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Member Spotlight

We love our members and always look for opportunities to give them a shout out.  Our member spotlight does just that.  See what’s happening at The Park.

Jun 20
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ConnexPay Simplifies the Payment Industry

By Member Spotlight, The Park

In 2017, Bob Kaufman left a 20-year career at a top U.S. bank. He aimed to create ConnexPay to simplify the payment industry. As Chief Financial Officer in the bank’s Payments Services division, he saw the frustration travel agencies and online payment intermediaries faced with current systems.

Recognizing a better way to serve these customers, Bob envisioned a platform to handle payments and prevent fraud with one contract, one reconciliation, and one support team. Subsequently, backed by angel investors, Bob and a small team built ConnexPay. In 2018, they joined Atlanta Tech Park. There, they used its connections and coaching to grow. Additionally, the Park provided a custom office solution.

As a result, ConnexPay raised $145 million through Series A, B, and C funding rounds. Following this success, they moved to their headquarters in Alpharetta, GA after graduating from the Park. By 2023, ConnexPay earned spot #704 on the Inc 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America. Moreover, they were named Travel Innovator of the Year at Phocuswright.

In April 2024, Bob became Chairman of the Board, while Ben Peters succeeded him as CEO. ConnexPay continues to simplify the payment industry. Now, they have offices in Florida and Minnesota. Furthermore, the company keeps innovating, providing seamless solutions for businesses and consumers. Their platform has expanded to support various industries beyond travel, including e-commerce and insurance. ConnexPay’s commitment to security and efficiency sets a new standard in payment processing. Consequently, it has become a trusted partner for many leading companies.

Under Bob’s leadership, ConnexPay grew in size and revenue. Importantly, they maintained a strong focus on customer satisfaction and technological advancement. The company regularly updates its platform with new features and improvements. This ensures it meets the evolving needs of its clients. As ConnexPay continues to expand, it stays dedicated to its mission of simplifying and securing the payment process for businesses worldwide. Learn more about ConnexPay.

Jun 17
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Reibus Celebrates the Holidays

Reibus International – an ATP Success Story

By Member Spotlight, The Park

John Armstrong founded Reibus in 2018 to solve a problem he faced in his corporate career and to create an enjoyable workplace. He and his partner developed a metal exchange platform offering more customization and availability for the construction industry.

At Atlanta Tech Park, Reibus received coaching and advisory services, which helped them manage their budget, financials, pitch, and platform questions. Over the years, they expanded into multiple offices and grew their staff to over 30.

In 2021, Reibus outgrew the Park and moved to a larger space to support their growth. They quickly expanded internationally, opening a European headquarters in Germany and appointing a country director for Canada. That year, their staff grew to over 300, and revenue increased sevenfold compared to 2020. From 2022 to 2023, their North American transaction volume for metal sales and logistics grew by more than 50%.

Reibus is committed to sustainability, having achieved carbon neutrality and pioneered carbon reduction solutions for steel production. Now valued at over $750 million, Reibus is the fastest-growing startup in Atlanta. They have offices in Atlanta, Germany, and Mexico, and in 2022, they acquired the Sweden-based steel and metals trading company Stålgossen. As an alumnus of Atlanta Tech Park, John continues to support the community and participate in events.  Learn more about Reibus.

Jun 12
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InterSystems Positioned as a Strong Performer

By Latest News, Member Spotlight

InterSystems debuts in analyst report that cites strengths in performance, data integration, and deployment options

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–InterSystems, a creative data technology provider dedicated to helping customers solve the most critical scalability, interoperability, and speed problems, was recognized as a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave ™: Data Management for Analytics, Q1 2023 that ranks top data management and analytics (DMA) vendors.

“Business leaders need faster time-to-insight to empower their decision-making, so we focus on making real-time, predictive, and prescriptive insights easy. Our customers’ success is our top priority.”

The Forrester Wave Data Management for Analytics report evaluated DMA vendors based on 26 criteria that include architecture and data modeling capabilities, performance, scale, and use cases.

InterSystems was named as a Strong Performer, and received the highest scores possible in four criteria, which were: product vision, data integration, deployment options, and performance. The report recognizes InterSystems IRIS® data platform for “comprehensive DMA capabilities that are proven at massive scale” and strengths in performance, data integration, and deployment options. The report notes that the company is “a good fit for large companies looking for a high-performance DMA solution across several key use cases that want to extend their architecture toward data fabric.”

“Our debut as a Strong Performer in the Forrester DMA Wave report is, for us, a testament to InterSystems ongoing commitment to delivering high performance data management solutions,” said Scott Gnau, Global Head of Data Platforms at InterSystems. “Business leaders need faster time-to-insight to empower their decision-making, so we focus on making real-time, predictive, and prescriptive insights easy. Our customers’ success is our top priority.”

