Fintech South 2024: Larry Williams with TAG

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio, brought to you by Kennesaw State University’s Executive MBA program, the accelerated degree program for working professionals looking to advance their career and enhance their leadership skills. And now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. So excited to be broadcasting live from the Woodruff Arts Center because we are here for Georgia Fintech South. And I’ve got with me today Larry Williams. He is the grand poobah of TAG Technology Association of Georgia. Welcome, Larry.

Larry Williams: Good morning Lee.

Lee Kantor: Well, Larry, do you mind sharing a little bit about TAG first and then we’ll get into Fintech South and why this event is so critical to the Atlanta ecosystem.

Larry Williams: Certainly TAG is the Technology Association of Georgia. We are 30,000 members strong, and we are really the place that nexus that brings together everything that is technology and innovation. So everybody that wants to be a part of this great prosperity that we’re experiencing in this state, that’s all driven by technology. They want to be a part of TAG.

Lee Kantor: And this is TAG’s 25th anniversary?

Larry Williams: This is our 25th anniversary. And we are super excited about what’s going on this year. And we’re also excited about the next 25.

Lee Kantor: So how has it you’ve been around for a minute? Tell us about kind of how you’ve seen the evolution of the technology ecosystem here in Atlanta, maybe from the early days to where it is now.

Larry Williams: You know, one thing that’s interesting, and Lee, you’ve heard me say this before, is I really do believe that Georgia is where technology meets the real world. So if we think about some of the things and, you know, historically that helped build this, you know, we got to go back to the Hayes Modem, Scientific Atlanta. All of these great companies that help build and really build a reputation, and a lot have been fueled by these great educational institutions that we have research institutions that help develop products and services that people have been able to commercialize and really affect the landscape of the technology globally. So that’s if we go back to the beginnings of it. But if we go through sort of a timeline, then we can look to things like cybersecurity, great innovations that came out that helped create great companies like ES, that’s now a part of IBM. And those functions still stay here in Georgia. Secureworks with became part of Dell, still still here, and then even Airwatch. Airwatch was the first mobile security application that the iPhone led onto its platform. With that and the partnership with AT&T mobility here in Atlanta, it’s the business.

Larry Williams: It’s the company that really put the BlackBerry out of business. If you remember the BlackBerry leaf. I know. And so there’s great stories. And I tell this because it’s like fintech. And while we’re here today, fintech, you know, we used to do the check processing here. And then we were part of the industry and the ecosystem that digitized that process that created this great transaction in fintech community that we have here today. And what’s important about this, Lee, and the way I tell it this way is because when it comes to the change in what I’ve seen over the last 25 years, Georgia has been a part of this evolution of technology and innovation every step of the way, and we’re going to continue to be a part of that for the next 25. But we didn’t just stand up and say, hey, we’re a fintech capital. We actually built every, um, every part of this industry. And as I say, you know, and with cybersecurity as well, we help build every layer of the onion. So we know how it’s built. And so we’re in a position to build the next phase as well.

Lee Kantor: And because and I don’t think you can really separate TAGs efforts in connecting everybody and having kind of this cohesive, uh, mosaic of different companies and different verticals within technology. Um, but you’ve fostered such a collaborative environment where people aren’t necessarily, you know, learning here at the great universities and leaving. We’re keeping a lot of the talent here, and then the talent wants to give back, and then they keep reinvesting in here. So it’s really kudos to you for creating that kind of environment that people want to stay after they’ve exited, and they want to help kind of build this and keep the momentum going for the next 25 years.

Larry Williams: Lee, it’s a great point. And, you know, one, our skyline has transformed. You drive through Midtown today. You really do see you know, it’s a technology skyline today. Um, and it is a great thing now people see opportunities here so they can stay here. The other part of that Lee, is there are so many people that have moved out of market that want to come home, and they want to come home. They, they they miss Atlanta. They miss Georgia. There are so many opportunities for them here now. And so even if they left and had to, you know, be young and be adventurous, they’re ready to come back home and be a part of this great community.

Lee Kantor: So now let’s talk a little bit about this conference. Um, how many years has it been since we’ve been doing fintech? I know we’ve been around since the beginning.

Larry Williams: Seventh. This is our seventh year.

Lee Kantor: Seventh year. Um, how have you seen kind of the fintech community evolve over this seven years? And, you know, with the pandemic mixed in the middle of that.

Larry Williams: You know, we’re 260 fintech companies in the community today. Um, it continues to grow. We are the place where people are, you know, moving their companies. They’re building their companies. The entrepreneurial community is is very strong. We’re also seeing there’s a lot more private equity venture capital that looks to our companies here that are growing up in Georgia as places to invest. So it’s the whole ecosystem about what makes it work. So there are large companies here. You know, we have the largest, uh, transaction processors in the world are based here. Um, we have a lot of the banks that are connected to it as well. And then we have the capital that are fueling the entrepreneurs. Um, and then also the education that’s so important for us, so proud that we helped create the Fintech Academy, uh, several years ago and that skyrocketing as well. But fintech continues to be strong. And it continues. You know, it’s a global industry for us here. And it touches everything. Trillions, trillions of dollars are processed through Georgia every day.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, it’s it’s mind boggling the amount of transactions that occur. Right. You know, right where we’re standing pretty much. That’s right. Now, um, for people who haven’t been to Fintech South. Can you share a little bit about what they can expect from an event like this?

Larry Williams: You know you can. It’s really about bringing people together. So there’s a lot of learning. The content that we have on the sTAGe is world class people talking about everything, about what’s now and what’s next in fintech. It’s about, you know, how that connection with cybersecurity privacy and making sure that we’re securing our transactions all the way up to the opportunities to have frictionless payments and make that process much more, um, much easier. Um, so you’re going to learn about all of that. You’re going to you’re going to see one of the most connected marketplaces that you can see, people that can come here and do business with each other. I love seeing people sit down and make deals. I was able to make some introductions last night. Uh, people that are really, uh, are excited about getting together and do business with each other, uh, mutually beneficial. And then you see great things. We. I had the honor of doing a fireside chat with Barry McCarthy. Yesterday we inducted him into the Georgia Fintech Hall of Fame. Such a great leader, someone. He’s the CEO of deluxe, but he has been a part of this ecosystem and has helped build every part and help really be a convener to really be to coalesce this fintech industry here. So there are all things like that, you know. Another highlight yesterday, Lee, is we did our innovation challenge and there was a great company that actually got a $25,000 award. And that’s cash and that’s a young company. And they’ll be able to grow fast because of that. You know, you talked about seven years. We’ve given almost half $1 million away on sTAGe at the Innovation Challenge now over the last seven years. So that’s really meaningful. One of the former recipients, I saw him yesterday and he said, Larry, we’re not for that $25,000. I wouldn’t be where we are today.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, the impact is real. Um. So what do you need more of? How can we help?

Larry Williams: What do we need more of? Hey, listen, it’s just if you’re not part of this great community, then come be a part of it. Come be a part of TAG. We do fintech, we do cybersecurity. We do all the industries and we do all the functions data governance, AI, quantum, all of this is part of our ecosystem. We need people to be plugged in. Let’s let’s get together. Let’s be a part of it. Let’s get involved with the things that we have now, or think of something creative that we can do in the future. And from you, Lee, just keep telling the great news and keep, uh, um, broadcasting what we’re doing, as well as what a lot of our members and partners are doing.

Lee Kantor: Well, Larry, thank you so much for sharing your story today, doing such important work. We appreciate you. Thank you. Lee. All right. This is Lee Kantor will be back in a few. At Fintech South.