If you're selected to pitch at Venture Atlanta, there’s an incredible opportunity waiting before you ever step on stage!
Every selected company receives one-on-one, startup pitch coaching sessions (45 minutes in total) from a panel of investors led by Cherry Bekaert, our coaching partner for more than 15 years. It’s 100% free to apply, and there’s no fee for coaching.
Coaching is an essential step towards a successful pitch, and we’re not the only ones who believe that. A national study on startup mentoring found that strong mentoring relationships are one of the most consistent predictors of entrepreneurial success, provided the mentors involved are qualified and invested in the founder's growth rather than offering feedback for its own sake.
Keep reading to see how the coaches at Venture Atlanta are truly here to champion your growth, how your company can benefit from the Venture Atlanta company coaching program, and who you can expect to see at this year’s conference.
How Coaching Changes Companies for the Better
Company coaching provides investor feedback for founders that exponentially improves your pitch. For instance, a value proposition may get rebuilt in the middle of a session, or an investor might make an introduction on the spot because the pitch finally clicked.
The feedback you get at these sessions is intentional, structured startup pitch coaching built specifically to get founders prepped for the stage.
Garrett Ash, an investor at Fulcrum Equity Partners, swears by Venture Atlanta’s company coaching as one of the best things a startup can go through.
“I don't say this lightly... if you are a founder, applying is one of the highest-ROI 15 minutes you will spend all year.”
— Garrett Ash, Growth Equity Investor at Fulcrum Equity Partners
Carpool Logistics is a good example of how Venture Atlanta company coaching sets you up for success. Founder and CEO Michael Malakhov described the application process itself as fairly simple, but it was the coaching that sharpened everything.
"We went through multiple iterations with feedback to tighten our pitch," he said. "Since you only have a few minutes on stage, your story has to be concise and clear."
— Michael Malakhov, Founder & CEO at Carpool Logistics
His biggest warning: don't skip practicing your timing, because three minutes goes by faster than you'd think.
Venture Atlanta Founder and CEO, Allyson Eman, has sat through countless coaching sessions over the past 18 years, and has watched the same patterns occur in almost every pitch.
"Every company learns something that improves their business," she said. "You're getting much more than just stage time. You're getting guidance, exposure, and meaningful feedback."
— Allyson Eman, Founder and CEO at Venture Atlanta
What Investors Tell Founders at Venture Atlanta Company Coaching
After 15+ years, our coaches consistently emphasize a handful of themes. Here are a few of the most common:
- Grab the audience’s attention within the first 10 seconds
- Lead with your strongest proof point
- Show the logos of your customers
- Show off your team, not just your technology
- Define the problem and the solution clearly, in plain language
- Keep your slides visual and clean, not word-heavy
- Don’t use complex numbers that will have the investors doing math
- Remember you're pitching for the next meeting
Having investors point out how these themes should show up in your pitch hits harder in person than reading them online. However, if you want to take your training a step further, check out our top 6 pitch tips from investors.
How Venture Atlanta Company Coaching Works Today
Once a company is selected to pitch, Cherry Bekaert manages the entire coaching process from start to finish, and it runs in two distinct rounds:
Round 1: Each founder meets with four to five investors and one Cherry Bekaert representative for a 30-minute session focused entirely on deck feedback, one-on-one time with investors, and transforming your pitch.
Round 2: The “Gauntlet” at Venture Atlanta is where founders get 15 minutes for final polish before the live pitch, a chance to work in the last round of feedback before it's showtime.
Between the two rounds, every selected company receives 45 minutes of FREE direct investor time. This is GOLD! You won’t get this kind of face time anywhere else, and it’s what makes pitching at Venture Atlanta such a game-changer.
Venture Atlanta Company Coaching: Led by Cherry Bekaert For 15+ Years
None of this happens without Cherry Bekaert, whose team recruits the coaches, builds the schedule, and manages every logistical detail behind the scenes so that founders can focus entirely on their pitch.
A Cherry Bekaert representative sits on every single coaching call, in every round, for every company, not observing from the sidelines but fully engaged, asking questions, and contributing feedback right alongside the investors.
