrative
📅 Fri, Mar 6, 11:30a-12:15p
📍 Emory University
This is one of many excellent sessions during the Executive Women of Goizueta Annual Leadership Conference including keynotes from Paige Alexander, CEO of The Carter Center, and Sara Wechter, Chief Human Resources Officer at Citi.
I’ll be on this panel alongside:
Chi Chi Okezie, Owner/Producer of SIMPLEnetworking, LLC
Clair Flores, CEO of OODAZU
Meredith Swartz, Chief Planning Officer of Mercy Care
We’ll be sharing our professional stories plus advice for folks navigating pivots, promotions, or visibility moves.
You KNOW I’ll be talking about:
how to establish credibility with anyone (even if you feel young or inexperienced!)
And whatever else these smart women want to dig in on!
5. InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech
📅 Wed, Mar 11
📺 GPB Live Stream
📍 Ferst Theater, Georgia Tech Campus
One of my favorite events of the year — this is the ultimate Shark Tank-style event with $30,000 of prize money going to the top Georgia Tech entrepreneurs!
See it live on campus or watch from home on GPB streaming.
I was a judge last year and didn’t swear on live TV so I got invited back! 😅 Let’s see if I can keep a lock on the f-bombs for another year…while also (and more importantly) getting to know the next generation’s top founders!
These “kids” are SO impressive. Prepare to have your mind blown! 🤯🤯🤯
6. Founder + Funder Jog
📅 Fri, Mar 13, 6:45a
📍Tech Square - Biltmore Ballrooms
Join us for a leisurely 3.5-4 mile jog around Peidmont Park with other founders, investors, and startup folks.
Huge thank you to Katie Begando, Denis Cranstoun, and Julie Pierre for hosting. 🙏
Very friendly, lots of selfie stops and shortcuts, with coffee (and water 🥵) at the end.
Keep up your running resolution alive (and it counts as “work”)!
7. Pitch Practice
📅 1st & 3rd Fridays, 1p
📍Atlanta Tech Village - Buckhead
📅 1st Tuesday, 1:30p
📍Atlanta Tech Village - Sylvan
Led by the brilliant Jacey Cadet, get *FREE* help on your startup pitch!
Register for the session that works best for you here.
8. Office Hours with Atlanta Ventures
📅 Thu, Feb 12, 12p
📅 Thu, Mar 12, 12p
📍Virtual
Join me and fellow Atlanta Ventures partner, A.T. Gimbel, for an informal Q&A sesh.
Common topics include fundraising, product development, how to get early customers, what we look for when investing, and more!
We do these every month. Check out future dates on the Atlanta Ventures events page.
9. Seed The South
📅 Mon, May 18 - Tue, May 19
📍Charlotte, NC
Snag your tickets now for this 2-day capital summit in one of my favorite Southeastern startup cities, put on by gWen and Innovate Charlotte, hosted in Bank of America Stadium!
10. ATL Tech Week
📅 June
📍Atlanta
Dates are not yet released but if you’re thinking about coming to Atlanta in June, YOU SHOULD!
This week is a tech party with great events across tech hubs and tons of engineering talent converging on Atlanta.
The last two years I’ve talked about building a billion dollar company at the Atlanta Tech Village so I’m ready with fresh jokes and lots of advice. 😉
More Events!
I can never capture all the awesomeness. What are you looking forward to? What did I miss??
Here are some of my favorite event calendars:
And even more — a list of my favorite resources, groups, and tactics for getting a pulse on Atlanta and finding other tech folks.
Comment below with events you are hosting or other events you’re attending that we should know about! 👇👇👇
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