The next generation InterSystems IRIS data platform combines operational and analytic capabilities with a comprehensive interoperability platform to deliver high performance for real time analytics and mission-critical applications to enable companies extending their architecture toward smart data fabrics.

May 22
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InterSystems Launches HealthShare® Health Connect Cloud™

By Latest News, Member Spotlight

Platform-as-a-service now broadly available to help customers achieve healthcare data integration

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–InterSystems, a creative data technology provider dedicated to helping customers solve the most critical scalability, interoperability, and speed problems, today announced that HealthShare® Health Connect Cloud™, a high-performance healthcare integration engine, is available in AWS Marketplace. AWS Marketplace is a digital catalog with thousands of software listings from independent software vendors that make it easy to find, test, buy, and deploy software that runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

“With HealthShare Health Connect Cloud in AWS Marketplace, we can extend our reach to hundreds of thousands of cloud-ready customers, powering accelerated healthcare data integration and true interoperability”

HealthShare Health Connect Cloud is a scalable solution, serving the needs of healthcare delivery systems of all sizes – from small clinics to the world’s largest and most complex systems. With its availability in AWS Marketplace, customers can benefit from improved data automation and management capabilities, leading to enhanced patient outcomes.

AWS customers can now access HealthShare Health Connect Cloud’s platform-as-a-service (PaaS) offerings directly in AWS Marketplace. The PaaS solution delivers managed healthcare integration cloud services, providing high-volume transaction support, process management, and monitoring to support mission-critical applications. With a simplified procurement process that includes flexible contract models, improved governance and control, license management and renewals, and custom pricing and terms, AWS customers can easily deploy HealthShare Health Connect Cloud and begin scaling data-driven applications on the cloud.

Mar 10
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SWGC celebrates 10 years at Atlanta Tech Park

Southwest Gwinnett Chamber Marches into its 10th Year

By Events, Member Spotlight

Southwest Gwinnett Chamber marches into its 10th year

The Southwest Gwinnett Chamber literally decided to “March Forth” to commemorate its ten-year anniversary. The Chamber kicked off the month celebrations with remarks from past chairpersons as well as present Chair Margie Asef. But, in order to march in properly, a drumline from Norcross High School’s Marching Band helped spark excitement. Under the leadership of Corer Fair, associate director of bands at Norcross High, the students helped the chamber keep the pep in their step as they proceeded to the stage.

“These mature and hard-working students who we enjoyed having with us and sharing our breakfast with … were a pleasure to have as our guests,” said Beth Coffey, director of Membership Sales & Service for the Chamber.

“First Friday Breakfast was full of history as well as looking forward and we’ll do that at our 10th Anniversary Celebration in downtown Norcross on March 24,” added Coffey.

> Read More

Dec 14
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ConnexPay

ConnexPay Receives $20 Million in Funding

By Latest News, Member Spotlight

D.A. Davidson & Co. announced today that it has served as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to ConnexPay on its $20 million Series B funding from Marqeta, Inc. (NASDAQ: MQ).

ConnexPay is the first and only unified payments platform that integrates merchant acquiring, anti-fraud solutions and virtual card issuing. ConnexPay’s technology simplifies workflow and eliminates the need for pre-funded accounts.  This reduces supplier risk and the cost of accepting card payments. Their technology also safeguards consumer spend.  Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN with offices in Bonita Springs, FL, and Atlanta, GA they employ 35 professionals.

ConnexPay plans to use this investment to build out its business with online marketplaces and other commerce intermediaries.  These opportunities make up a significant portion of its current sales pipeline. As a result, the new round of funding will help expand the ConnexPay platform into Europe with increased hiring and technology development to support multiple currencies and languages.

ConnexPay was a member of The Park until 2019, when it out grew their space and moved to their new Alpharetta headquarters.  They enjoyed the flexibility of expanding in the space to meet their needs resulting in continued growth.  They also benefitted from connections made during their tenure at The Park.

 

Dec 01
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SoftBank Vision Fund 2 Backs Reibus

By Latest News, Member Spotlight

Reibus International Inc., an alumni of Atlanta Tech Park,  had its valuation soar more than sevenfold after an investment from SoftBank Vision Fund 2.  It’s now $750 million.

Atlanta-based Reibus will spend the funds on expanding its marketplace and investing in associated logistics and financial-services offerings, Chief Executive Officer John Armstrong said in an interview. The startup, which already operates in Europe, plans a regional hub in Berlin and one in Southeast Asia, likely in Singapore. “We think it’s important to be local in those markets,” Armstrong said.