“Taking part in the coaching process every year is a highlight of our long-time involvement with Venture Atlanta. It truly revolves around our goal of supporting the Southeastern tech community that we’ve served for decades. There isn’t a better way to support these companies and their founders than by helping them make sure their pitch is as tight as it can be. I’ve always enjoyed noticing how much a pitch can improve from the first run-through to the end of the second session. These founders have great ideas that they’re trying to convey in a 3-minute window, which is incredibly difficult to do. But what’s so fulfilling to us as coaches is seeing how they utilize feedback to make a good presentation even better, ensuring they catch the attention of investors.”
— Jonathan Sawyer, Partner at Cherry Bekaert LLP
Founders consistently arrive on stage more prepared than founders at any other pitch competition in the region, backed by a roster of coaches who have contributed their time and expertise over the years, including:
And thank you to the many others who return year after year, long after their own companies have moved on from the stage.
Who Built the Venture Atlanta Company Coaching Program: Matthew May's Legacy
Long before coaching looked the way it does today, Matthew May practically built it. During his time at Cherry Bekaert, he developed the program from the ground up, back when it ran entirely in person over days on end, as companies came through one after another to pitch and get feedback before he helped assemble the final schedule that carried them into their live pitch.
Matthew currently serves as CAS Leader at Sorren and President of Acuity Accounting. He’s also on the board of directors for Atlanta Technology Angels.
Lawrence Guillory: Coaching That Comes Full Circle
A two-time Venture Atlanta alumnus widely regarded as one of the program's best coaches, Lawrence Guillory treats coaching as a standing commitment rather than a favor, so much so that even in a year when he was pitching his own company at Venture Atlanta, he still made time to work with other founders through the process.
That's the give-back ethos that defines the community around this program: founders who've been through it come back to help the next round get through it too, year after year, whether or not they happen to be the ones on stage.
Want To Receive Company Coaching? Apply to Pitch By August 7th
If you’re looking to connect with investors before the conference takes place, or receive some of the best coaching prior to pitching on-stage, you need to apply to pitch at Venture Atlanta.
Pitching at Venture Atlanta is completely free of cost and gets your company in front of 1,600+ investors, founders, and service providers looking for their next opportunity. Applications close August 7, 2026!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Venture Atlanta's company coaching program?
Venture Atlanta company coaching is a free, two-round program for every company selected to pitch, giving founders 45 minutes of direct, one-on-one feedback from a panel of real investors, led and managed by Cherry Bekaert.
Who leads Venture Atlanta's company coaching?
Cherry Bekaert has led the entire process for more than 15 years, recruiting coaches, building the schedule, and sitting in on every single coaching call.
Do you have to pay for VA coaching?
No! Startup pitch coaching is free for every company selected to pitch, just like applying to pitch itself.
What happens during a coaching session?
In Round 1, founders meet with four to five investors and a Cherry Bekaert representative for 30 minutes of deck feedback, followed by Round 2, The Gauntlet, which gives founders 15 minutes of final polish before their live pitch.
What is "the Gauntlet"?
The Gauntlet is Round 2 of coaching, and while it's a 15-minute session today focused on last tweaks before the real pitch, it started as a 10-minute critique format nearly two decades ago.
How long is the coaching program?
Every selected company receives 45 total minutes of investor time across both rounds.
Who are the coaches?
Coaches are drawn from Venture Atlanta's selection committee and its wider investor network, including long-time contributors like Allen Moseley, Spence McClelland, Mike Dowdle, Steve Hasty, Mike Becker, Emery Waddell, Nelson Chu, and Lawrence Guillory.
What kind of feedback do founders get?
Investors tend to focus on the fundamentals that make a pitch land: leading with your strongest proof point, showing off your team, defining the problem and solution clearly, and keeping slides visual rather than word-heavy.
How is VA coaching different from other pitch competitions?
Few pitch competitions offer 45 minutes of direct VC pitch coaching to every single selected company at no cost, and fewer still have one partner organization managing the entire process with this level of consistency for over 15 years.
Does every selected company get coaching?
Yes, every company selected to pitch at Venture Atlanta receives the full two-round coaching experience described above.
