Entrepreneurship at Emory University

Emory's entrepreneurship ecosystem is anchored by the Goizueta Business School, which has invested in entrepreneurship through the Roberto C. Goizueta Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the Start:ME Accelerator. What makes Emory distinctive among peer universities is the combination of Goizueta's commercial training with Emory's world-class medical school and the Rollins School of Public Health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is literally adjacent to Emory's campus, creating unique opportunities for public health, diagnostics, and healthcare startups.

Emory's Hatchery program is the university's on-campus incubator, providing workspace, mentorship, and funding for student ventures. The university's strengths in healthcare, public health, and life sciences create startup opportunities that leverage the massive healthcare and biotech ecosystem in Atlanta. The Emory Office of Technology Transfer has a strong track record of licensing university inventions and supporting spin-out companies.

Emory's location in Atlanta provides access to the Southeast's largest startup ecosystem, with the Atlanta Tech Village, Georgia Tech's ATDC, and a growing cluster of fintech and healthtech companies. Emory and Georgia Tech have complementary strengths - Emory provides healthcare and business expertise while Georgia Tech provides engineering and computer science talent - and the most successful Atlanta startups often draw from both institutions.

Emory student founders in 2026 benefit from the growing Atlanta tech ecosystem and Emory's particular strengths in healthcare and public health. The Hatchery provides structured startup support, and Emory's proximity to the CDC and major healthcare systems creates natural pilot and partnership opportunities for healthtech founders.

The practical advantage is Atlanta's scale and diversity as a startup city, combined with Emory's medical and business school combination. Founders building at the intersection of healthcare and business have access to clinical insight (from Emory Healthcare), public health expertise (from Rollins), and commercial training (from Goizueta) within a single campus ecosystem.

• Goizueta Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• The Hatchery - on-campus startup incubator
• Start:ME Accelerator - community-focused entrepreneurship
• Social Enterprise @ Goizueta

• The Hatchery - workspace, mentorship, and funding
• Emory Office of Technology Transfer
• Atlanta Tech Village (independent, strong Emory ties)

• Emory Entrepreneurship & Venture Management Club
• Goizueta Venture Capital Club
• Emory Global Health Case Competition
• Emory Social Enterprise Club

• Carter's (Fred Rowan)
• SweetWater Brewing (Freddy Bensch)
• MiMedx Group
• Various healthcare startups from Emory Healthcare system

Emory founders operate in Atlanta's thriving ecosystem with distinct advantages in healthcare innovation. The CDC's adjacency to campus is unique in American higher education and creates startup opportunities in public health technology, diagnostics, and epidemic preparedness that literally do not exist anywhere else. The Emory-Georgia Tech partnership (formalized through programs like the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering) produces founding teams that combine clinical and engineering expertise. Atlanta's broader startup ecosystem adds fintech, enterprise software, and consumer opportunities. For Emory founders, the highest-leverage path is healthcare and life sciences, where the combination of Emory Healthcare, the CDC, and the Rollins School of Public Health creates a uniquely rich environment for innovation.

Atlanta is the largest startup hub in the Southeast, strong in fintech, healthtech, and enterprise software. Emory's proximity to the CDC and Georgia Tech creates unique collaboration opportunities.