About Sanjay.

Sanjay (suhn' jey) is a serial technology entrepreneur. Currently, he is Entrepreneur in Residence at United Way of Greater Atlanta, a co-founder of TogetherLetters, a service for groups to share updates without using social media, and Edgewise, a marketing content creation company using podcasts as a content engine. He is also a co-host of Tech Talk Y'all, a tech news comedy podcast.

Sanjay's startup journey started as the founding CEO and inventor of Digital Envoy's patented NetAcuity IP intelligence technology. At Digital Envoy, Sanjay led the company to raise $12 million in angel and venture funding. Digital Envoy was acquired by Landmark Communications in June 2007. Sanjay then launched Startup Riot, a conference for startups that pioneered the three-minute, four-slide presentation format. Sanjay subsequently co-founded Solidfire in 2010, which was acquired by NetApp in 2015.

Sanjay is an inventor on twelve issued U.S. patents and holds an electrical engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from Emory University's Goizueta Business School.

Current Experience

• United Way of Greater Atlanta, Entrepreneur in Residence (2024 - present)
• Purpose Group, advisory board member (2023 - present)
• Edgewise, co-founder (2021 - present)
  • Side Hustle to Small Business podcast, host (2022 - present)
• TogetherLetters, co-founder (2020 - present)
• Mirage Data, founder (2020 - present)
• LA Car, co-owner (2018 - present)
• Tech Talk Y'all, co-host (2017 - present)

Current Board Memberships

• Council on Foreign Relations, Term Membership Subcommittee, member (2022 - present)
• Carter Center, Board of Councilors, member (2022 - present)
• MARTA Technology Advisory Board, member (2022 - present)
• Duluth Public Arts Commission, chair (2020 - present)
• Woodruff Arts Center, member of the Board of Trustees (2018 - present) & chair of the IT Advisory Committee (2022 - present)

Prior Experience

• Occasional Wraps, co-founder (2022)
• Ripples of Hope, member of the board of directors (2021 - 2022)
• SXSW Startup Accelerator, advisor (2012 - 2016, 2020)
• Prototype Prime, co-founder (2015 - 2019)
• Startup Daze, co-host (2018)
• Startup Gossip, founder & publisher (2009 - 2018)
• Found Stages, board member (2018)
• Startup Riot, founder (2008 - 2014)
• Georgia Tech CREATE-X, consultant (2014 - 2015), associate director (2015 - 2017)
• Founder Fables, founder (2013)
• Refresh South, founder (2014 - 2017)
• Duluth Montessori School, entrepreneurship teacher for the adolescent program (2013 - 2015)
• Solidfire, co-founder (2010)
• Shotput Ventures, co-founding partner (2008 - 2011)
• Marshall Memorial Fellowship Alumni Conference, chair (2007)
• Marshall Memorial Fellowship, Atlanta coordinator (2006 - 2012)
• Coyote Point Systems, board member (2006 - 2010)
• EarthLink, senior product manager (2006)
• Digital Envoy, co-founder and CEO (1999 - 2001), Chief Strategy Officer (2001 - 2005), board member (1999 - 2007)
• Arris Interactive, senior systems engineer (1996 - 2000)
• General Electric Transportation Systems, summer intern (1994, 1995)

Education

• Emory University, Goizueta Business School, MBA, May 2006
  • One-year full-time accelerated MBA program
  • concentration in leadership, strategy, and entrepreneurship
  • Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy Fellow, Marine Officer Candidate School capstone experience
• Georgia Institute of Technology, Bachelor of Electrical Engineering, March 1996
  • concentration in computer engineering

Honors, Awards, & Memberships

• Emory Ambassador (2020 - present)
• member, Council on Foreign Relations (2004 - present)
• class member, Gwinnett County Community Emergency Response Team (2018)
• member, Emory Board of Visitors (2015 - 2018)
• selection committee member for the Class of 2016, Leadership Atlanta (2015)
• member, Leadership Atlanta, Class of 2014
• named one of the "40 Under 40" by Atlanta Business Chronicle (2013)
• inducted into the Georgia Tech College of Engineering’s Council of Outstanding Young Engineering Alumni (2013)
• named a New Leaders Council Fellow, Atlanta Chapter (2013)
• commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel (2012)
• member, board of directors for the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia (2010)
• winner, BMW Foundation 1st Alumni Ideas competition (2009)
• fellow, BMW Foundation ███████ ██████ (2008, 2009)
• named one of ten Outstanding Young Atlantans (2004)
• named one of the "Top 40 Under 40" Georgians by Georgia Trend magazine (2004)
• named an American Marshall Memorial Fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States (2004)
• named to MIT's Technology Review TR100 list as one of the top 100 young innovators (2003)
• named a Technology Pioneer with the World Economic Forum (2002, 2003)
• member, Entrepreneurs' Organization (2001 - 2004)
• member, Mensa (1993 - 2014)

