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Work from Home Tips

By Latest News

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It’s not common when your favorite co-working space (thank you, we’re flattered) gives you advice on how to work from home, because we take pride in being your office of course. However, things are different right now, and even though we’re in the midst of a global pandemic that is unprecedented for just about every single person on Earth, we know that the work of an entrepreneur never stops.

Whether remotely or in office, there is a lot of work for many to still do right now. Working at this time can also be a good escape from the anxiety that has filled our daily lives, which is why The Park will still be accessible for Members during normal business hours through a shutdown. (ATP staff will not be present though.)

For those of our members and guests who are choosing to work from home, we’ve put together a sample routine and cheat sheet of things to consider when working from home to maximize your productivity:

1) Stick to or develop a new routine. Although you’re just working from home, it’s still important to get eight hours of sleep every night. In some cases, this may be more feasible now than before the pandemic started. Take advantage of it.
2) Then, start every day the same way: Commit to working out, emails, the bulk of your work (writing, data, spreadsheets, etc.), or easing into it with coffee first and tackle everything else in order of priority after that.
3) By midday, step away from your designated work space (more on this in a moment) and truly give yourself a break. Mental health is even more of a priority in these trying times.
4) Finish your workday strong by knocking out any incomplete tasks that were started earlier in the day or at the end of the previous days or weeks.

That’s somewhat of a routine. Don’t forget that taking breaks is not only acceptable as part of your routine, but also should be built into it. We recommend writing down the five most important tasks of your day and starting on them from the order of most-to-least important, devoting 25 minutes of focus to the task at hand, then taking five minutes off. Keep that going until your bigger break (lunch or quitting time).

*Bonus: Use some of your “break time” to do things that you couldn’t do around the house when you were at work before. That could be: take the chicken out of the freezer for dinner tonight to let it thaw, do some laundry, wash some dishes, walk the dog, etc. By doing this during your workday, you give yourself plenty of time to relax when it’s time to wind down at night. Make sure you get some sort of exercise in at some point too; this may be the most important WFH tip of all.

Another huge way to have success working from home is by sticking to your normal work hours. Of course, if you know you’re better working at one specific time over another, then now is the time to give yourself the schedule you’ve always wanted to have!

As for your home office set up, we recommend having a designated work space. In other words, no working from your bed! It doesn’t matter if it’s emails to start the day or a quick social media post at the end of the night. Just like the physical distancing we’re all committed to, having boundaries in your home will make it much easier to develop a routine and give your mind a break.

We also recommend “getting dressed” for work every day even if you’re at home. This doesn’t mean you need to put on a business suit, of course, but changing out of the clothes you slept into something slightly less casual (joggers instead of pajamas or a collared shirt instead of a T-shirt, for example) will make you feel as if you’ve gotten “dressed” for the day and have you prepared for the challenges of an abnormal workday ahead.

Ultimately, there’s no telling when life will return to normal (or a “new normal”) as we here in America have barely scratched the surface of what is to come. While we’re all hoping for the best, one way to ensure it happens is by staying home more, and making the most of the time we have to ourselves. Remember all those hours you lost by sitting in Atlanta traffic? They’re yours now! Use them wisely. We hope these tips help you do that!

Don’t get too comfortable at home! We miss you at The Park! When this is all over, we’d love to talk with you about the global response to the coronavirus pandemic during the ATP Cyber HealthTech Conference and Challenge at The Park in July 2020! Needless to say, there will be tons to talk about! We hope to see you there.

Lastly, if you’re looking for something to watch on Netflix during this time—or maybe if you’re just missing ATP—then might we recommend watching the movie Sextuplets, which was filmed at The Park in October 2018.

ATL Cyber HealthTech Conference Rescheduled

By Events, Latest News, The Park

Due to the escalating pandemic known as COVID-19 (novel coronavirus), the Cyber HealthTech Conference and Challenge to be held at Atlanta Tech Park in April 2020 has been rescheduled for July 22-23, 2020.

Rescheduling the event is in the best interest of our members and attendees. Doing so also allows us to discuss the global response to the coronavirus pandemic and examine how innovations in TeleHealth and cybersecurity have revolutionized healthcare and become more important than ever before. In other words, there has never been a better time for medical innovation, and we look forward to covering that in full detail this July.

All tickets purchased for the original Cyber HealthTech date in April will be usable for entry into July’s event. Updates and changes to schedules, speakers, topics, and more will be available to the public in due time. For now, we ask that everyone please use as many precautions as possible and necessary, while still maintaining optimism about our event in July. We promise it will be worth the wait.

