About this Event
🎉 BONUS FOR ATTENDEES: A FREE Year of ATDC Educate
When you register for Macon Startup Week 2026, you also get a complimentary one-year membership to ATDC Educate - Georgia Tech's founder education program, now open to Macon-Bibb entrepreneurs at no cost. Educate runs live, 1-hour sessions twice a week with no prerequisites and no fixed schedule to commit to - join, skip a week, or drop back in anytime. Topics span what founders actually need: fundraising and due-diligence readiness, data privacy and cybersecurity, AI strategy and tools, team and operations design, and the metrics that signal it's time to grow. It's real ATDC-caliber programming, brought to Macon founders as part of Startup Week.
Macon Startup Week 2026: 10 Years. One Community.
This year marks 10 years of Macon Startup Week, bringing together entrepreneurs, small business owners, community leaders, and the organizations that strengthen entrepreneurship across Macon-Bibb and Middle Georgia. Join us for three days of connection, education, resources, and celebration as we look back on a decade of impact and look ahead to what's next for our entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Macon Startup Week 2026 runs September 24-26, with events held at multiple venues around Macon (see the schedule below for specific locations each day). Highlights include a celebration of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, a lunch and learn on starting a business in Macon-Bibb, and a full-day Small Business Summit featuring sessions on funding, veterans entrepreneurship, AI and technology, Spanish-language entrepreneurship resources, commercial real estate, marketing, and more.
🚨 IMPORTANT: Thursday's kickoff (Celebration of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem, 6:00-7:30 PM) is at Tier2 Technologies, 1015 Riverside Dr, Macon, GA 31201 — NOT at the Macon Mall. Friday and Saturday events are at the Macon Mall Conference Center. 🚨
Note: The Women's Pitch Contest is a separate event with its own registration. Please search for "Macon Startup Week 2026: Women's Pitch Contest" to register for that event.
Agenda
🕑: 06:00 PM - 07:30 PM
Thu Sept 24: Celebration of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Info: Location: Tier2 Technologies, 1015 Riverside Dr, Macon, GA 31201. ESOs (Entrepreneurial Support Organizations) from across the region introduce their work, each getting about 2 minutes. Community resource area for attendees to connect with organizations.
Fri Sept 25
🕑: 12:00 PM - 01:30 PM
How to Start a Business in Macon-Bibb: Lunch & Learn
Info: Location: Macon Mall Conference Center. Panel on licensing, zoning, permitting, and business resources for starting a business locally.
Sat Sept 26
🕑: 09:15 AM - 10:00 AM
Small Business Summit: Funding the Dream – Access to Capital & Financial Resou
Info: Location: Macon Mall Conference Center. Small Business Summit full-day track.
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Concurrent Sessions: Veterans Entrepreneurship / Mental Health & Entrepreneurs
Info: Location: Macon Mall Conference Center. Two concurrent breakout sessions – attendees choose one.
🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Concurrent Sessions: Business & Technology (AI, Innovation & Small Business) /
Info: Location: Macon Mall Conference Center. Two concurrent breakout sessions – attendees choose one. Emprender Aquí is presented in Spanish.
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Lunch with an Entrepreneur
Info: Location: Macon Mall Conference Center.
🕑: 01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Concurrent Sessions: Commercial Real Estate / Marketing, Content Creation & So
Info: Location: Macon Mall Conference Center. Two concurrent breakout sessions – attendees choose one.
🕑: 02:00 PM - 02:45 PM
Closing Keynote: 10 Years of Macon Startup Week
Info: Location: Macon Mall Conference Center. Closing session celebrating 10 years of Macon Startup Week.
Event venue & nearby stays
Macon Mall, 3661 Eisenhower Parkway, Macon, United States
Concerts, fests, parties, meetups — all the happenings, one place.