How To Raise Startup Funding in Atlanta With Sanjay Parekh of Startup Riot

If you are looking to raise money in Atlanta, this is the interview for you!

Today’s guest is Sanjay Parekh. Sanjay is the founder of Startup Riot and ShotPut Ventures and past co-founder of Digital Envoy.

On this episode, I am going to talk with Sanjay about the fundraising landscape in Atlanta for seed, angel and VC level funding.

Questions Asked

Seed
How many seed stage investors are there in Atlanta?
• Who are they?
• How are they structured?
• What do they like to fund?
• How much money are we talking? (What level of funding)
• When would I approach one of these investors? (What stage of the business?)
• What should I have?
• What is the best way to approach these individuals?

Angel
How many angel investors are there Atlanta?
• What type of stuff do they like to invest in?
• How would I get connected with them?
• What do they want to see?
• Who are the angel investors in Atlanta?
• Who are the leaders?
• What amount of money are they looking to invest?
• How do I get in touch with them?
• Any other advice regarding approaching an angel?

VC
How many VC funds are there in Atlanta?
• What do they want to see at this stage?
• What types of companies are they interested in funding?
• Where do I need to be with my business?
• What metrics are they looking for?
• What level of money are they looking to invest?
• Who are the VC firms in Atlanta?
• What types of stuff do they each want to invest in?
• How do our viewers get in touch with them?

About Sanjay

Sanjay was a founder of Digital Envoy where he led the strategic vision of the company most recently as the Chief Strategy Officer and previously as the CEO. Sanjay is also the original inventor of Digital Envoy’s patented NetAcuity IP intelligence technology. Digital Envoy was acquired by Landmark Communications in June 2007.

Sanjay has served as an expert consultant for numerous startups, corporations, and organizations including the Department of Justice.

In 2004, Sanjay was named an Outstanding Young Atlantan by Outstanding Atlanta, one of the “Top 40 Under 40” Georgians by Georgia Trend magazine, and a 2004 American Marshall Memorial Fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States. In 2003, Sanjay was named to MIT’s Technology Review TR100 list as one of the top 100 young innovators of 2003 and one of the “Top 50 Entrepreneurs” in Atlanta by Catalyst Magazine. Sanjay was also named a Technology Pioneer with the World Economic Forum in 2002 and 2003.

Sanjay has an electrical engineering degree, specializing in computer engineering, from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Sanjay also holds an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.