Please follow Atlanta Tech Park on Twitter (@107ATP) and Instagram (@atlantatechpark) for the latest updates about happenings at The Park.

Tech Accelerator events at The Park

Atlanta Tech Park to Host Cyber-MedTech Conference

By Events, Latest News, The Park

Building off the success of the ATL Cyber-Fin Global Innovation Challenge, which covered the intersection of the Cyber and FinTech industries, Atlanta Tech Park is excited to host another conference focusing on the MedTech industry.

The ATL Cyber-MedTech Global Innovation Conference & Challenge will take place April 27-29, 2020, at Atlanta Tech Park in Peachtree Corners.

The United States is home to the largest medical device industry in the world, accounting for 40 percent of the global market share in 2017, according to SelectUSA, a subsidiary of the International Trade Administration. Atlanta itself is the fastest-growing life sciences market with pharmaceutical sales expected to grow to $1.2 trillion by 2024.

The Park has been home to two MedTech companies. One of them, ControlRad, recently conducted a clinical use of its radiation reduction technology for fluoroscopically guided procedures (FGP) after receiving FDA clearance in May 2019. Then, in October, ControlRad secured $15 million in Series B financing from Questa Capital.

The second company, AffirmHealth, was one of The Park’s very first members. Its main focus is to ensure healthcare leaders adopt responsible, compliant prescribing practices for patients via technology.

Atlanta Tech Park has assembled a top-notch steering committee to guide the planning and execution of the Cyber-MedTech Conference & Challenge. Steering committee members include: Fred Mindermann of Sertainty, David McCampbell of Sertainty, Benn Konsynski from Emory, Rebecca Rutherfoord from Kennesaw State University, John C. Yates, Andrew Morris from the FinTech Agenda, Cristy McAdams, Saraya from the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Ben Dyer, Hossain Shahriar from Kennesaw State University, Ejane Caraway from Georgia Department of Economic Development, Christine Chen from Cox, and DeWayne Addington from Sertainty.

Interested in being a part of the MedTech Conference and Challenge steering committee or programming? Please contact Nashlee Young, Director of Operations at Atlanta Tech Park, directly via email at nashlee@emnovate.com to submit your idea or recommendation. Click here to be taken to the event page.

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Robin Bienfait Set to Speak at CDX Atlanta

By Latest News

LUNCH KEYNOTE: STRATEGIC INNOVATION – BUILD? BUY? PARTNER? OR INVEST?

Labs. Corporate venture. Challenges. Incubators. Accelerators. Partnerships. M&A – And more.

Strategic innovation has become more complex in an age where accelerating technology and consumer adoption cycles have increased the threat of disruption and compressed the exercise of strategic planning and corporate development. What are the respective roles of incubation, corporate venturing, academic partnerships, start-up ecosystem engagement, and M&A as the cycles of innovation only continue to accelerate? Does a single enterprise need technology scouts and an incubator and a lab and a corporate venture unit and corporate M&A to understand the rapidly evolving technology innovation landscape and stave off disruption? Should you build? Buy? Partner? Invest? Or all of the above?

Request an Invitation

Robin Bienfait to Speak at CDX Atlanta Open Innovation Summit

The 2019 CDX Atlanta Open Innovation Summit – set for November 7, 2019 – will focus on how leading brands from across a range of industries and verticals are leveraging external open innovation best practices and operating principles to stay competitive and drive corporate innovation and strategic digital transformation.  The theme for the event is “Innovation @ Scale”.  With the final agenda set, is was announced that Robin Bienfait will join the panel to discuss Strategic Innovation.  As a pioneer in innovation with companies like AT&T, Blackberry, Samsung and now Atlanta Tech Park, this will be an excellent opportunity for Robin to share her experiences that span her 30+ year career in the innovation sector.

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Atlanta Tech Park success stories: AffirmHealth

By Latest News, Member Spotlight, The Park

Welcome to our Atlanta Tech Park Success Stories series! This content (blog posts, videos, podcasts, etc.) is a way for us to highlight the members, companies, and more that Atlanta Tech Park a great place to work, network, and even have some fun! The first edition of our Success Stories installment is about AffirmHealth, which was one of the very first companies at Atlanta Tech Park. AffirmHealth uses technology to better facilitate prescriber compliance, which makes the fight against the opioid epidemic significantly more manageable. Our many thanks go to John Cole, AffirmHealth COO and Founder, for taking time out of his schedule to talk about his time at Atlanta Tech Park with us! (Pictured below is John conducting business during the very early days of The Park.)