Reibus recently launched a mobile app and this year surpassed an annual revenue run rate of $100 million. It selected SoftBank as an investor in part due to its international reach, experience in helping marketplace-based companies scale globally and relationships with banks, said Armstrong, who co-founded the startup in 2018 with the goal of ensuring a positive culture. SoftBank’s David Boriss is set to join Reibus’s board, Armstrong said.

Reibus was a member of Atlanta Tech Park through 2020 when it graduated into its own space in Atlanta.  One of the many things that benefitted them was The Park’s ability to grow with them until it was time to further expand into their own corporate headquarters.   To learn more about The Park’s membership opportunities, click here.

 

Read the full article here on Bloomburg.

Jun 09
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Smart Eye Brings its Platform to Samsung AppStack

By Latest News, Member Spotlight

ATLANTA, GA. — June 7, 2021 – Smart Eye Technology, a biometric-based file sharing platform, today announced that it has partnered with Samsung  to help small and medium-sized businesses combat security threats by bringing its innovative platform to Samsung AppStack Marketplace customers. AppStack is a new platform that curates and bundles apps for small businesses.

With more people working remotely, and even as people move back to the office, employers are continuing to face an increasing number of security threats.

Smart Eye Technology is focused on helping companies protect the privacy and security of the confidential business information that they need to share with employees, customers or vendors as part of their on-going business. The solution also includes biometric-authenticated e-signatures for executing contracts in their platform.

“As many organizations continue to operate in dispersed and hybrid work environments, they are under increased pressure to ensure their data remains secure no matter where it is going,” said John Curtis, Vice President, Mobile B2B, Samsung Electronics America. “Smart Eye Technology provides a modern day solution for SMBs to share wiring instructions, project bids and other sensitive documents securely within this environment.”

Smart Eye Technology consists of a desktop and mobile app which lets users upload, share, receive, review and e-sign files in the platform from any device. When files are uploaded for sharing, they are encrypted with a proprietary self-protecting data technology for true end-to-end security. Smart Eye doesn’t stop there, though, to secure confidential information.

For an added level of security, each company creates their own ‘private pond’ for internal and external collaboration. “In order for anyone to receive or share files with you through the platform, your system admin must approve them,” Dexter Caffey, founder of Smart Eye Technology, explained. Shutting out all others protects organizations from issues like wire fraud, business email compromise and even data leaks from employees – either intentional or unintentional.

Smart Eye layers on biometrics, requiring the file receiver to authenticate their identity in order to access the file. It  then utilizes continuous facial recognition to detect and block unauthorized “shoulder surfers” from seeing the information on the authorized receiver’s screen. “No one should be able to see your confidential information unless you want them to,” said Caffey. “Smart Eye says no, this file is none of your business, so we’re blocking you out.”

File senders have additional control over files even after they hit send. They can set a time limit on file access; prevent downloading or further sharing; track activities on the file; and even terminate access to any file immediately, with just one click. Plus there’s a control panel for the system admin to monitor activities on all files shared through the platform in real time.

Smart Eye also uses its biometrics to enable identity-verified e-signatures and ensure that only the intended signer can e-sign the contract. “Many executives have assistants sign documents for them, but now that executive is not responsible for that contract,” Caffey continued. Smart Eye e-signatures are powered by Adobe Sign, the market-leading e-signature solution in Adobe Document Cloud; and the addition of biometric authentication provides needed proof of who signed your contract.

Smart Eye Technology was designed to meet the needs of any size business in any industry as an all-in-one platform that is simple to use and affordable.  “Advanced technology does not need to be complex,” Caffey added. “Giving customers a great and user-friendly experience is our number one focus.”

You can get Smart Eye Technology at a discounted rate through Samsung AppStack. AppStack simplifies the process of selecting and managing your work apps, reduces their subscription costs and provides ongoing support, plus a centralized billing system. Smart Eye Technology desktop app versions are available for Windows and macOS in the Samsung AppStack Marketplace.

 

About Smart Eye Technology

 

Smart Eye Technology is revolutionizing the way businesses protect their confidential information from unauthorized access. With Smart Eye, sharing and viewing files and e-signing business critical documents has never been more secure; and keeping shared confidential information private has never been more assured.  Smart Eye Technology was created to vigilantly protect everyone’s right to digital privacy and security.  Helping companies stay productive by giving them peace of mind is our mission.  Mobile versions are available for Android and iOS.

 

For more information or to schedule a live demo of the innovative Smart Eye Technology platform, visit smarteyetechnology.com.

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Media Contact:

Nicole Boyd

Firecracker PR

(888) 317-4687, ext. 702

nicole@firecrackerpr.com

 

Smart Eye Technology Contact:

Bri Liborio

Customer Experience Lead
b.liborio@getsmarteye.com

Oct 25
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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.)

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.

Oct 07
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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.