I’ve had thought-provoking conversations over the last few weeks about what’s needed for Atlanta’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to reach the next level. What’s the next level? A regular stream of companies transitioning from early stage (sub–$100 thousand in annual revenue) to $250 million-plus liquidation events (acquisitions, IPOs, etc.) within ten years. Atlanta has a robust entrepreneurial scene and a community that’s super supportive (local government, universities, corporations, accelerators, etc.). In my opinion, Atlanta is one of the, if not the, strongest areas in the southeast for building businesses. But there’s lots of room for improvement.

The folks that I’ve talked with and I came up with a bunch of things that we think would help. But here’s what I believe could be game changing: people who’ve helped build companies that have had liquidation events exceeding $250 million. Founders, executives, key early employees, no doubt others. People who’ve earned their credibility by experiencing the journey to liquidation. These folks have seen the movie and they know how it ends. By no means am I saying that Atlanta doesn’t have such people. But there aren’t enough of them. I think that once you increase their presence in the city (assuming they’re excited to give back), you can start changing the ecosystem.

Why is that true? Easy . . . proximity to success. Going back to my post about this, it’s game changing for early-stage entrepreneurs to have access to successful people. If more people who know how to create companies that can liquidate for $250 million-plus are available to connect early-stage entrepreneurs with the right people and otherwise mentor them, the newcomers have a huge advantage. They are much more likely to succeed. Larger liquidation events happen more frequently, which attracts more investors, which attracts more high caliper entrepreneurs to the city. It creates a flywheel.

Now that we know what’s missing, how do we get more of these credible people in Atlanta?