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ATP: Why did you choose Atlanta Tech Park?
John: I met Robin and Nashlee at an Atlanta Technology Angels meeting. This is when they were in their early stages, having just remodeled and not formally launched. We chatted before the meeting, and I had been working from home in Atlanta and was looking for a place to set up shop away from my office at home. From our conversation, I felt really comfortable about a) the space and b) what they were doing and Robin’s vision for Atlanta Tech Park. I jumped on really early and was one of the first members to start going on a daily basis and was really pleased and happy to do so in the beginning stages of what I think is going to be a powerful community for entrepreneurs in Atlanta.

Where were you as a company when you first arrived at ATP?
We launched our company in April of 2016. We were a year-and-a-half to two years in and had bootstrapped heavily until then. There’s a two year process of figuring out what you don’t know and really understanding what it is—specifically in healthcare—what you need to build to be able to scale. We were at that point where we knew what we needed to build and were almost there in terms of product development and pilots. We had a product that worked well with small and independent practices and needed to figure out what the best way to scale that technology was. That’s where we were when we moved into Atlanta Tech Park.

How did your conversations with Robin change your company’s trajectory and impact its growth?
More so than anything, it was a shift in mindset, which is what Robin is so excellent at doing in terms of being able to meet you where you are and provide the insight to take your company to the next level. She has accomplished a lot professionally, so she brings that experience and success to where you are and gets you to think about how to scale your business and also what steps you need to take in order to get there. Her effective communication and ability to deliver a message to an audience is also something I was able to refine and practice myself after several meetings with her.

Can you provide a specific example of something Robin did or said to help you all with that change in mindset?
We had been selling to small and independent practices, with the largest one being 200 doctors or so. When we shifted to enterprise, we thought we were becoming a SaaS product: it will be an iterative rollout based on a new provider (client) per month basis. “Robin painted the picture of what a true enterprise contract is.” … You can deliver something that’s powerful without taking the iterative approach if you display that your technology is powerful enough. The enterprise contract and getting senior leadership excited about the innovation are enough to land the enterprise deal. From a cashflow standpoint, that helps tremendously. It really just takes that mindset shift to think about.

So essentially Robin taught you to think more like a seasoned executive and showed you what she looks for from that position?
That’s exactly right. What’s so incredible (about Robin) is she doesn’t have a whole lot of healthcare experience. Most of it is on the security side, but basically, every other industry has experienced “tech disruption” that has changed them. Healthcare is the only industry where that hasn’t happened (yet). In healthcare, people think the way things have always been done are the way have to continue being done. You almost have to flip that on its end and question if that is always the right way. When you do, people are skeptical, but changing our mindset enabled us to stand up to those challenges and be successful.

The other thing is truly understanding your customer. In healthcare technology it is has often been the case that when building a HealthTech product, the active clinician (or “power user”) is not at the table when building the product, so we have been incredibly intentional to make sure that the user of the product is actually helping to customize the solution alongside with us, and we’re taking their active feedback as we’re building the product. So when you launch the product, for them it’s a matter of “we helped build this product, we know how to use it, let’s go.”
Having an intentional focus on the customer and how they use the product when building the product has been in an invaluable lesson Robin taught us.

In summary…
From the very beginning, it was very clear that Robin was thinking about things differently. She was thinking about building The Park in a way that you would think about building a business in making sure that she was fostering a culture and environment where companies and entrepreneurs can go to thrive. From my entire time there–when they were getting ATP off the ground until when I left [to move back home to Nashville]—it was abundantly clear that was the culture she was creating. When I was there, both Nashlee and Robin were available, and I felt they had both myself and my company’s best interest at heart and were willing to help out in any way they could. For a company or an entrepreneur looking to go somewhere where you really have that sense of community and are surrounded by positive, supportive energy, that is what Atlanta Tech Park epitomizes.

Sertainty Awards RotoMaire $10K at Global Challenge

By Events, Latest News, The Park

Sertainty Tech recently partnered with Atlanta Tech Park to sponsor the Developers Challenge at the 2019 ATL Cyber-FinTech Global Innovation Challenge in September of this year. The competition’s six finalists competed for an opportunity to win $10,000. Challenge companies included RotoMaire, Cyber Investigations & Intelligence Agency (CI2A), Modern Radio, Vallum Software, Nugo Tech, and American Renaissance Technology (ART).

