CodeLaunch 2021 – Deborah Lanham

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the beautiful legacy theater in Alpharetta, Georgia, for code launch Atlanta, 2021. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:23] And we are back broadcasting live from code launch in Atlanta. Twenty twenty one Stone Payton Lee Kantor here with you. Next up on the broadcast today, please join me in welcoming to the show with Alpharetta Chamber, Miss Deborah Lynam. Good afternoon.

Deborah Lanham: [00:00:40] Good afternoon. How are you?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:43] We are doing well. What brings you to code launch?

Deborah Lanham: [00:00:46] Well, this was a dream. This was an idea presented to me back in the beginning of this year as a possibility that code launch would be expanding and coming into the Atlanta market. And because I’m the Alpharetta Chamber of Commerce obviously said let us host you in Alpharetta. So we started and that would be improving. Scott McMichael, who’s a member of our chamber and just been a great partner, started having those conversations. And now it’s reality here today. We have spent lots of months planning and helping promote, and we’re just grateful to be a community partner. And that’s what that’s what I’m doing here tonight.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:30] Now, talk about since the code launches, they’re based in Texas, but it’s a national brand is growing all over the country. Why don’t you let the folks know how Alpharetta is as attackable itself? Forget about Atlanta. I know we’re near Atlanta, but Alpharetta stands alone. And it would be a large community if Atlanta wasn’t even here.

Deborah Lanham: [00:01:52] Oh, absolutely. With the incubator here, check out Faretta. And they are well on their way and have the support of the city of Alpharetta. We have been just exploding as a tech community. And back when David Belisle was the mayor of the city, he had a dream about bringing these tech leaders together and created this coalition or a commission. And that’s what we now enjoy as Techo Faretta, led by Karen Kashan. So with that work, we are having more attention and focus on our startups as they’re incubating right here in Alpharetta. And the goal is to keep those businesses and that innovation right here in our town.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:34] And there’s a lot of kind of tech clusters in technology in Alpharetta specifically, like health care. I.T. is a big one here. Is there any other ones that we should be aware of, of types of companies within technology that are kind of flourishing here in Alpharetta?

Deborah Lanham: [00:02:50] Well, yes, health care. And then also the financial piece where you have a lot of transactional, you know, with the payment processing right here. So that’s another big area in terms of that technology. In fact, I think don’t quote me, but 72 percent of the credit card transactions come through Atlanta and a good chunk of that’s right up out of Alpharetta. So that’s another part of it. And then you see these startup businesses are definitely digital technology marketing. We’re we’re seeing, in fact, some of those contestants in the code launch that we’ve witnessed today are in that field. And the creators are really exploding with innovation and creativity. So love seeing some that we’ve we’ve enjoyed cybersecurity and watching and that particular piece of the technology in terms of educating our community, that’s been huge in the last few years. But interesting to watch it move into other categories, like I mentioned, the marketing and creative.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:50] Now, how does the chamber really kind of help support these startups you mentioned? Check out Faretta. How or what are some of the things that are happening, the events that are happening in and around the city that help kind of these entrepreneurs get their show on the road?

Deborah Lanham: [00:04:07] Well, as it impacts the Chamber of Commerce in our work, our focus definitely is to help drive the economy. And and to to do that, you have to make sure that your businesses are equipped. And so a lot of these startups do need the support of an organization like Tuko Faretta or a Chamber of Commerce, where we have access to tools and resources. And I think of SCOR in the SPDC and SBA right here, you know, arms of the SBA, but also those homegrown organizations that just have a passion to help and coach for free. And then, you know, once they begin to provide that kind of coaching, then they can introduce these small companies to greater opportunity to, you know, to actually engage in coaching that they would pay for. But it’s an ecosystem and it’s here to support, especially coming out of the Chamber of Commerce, that that’s what we like to teach our businesses and our members, is to be collaborative and to do business with one another. And in that engagement, they find where they can actually help one another, too. And so I would say through then the different and various events, chambers of commerce like ours put on. They’re designed not only to educate, but to bring in that connecting point, and then and beyond that, then just those faces you meet that are literally your resource, your tool that will help improve your business.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:36] There must be such a rewarding work to see these kind of relationships flourish and to see entrepreneurs come together in ways that they couldn’t without the help of the chamber connecting them.

Deborah Lanham: [00:05:46] Oh, it is. And why I’ve been doing this for almost 10 years. I love the work. And it is something where you feel that passion, that to be able to connect to people and just see them have these great testimonies of work accomplished. Yes. That revenue that comes in as a result of two companies working together. I love that as well. And that’s why I felt like really we have a mission and we know what our specific work is and where we fit in in our lane as a chamber of commerce. And that is to help drive the economy, to help our small businesses, and to give them those resources and tools that I also love, like what has happened here today, where we have that partnership, that’s our passion, is partnering up with companies like Improving, where we can then get a cold launched national event to come to Alpharetta. Yes, there in Atlanta. But we got him to come up here to Alpharetta and allow us to host them. So what a great turnout tonight to what a wonderful large audience we are so happy to see here.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:42] Must be great to see all these kind of folks coming out and celebrating technology, celebrating code launch. And really this event couldn’t be done without the support of folks like you.

Deborah Lanham: [00:06:54] Well, we’re happy to be a part of that. So it’s great to be here. And again, improving is done a wonderful job of engaging, including us and and allowing us to get together and brainstorm. But, yeah, code launch has been out there and in Texas, and it looks like they’re going to have a robust schedule going forward. So I’m excited to watch that.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:17] Now for people, they want to connect with you and join the chamber or maybe check out some of the events. What’s their best website to do that

Deborah Lanham: [00:07:25] While we’re at Alpharetta Chamber dot com? Pretty easy, but also reach out to me directly if you’d like to. Deborah Debow, R.H. at Alpharetta Chamber dot com. And I am happy to have a conversation with you and learn what you’re doing and how we as a chamber could come around and support you.

Stone Payton: [00:07:42] Well, Deborah Lynam with Alpharetta Chamber, thank you so much for joining us. And please keep up the good work. Thank you for your service. Thank you for everything that you and your team are doing. We just think the world of your work, we want to continue to try to support you in any way we can. And you’ve got some big fans over here to Business RadioX network, and I’m sure within the code launch system as well.

Deborah Lanham: [00:08:07] Well, let me just say that I am a very big fan of Business RadioX, so thank you for inviting me to speak with you tonight.

Deborah Lanham: [00:08:13] It is absolutely our pleasure. All right. We’ll be back in a few. From code launch Atlanta. Twenty twenty one.