Hey.
Welcome back to ATL Grind.
I’m Andrew (your host) who’ll be showing you the best events, news, jobs, and more in Atlanta’s business world. Let’s get started.
Office Hours with Atlanta Ventures (Jan 8) | Thursday @ Virtual | More
Start 2026 by getting direct feedback from the team that built the city's most successful SaaS exits. Whether you're pre-seed or scaling to $1M ARR, this is your chance to vet your roadmap with the best in the business.
Pitch Practice Buckhead (Jan 16) | Friday @ Atlanta Tech Village | More
The first Pitch Practice of the year. No fluff, just 30-second to 5-minute pitches in a safe environment before you face the sharks. Perfect for sharpening your narrative after the holiday break.
The GSU Grad Who Went all in on Vending
While most recent grads were fighting for entry-level analyst roles, Maya Ray was busy buying vending machines. The Georgia State alum launched FYC Vending (Feed Your Cravings) right out of college, spotting a simple inefficiency: students had nowhere to get late-night snacks in her dorm.
The Grind: She did buy a machine, but more importantly she optimized logistics. By getting some prime real estate at GSU and Kennesaw State and relying credit (pretty rare) to fund the initial $6k startup costs, she scaled to over $119,000 in sales.
The Lesson: Unsexy businesses print always cash. Maya proved you don't need a SaaS app to hit six figures - and maybe credit is the thing that gets you there.
Fawn
This is a bit more than your standard steakhouse. Hidden in Decatur, Fawn is a "wine bar" in name but a culinary heavyweight in practice. It’s the kind of place you take a client when you want to show you know the real Atlanta food scene.
The Backstory: The team behind the concept has ditched the white tablecloths for a high-energy, vinous atmosphere. It’s two concepts in one: a no-reservation wine bar and a serious seafood kitchen.
What to Order: Start with the Bluefin Tuna Bone Marrow, served inside a massive tuna vertebra. I’d add the Urchin Chips and the Warm McIntosh Oyster. It’s a fancier place to put it lightly.
The Tab: Expect $150+ per person if you dive deep into the rare wine list (which you should).
Featured Job: Account Executive, Small & Growth Business at Salesforce.
The mothership is hiring. This is a prime role for a hunter who wants to sell the world's #1 CRM to the C-suite of emerging companies.
The Comp: High OTE with unmatchable benefits.
The Ask: 2-5 years of full-cycle sales experience. You need to know how to build a business case and close net new logos.
Director of Engineering, Partnerships at Greenlight. Lead the technical integration strategy for the fintech unicorn's biggest banking partners.
Product Operations Manager at FullStory. A strategic role reporting to the Director of Product Ops. You'll be the force multiplier for the product team.
Senior Full Stack Engineer, Ecosystems at Calendly ($170K-$220K). Build the scheduling infrastructure that powers 10M+ users.
VP of Sales, Southeast at Salesloft. Own the revenue engine for Atlanta's revenue orchestration leader.
Senior Customer Success Manager at OneTrust. Manage a portfolio of enterprise accounts for the privacy tech leader. High-touch, strategic relationship management.
From Law School to $400k in Cleaning Revenue
Briana Jackson was on track to become a criminal defense attorney when she realized the billable hour life wasn't for her. Instead, she pivoted to something scalable: Atlanta Cleaning Geeks.
The Numbers: Starting with just herself and a vision, she scaled the business to $400,000 in revenue in just two years.
The Strategy: She treated a "low-tech" service business like a high-growth startup. By focusing heavily on systems, customer retention loops, and aggressive hiring, she removed herself from the daily cleaning work to focus on enterprise growth.
The Takeaway: Service businesses are the sleeping giants of the Atlanta economy. If you can operationalize reliability in an unreliable industry, you win.
The Bobby Jones Legacy Estate
This is some sporting history. The former residence of legendary golfer Bobby Jones on Tuxedo Road has been reimagined by a Buckhead dream team.
The Specs: 7,500 sq. ft. of pure luxury on 1.5 acres. Includes a speakeasy with lacquered walls, a golf simulator (naturally), and a primary spa with a steam shower featuring rare Calacatta Gold marble panels.
The Kicker: The "conservatory tub" in the master bath is enclosed in privacy glass that turns opaque with the touch of a button.
Price: $7,500,000
5 other headlines to snack on:
Mall West End gets a $450M lifeline: Merchants Capital secured $19.1M to kickstart the massive redevelopment, promising a hotel, retail, and student housing overhaul.
Madre Selva wins big: The new Lindbergh hotspot is racking up 5-star reviews for its Lomo Saltado and "healing" cocktails - go now.
Portillo's hits Kennesaw: The Chicago legend finally opened its doors in Kennesaw, and yes, the drive-thru line is already blocking traffic.
Atlanta startups raised ~$895M in 2024: A slower year than the 2021 peak, but the quality of deals in AI and Fintech remains high going into 2026.
Tuxedo Park trophy: 7,500 sq ft estate just listed for $7.5M, proving land value in the zip code is bulletproof.
Be honest: does your business get anything done this time of year?
That’s it.
How was this edition? Reply and share some thoughts.
See you next Tuesday.
Andrew