RotoMaire won the $10,000 grand prize for the best utilization of the Sertainty UXP Technology.

RotoMaire provides a product recall platform solution for retailers and distributors that lets them communicate directly with their customers. By using proprietary, cloud-driven data solutions, automation, and actual human support, RotoMaire mitigates risk and protects consumers from product recalls. As part of the challenge, RotoMaire utilized the Sertainty Workflow Data Protector and Software Developer’s Kit to build security into their platform in order to protect and audit sensitive data.

“At RotoMaire, keeping our customers’ data safe and secure is our first mission,” Jehan Luth, RotoMaire CEO and Founder said. “We are pleased to have won the Global Cyber-FinTech Challenge sponsored by Sertainty Corporation. They have an incredible suite of products that every software developer needs to check out.”

“The best cyber defense is built-in verses bolted on,” Robin Bienfait, Founder of Atlanta Tech Park and Advising Chief Technology Officer for Sertainty, said before the winner was announced. As a result of the Global Innovation Challenge’s success, Sertainty has been able to continue building the Developer Ecosystem.

The event also inspired both Sertainty and Atlanta Tech Park to host another challenge targeting the MedTech industry. The ATL Cyber-MedTech Global Innovation Challenge is scheduled for April 27-29, 2020.

The 2020 ATL Cyber-Fin Global Innovation Challenge will take place September 15-18 at Atlanta Tech Park. Check out the full recap of the 2019 event HERE.

The Park finalist for Gwinnett Small Business Awards

By Latest News, The Park

The Gwinnett Chamber’s inaugural Small Business Awards will showcase those that dare to start, sustain and succeed and the community that supports them. Recognized as an industry leader, Atlanta Tech Park has been named a finalist for the Advocate Award in the Small Business Awards category.

“It is an honor to be recognized by the Gwinnett Chamber for our hard work and commitment to the local community,” said Nashlee Young, Director of Operations for Atlanta Tech Park. “Our views align closely with those of the Chamber and this nomination validates everything that we have worked hard to achieve this year,” Young said.

“At the Gwinnett Chamber, we believe small business is big business,” said Nick Masino, President & CEO, Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett. “We understand that entrepreneurs are the engines of our economy and we are excited to celebrate their contributions.”

Honoring individuals and organizations alike, designations will be given in the following areas:

• Advocate Award
• Community Contributor Award
• Culture Creator Award
• Emerging Entrepreneur Award
• Founder Award
• Launch Award
• Minority-Owned/Women-Owned Small Business Award
• Small Business Award
• Support System Award

The awards ceremony will be held Wednesday, October 23, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Infinite Energy Forum. Visit the Small Business Awards page on the Gwinnett Chamber website for more information.

ControlRad continues with $15 million Series B

By Latest News, Member Spotlight, The Park

ControlRad, one of the 70+ companies that calls Atlanta Tech Park home, has had a 2019 for the ages.

So far this year, the medical technology company that focuses on reducing radiation exposure during fluoroscopically guided procedures (FGP) announced FDA clearance of its radiation reduction technology in May and also successfully conducted a clinical use of it in September as well.

That’s not all, however!

ControlRad started October by securing $15M in Series B financing from Questa Capital, according to FinSMEs. Questa Capital’s funding also netted ControlRad two new members for its Board of Directors. They are Ryan Drant and Tim Patrick, who both have years of experience in the medical device industry.

ControlRad will put its funding money toward accelerating the commercial launch of the ControlRad Trace System, according to the FinSMEs release. The Trace system is designed to reduce unnecessary radiation by as much as 89% during FGP and can be retrofitted for existing C-arm devices.

 

ATL Cyber-Fin Global Challenge a Success

By Events, Latest News, The Park

In September, Atlanta Tech Park successfully hosted the ATL Cyber-Fin Global Innovation Challenge covering the intersection of the Cyber, FinTech, and Blockchain industries. Nearly 200 executives from around the U.S. attended the event.

In her opening keynote, Atlanta Tech Park Founder Robin Bienfait said, “The purpose of the Cyber-Fin Global Innovation Challenge is for the tech talent and companies in Atlanta to get the notoriety they deserve.” The metro region is home to dozens of Cyber, FinTech, and Blockchain industry leaders.