Patents

• Systems and Methods for Determining Collecting and Using Geographic Location of Internet Users (U.S. Patent 6,757,740) cited by 450 patents
• Systems and Methods for Determining, Collecting, and Using Geographic Location of Internet Users (U.S. Patent 7,403,978) cited by 25 patents
• Systems and Methods for Determining, Collecting, and Using Geographic Location of Internet Users (U.S. Patent 7,451,233) cited by 22 patents
• Geo-intelligent traffic reporter (U.S. Patent 7,685,311) cited by 32 patents
• Systems and Methods for Determining, Collecting, and Using Geographic Location of Internet Users (U.S. Patent 7,698,377) cited by 36 patents
• Geo-intelligent traffic manager (U.S. Patent 7,844,729) cited by 35 patents
• Geo-intelligent traffic reporter (U.S. Patent 8,060,606) cited by 26 patents
• Method and system for geo-targeted content delivery (U.S. Patent 8,463,942) cited by 6 patents
• Method and system for generating IP address profiles (U.S. Patent 8,745,269) cited by 9 patents
• Method and system for generating IP address profiles (U.S. Patent 9,900,284) cited by 1 patent
• Method and system for email privacy, security, and information theft detection (U.S. Patent 10,419,476) cited by 71 patents
• Method and system for email privacy, security, and information theft detection (U.S. Patent 10,931,709)
• thirteen additional pending U.S. patent applications
• eight European patents
• five Canadian patents
• two Australia patents

Talks & Interviews

• Freshbooks #IMakeALiving 2019 Atlanta panelist
• EO Atlanta - Limitless Conference 2019 Master of Ceremonies
• Gwinnett Rotary - 2018
• Leadership Gwinnett - panel moderator - 2015, 2016, 2017
• Georgia Institute of Technology - 2017 Stamps Presidential Scholars finalist dinner keynote
• The New School - weekly speaker series
• Cox Communications High School Mentor Program - speaker for Cox's annual mentor event with Chamblee High School
• Georgia Gwinnett College - commencement speech for the Fall 2016 class
• Refresh South - Fireside chat with Vint Cerf.
• Atlanta Tech Edge - interview
• Atlanta Tech Edge - Roundtable: To Pitch or Not to Pitch
• Business Radio X - Atlanta Technology Leaders
• (co)lab Summit - speaker profile
• hackATL - Unintentionally Lucky
• TEDxGeorgiaTech - Idea Butterflies
• AppSumo - How to Pitch Investors
• TEDxEmory - Success Through Failure
• Mixergy.com - Filling a Conference Room
• Inc. Magazine & Chase - Using Technology to Drive Growth
• Inc. Magazine & Chase - Faster, Better, Stronger in Atlanta
• Startup Foundry - I pitched 200 VCs in 10 months before I closed the round
• TechDrawl - Interview on Startup Riot 2011
• BoldVentures TV - Interview on Startup Riot

TV Appearances

• 11Alive ATL&Co - Tech Tuesday: Tech Inspired Holiday Gift Ideas (November 21, 2023)
• 11Alive Local News - Work from home: Apps to stay in touch (April 3, 2020)
• 11Alive Atlanta Business Chronicle - The Data Dilemma (August 5, 2019)
• 11Alive TechEdge - Tech Talk Y'all on TechEdge (August 28, 2018)
• 11Alive TechEdge - Tech Talk Y'all on TechEdge (July 30, 2018)
• 11Alive TechEdge - Tech Talk Y'all on TechEdge (April 29, 2018)
• 11Alive TechEdge - How to protect your online privacy (April 22, 2018)
• 11Alive TechEdge - Tech Talk Y'all on TechEdge (April 8, 2018)
• 11Alive TechEdge - Tech Talk Y'all on TechEdge (February 25, 2018)
• 11Alive TechEdge - Tech Talk Y'all on TechEdge (November 12, 2017)
• 11Alive TechEdge - Tech Talk Y'all on TechEdge (May 28, 2017)
• CNN - Changing the game of startups

Press

• Atlanta Business Chronicle - United Way taps serial entrepreneur Sanjay Parekh to lead ‘next gen’ initiative (March 25, 2024)
• United Way - United Way of Greater Atlanta Invests in Transformative Innovation with Appointment of Entrepreneur-in-Residence (March 25, 2024)
• Atlanta Business Chronicle - Gwinnett entrepreneurs benefit from collaborative spaces (December 17, 2017)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Peachtree Corners’ startup incubator officially opens (November 3, 2016)
• PRWEB - Incubator and Maker Space, Prototype Prime, Opens its Doors in Peachtree Corners (October 27, 2016)
• Entrepreneur Magazine - 4 Ways to Dominate a Pitch Competition (April 14, 2014)
• CNN - Startup Riot tries to grow tech companies outside Silicon Valley (February 17, 2011)
• CNN - Speed dating for startups (March 4, 2010)
• Atlanta Journal-Constitution - Startups do some fast talking for investors (February 17, 2010)
• Emory Magazine - Opening Pitch (Spring 2010)
• IEEE Spectrum Magazine - The View from the Top (November 1, 2004)
• MIT Technology Review - Innovators Under 35 (2003)
• Who Controls the Internet?: Illusions of a Borderless World by Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu (2006)
• Lessons From the Edge: Success Secrets for Starting and Growing a Business by Jana Matthews, Jeff Dennis, and Peter Economy (2003)
• ZDNet - Don't sweat the small stuff. Outsource it. by David Berlind (October 2, 2003)
• Wall Street Journal - Digital Envoy Offers a Way To 'Geo-Target' Web Surfers by Nicole Harris (April 12, 2001)