On Wednesday, September 15, David Cummings was joined with Atlanta Ventures Partner Kathryn O’Day for a fireside chat around the past, present, and future of the Atlanta Ventures Studio, plus learnings from current studio companies. Following the conversation between Cummings and O’Day, attendees were divided into small breakout ideation sessions over lunch to build on ideas and dive deeper into exciting potential markets.
In the chat, O’Day asked Cummings questions covering: where startup ideas come from, what is more important — the idea or the market, what makes a market great, what companies are on the cusp of a great market, how to assess an idea once you’ve discovered a market, and what process tools/resources are used when working on an idea.
“My favorite ideas come from personal experience.”— David Cummings
Key Takeaway
When asked what makes a market great, Cummings simplified it to two things: Timing and Size of Market.
His ideal “massive market” opportunity starts with wanting to be early to the trend. “The best timing on the market-side is 3-5 years early.” With regards to the size of the market, Cummings’ sweet spot is looking into “small and fast-growing markets.” He goes on to say, with these two characteristics in place, “if all goes well, it’s going to be a massive market down the road” as you’ll have the infrastructure and the customer base to continue to build and scale as the market becomes ready for your product/service.
“The market itself, in my opinion, is more important than the idea itself.”— David Cummings
“This idea of starting from nothing, several iterations, many years of hard work, and now we’re directly impacting the lives of tens of thousands of people and soon to be hundreds of thousands of people gets me excited and fired up to be an entrepreneur.”— David Cummings
Breakout Sessions
After the session, entrepreneurs grabbed lunch and headed to the Atlanta Tech Village rooftop to converse about exciting markets. The goal of these breakout sessions was to create sparks, create connections, and create momentum.
Corporation of One — Moderators: Ifrah Khan, Kathryn O’Day. Topics included income smoothing, business in a box, mortgages and insurance for solopreneurs, and automated accountability platforms.
Healthy Eating — Moderators: Eric Spett, Christian Ries. Topics included insurance-subsidized healthy meals, gamifying healthy eating for children, and healthy fast food concepts.
Robotics — Moderator: Jon Birdsong. Topics included automating repetitive tasks, finding the lowest-hanging fruit, and iterating fast.
Post Covid Corporate Life — Moderator: Julie Pierre. Topics included reimagining hiring processes, repurposing spaces for online students, and purpose-driven connection tools.
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