In his welcome address, Jim Senn, the Founder of the Georgia FinTech Academy, highlighted six major FinTech and banking companies that are headquartered in Atlanta and reiterated how 70% of companies that process global credit and debit transactions are located in the state of Georgia.

A majority of the speakers and panelists discussed the importance of Cybersecurity in the FinTech space and what their roles and insights are to achieving stable growth while also setting the pace and approaching innovation with originality as well. Robin summarized the day’s main takeaways well when she said, “Cybersecurity is the underlying foundation for all successful tech businesses now and in the future.

After the content portion of the day was over, it was time for the the highlight of this year’s event: the Sertainty Data Security SDK Challenge. RotoMaire was awarded the $10,000 grand prize for his data security customer use case around safety recalls.

The entries for this year’s Sertainty challenge was so stout that the panel of judges, led by Atlanta Tech Park Founder Robin Bienfait, awarded multiple participants with cash prizes as a result of a 3-way tie for second place and a 2-way tie for third.

In response to the overwhelming success of the inaugural ATL Cyber-Fin Global Innovation Challenge, Atlanta Tech Park is thrilled to announce the 2020 event dates have been finalized. Next year’s event takes place September 15-18 at Atlanta Tech Park once again. A major keynote speaker and sponsor are already confirmed and will be announced soon.

In continuation of the Cyber event series, Atlanta Tech will also host the ATL Cyber-MedTech Global Innovation Challenge from April 27-29, 2020. More details will be announced soon.

ABOUT US: With more than 75+ companies in residence, Atlanta Tech Park is a technology accelerator in Peachtree Corners, GA. The facility features boardrooms, conference rooms, a video podcasting studio, hot desks, private offices, 600+ person events space, and 100+ person auditorium. Membership and insider information can be found on www.atlantatechpark.com. Please follow us on Twitter at @107ATP and on Instagram at @atlantatechpark for the latest news and updates.

Media contact: Asif Lakhani | 404-428-9418 | asif@emnovate.com

ATL Cyber FinTech Global Challenge Coming to Atlanta

By Events, Latest News, The Park

ATL Cyber FinTech Global Challenge Coming to Atlanta

The inaugural event hosted by Atlanta Tech Park exploring the intersection of Cyber,  FinTech, and Blockchain

Atlanta— August 13, 2019Atlanta Tech Park is excited to announce the first Atlanta Cyber FinTech Global Conference & Challenge, will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 17 and 18th at Atlanta Tech Park in Peachtree Corners.  The event will bring together Cyber, FinTech and Blockchain industries through an exchange of innovation, insight, and trends that connect these industries.  The event also features a global cyber SKD challenge, sponsored by Sertainty, giving developers the opportunity to win a $10,000 cash prize.

The two-day conference features thought leaders from each of the three industries represented in panel discussions, keynote speeches, and networking reception events.

Participants will be able to:

  • Better grasp leading trends in Digital Assets, Cybersecurity and Payments
  • Develop an outlook on investment in Fintech and Blockchain space
  • See grassroots innovation in action through the solution challenge

 

“Cybersecurity is the underlying foundation for all successful tech businesses now and in the future,” said Robin Bienfait, CEO at Atlanta Tech Park and Emnovate. “FinTech and Blockchain are the industries that will drive the future of all businesses.”

“Cryptographically secure Digital Assets and Decentralized Finance are the next waves to shift commerce, and capital markets” added Roop Singh, Principal at Intuit Factory.

 

About the Sertainty Challenge

.Sertainty’s patented UXP Technology empowers your data with intelligence to manage its own protection. Sertainty’s patented UXP Technology (Technology) focuses on protection at the data layer targeting any kind of unstructured datasets (excluding databases). The Technology empowers data to manage and protect itself by controlling access anywhere and at any time.

Challengers can win $10,000 with the best utilization of our unique data security technology. Be creative, build a working prototype using our SDK and show the judges a compelling customer use case. Whether the data is in-motion, at-rest or in-use, our security travels with every datafile; offering 7/24/365 protection. Register for the challenge at bit.ly/ATLCHALLENGE.

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Atlanta Tech Park is a technology accelerator in Peachtree Corners, GA. Membership and insider information can be found on www.atlantatechpark.com. Follow us on Twitter at @107ATP and on Instagram at @atlantatechpark for the latest news and updates.

 For more information, press only:

Julie Price

770-851-6037

julie@emnovate.com