Episode 12 | Mike Jordan

The Atlanta Story

The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Mike Jordan, Editor In Chief of Hypepotamus.

In today’s episode we have Mike Jordan, writer and editor. Over his 20 year career Mike has been published in The Wall Street Journal, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Atlanta Magazine, Creative Loafing, The Huntsville Times and much more. Born in Nashville, raised in Huntsville, Alabama, A Morehouse Man, husband, girl dad, today, he stays busy as Editor-In-Chief for Hypepotamus. In this episode we talk about the current media landscape, working in startups, the Black Lives Matter movement today and beyond, his time at LaFace Records, and what’s it like having a famous family member.

The Atlanta Story is put together by the folks at Atlanta Ventures -- and we can’t wait to share some of the personalities behind the brand. Atlanta Ventures invests in entrepreneurs through community, content, and capital -- most notably through our Studio with companies like Greenzie and Intown Golf Club. We believe the best entrepreneurs learn from other great artists in different fields.

In this episode, we discuss

• Mike has written for the AJC, Creative Loafing, and several other local outlets, what are his thoughts on the current state of local, civic-minded media and where does he see it and technology evolving? (2:50)
• If you’re a journalist starting today, Mike shares what steps and guidance he has for someone coming out of the gate in 2020. (5:25)
• Mike has a unique background starting as an intern at LaFace Records. What did he learn at LaFace that he brings to the art he creates today? (7:15)
• Mike shares about the Wall Street Journal. (9:30)
• What’s currently missing in Atlanta’s media? (12:45)
• What is Canopy? (15:50)
• In his current role at Hypepotamus, Mike covers several aspects of technology, but before this, Mike shares how he also led a team and owned and expanded a market for Thrillist. What is the difference between working in a startup and covering them? (19:50)
• The growth projections of Atlanta are pretty insane right now and looking at the housing market, there doesn’t seem to be any slow down, if anything, maybe an uptick of home buyers from New York, California. How does Atlanta grow responsibly over the next 20 years and maintain its culture and identity? (30:00)
• How does the Black Lives Matter movement continue momentum and make real progress over the next 5 year and 10 years? (35:10)
• Next, we talk about Mike’s family. His father is a retired Air Force General, highly respected, and performed a real service to our nation. What are some of the lessons he learned growing up in a military family? (41:40)
• Mike shares what it’s like to have Sidney Poitier as a Godfather. (46:18)
• What trends does Mike see in Atlanta that no one is talking about? (50:10)
• Why Atlanta and what has Atlanta done for you? (52:52)

Resources discussed in this episode:

Hypepotamus: https://hypepotamus.com/

Ashish Mistry: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashishmistry/

Canopy Atlanta: https://canopyatlanta.org/

Max Blau - Atlanta-based Journalist

Thrillist: https://www.thrillist.com/atlanta

How you can get involved:

Visit atlantaventures.com/studio if you’re interested in learning more about Atlanta Ventures and the Studio.

Where you can find us:

Website: www.atlstory.com

Twitter: @theatlantastory

Instagram: @theatlantastory

YouTube: Here

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