Atlanta has emerged as a budding startup hub with a list of newly minted unicorns and growing venture capital interest in recent years. The city's allure has even attracted the likes of home rental giant Airbnb, which recently decided to locate its East Coast engineering hub there.

Over the past five years or so, the city has burst onto the venture capital scene in part due to its warmer climate, diverse talent pool and lower taxes, attracting venture capitalists and startup founders alike. While these entrepreneurs have no desire to compete with Silicon Valley and other major startup hubs, they have to grapple with other challenges like retaining talent and sourcing bigger funding checks. READ MORE