It's not often a startup moves back to Atlanta, but looking to take advantage of a pro business environment and a surfeit of talent at local universities, premium content website Soletron.com has leased office space in Buckhead at 3379 Peachtree Road.
Soletron CEO A.J. Steigman, an Emory graduate couldn't be more excited.
“I’m very pleased to be back in Atlanta; the business conditions in the city are superb for startups,” said Soletron CEO, Allen J. Steigman. “The positive business environment plus the ability to recruit top notch talent from local universities were the primary reasons for us getting our Buckhead office.”
Founded in 2010, Soletron began as an e-commerce platform for designers, but a pivot in late 2012 not only changed the direction of Soletron, but has brought success in the form of becoming one of the top-5000 websites in the U.S.
Steigman, a former junior and collegiate chess champion sees this as a natural move given Atlanta's recent reputation as a haven for startups.
"I've always loved Atlanta," offered up Steigman. "There's an incorrect perception that Atlanta isn't the best location for a tech startup."
For tech startups, Steigman thinks Atlanta is an underrated location.
To use a chess term, check.
In 2012 alone, Soletron experienced remarkable growth in social media, expanding its audience by over 200,000 Twitter followers and 100,000 Facebook fans. Soletron’s growth has been highlighted in such prominent publications including Forbes, CNBC, Bloomberg, Huffington Post, Business Insider, NPR and Reuters.
For a company like Soletron, it's all about strategic partners, and having a board of directors Steigman can lean on.
A board of consisting of: Bruce Chizen, former CEO of Adobe Systems; Superbowl MVP Santonio Holmes; Tom Austin, co-founder of AND1 basketball; John Friedman, founder of Easton Capital; Bob Rice, founder of Tangent Capital and Jim Estill, founder of Canrock Ventures has secured the startup two rounds of funding.
Check.
Steigman now has a team of 10 employees, who specialize in marketing, social media blogging, and web development.
In two years, Soletron has churned out 8000 unique articles aimed at it's target demographic, 18-25 year old males.
It's content is both male and female friendly, and I see long-term growth, and attracting those over the age of 25 to visit the site.
If Steigman has his druthers, Soletron will become a big player in the Atlanta business community as the city is symbiotic with its audience.
2013 should be another year of record growth and new eyeballs will be hitting the site everyday.
The site will need additional exclusive and unique content to fill some tech and sports voids, but I see that coming soon.
I'll end with another familiar chess term.
Checkmate.
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