Now®️Partners with Invest Atlanta to Create Online Platform Connecting Small B2B Businesses with Large Enterprises in the Region

ATLANTA, GA (Feb. 14, 2023) – Now®️, the innovative B2B payments solution provider, today officially launched a collaboration with Invest Atlanta and local business affinity groups to connect local small businesses with major corporations and other procurement organizations in the area. The ATLinBusiness Marketplace, powered by NowNetwork™, is a private version of Now’s proprietary NowNetwork, an online platform that connects large businesses with a diverse pool of B2B suppliers. The platform is the company’s latest advancement in facilitating customer, capital, and commerce opportunities to benefit both large and small business stakeholders, especially during an economic downturn. ATLinBusiness Marketplace enables any business that sells to other businesses or governments to access more and larger customers effectively and efficiently, and it enables companies and governments that buy goods and services to access local businesses more efficiently and effectively and without risk

ATLinBusiness Marketplace is the newest addition to ATLinBusiness, Invest Atlanta’s digital platform to help entrepreneurs find information and resources to plan, start, grow and manage a business. Through ATLinBusiness Marketplace, local suppliers and buyers have the opportunity to connect with each other and access business development resources. Buyers will also be able to directly connect with minority-owned, women-owned, and legacy businesses to meet their unique needs. Now®️ will power the platform, support community moderators, and provide access to the global Now Network platform content, which provides information, documentation, and other essential materials for small business owners.

“We joined forces with Now®️ to bring our business community closer together through ATLinBusiness Marketplace and increase economic activity as minority businesses represent almost 20% of our business economy and continue to be a faster-growing segment of the economy,” said Dr. Eloisa Klementich, president and CEO, Invest Atlanta.

To mark the platform’s launch, Invest Atlanta hosted an event, Surviving and Thriving through Economic Uncertainty, at the Gathering Spot Atlanta on February 1, 2023. Those in attendance included business bankers, economists, community leaders, tech experts, and experienced small business owners.

“As a small business owner in one of the top startup cities in the country, I have experienced both the trials and triumphs that come from running your own business,” said Lara Hodgson, CEO and co-founder of Now®. “I founded Now®️ with the goal of enabling small businesses to grow fearlessly and, with the launch of the NowNetwork, we are helping connect the small B2B business owners with potential enterprise clients to ensure that growth accelerates in Atlanta and around the country.”

A Georgia native, Lara Hodgson co-founded Now®️ with the mission to empower entrepreneurs and create opportunities for diverse businesses of all sizes to have access to customers, capital, and commerce without the barriers of traditional financing…

For more information about the ATLinBusiness Marketplace, visit atlinbusiness.com/marketplace. All businesses are welcome to join the platform, including underrepresented business owners and operators, and supplier diversity and procurement professionals working to achieve diversity goals. Businesses outside the Metro Atlanta area are welcome to visit nowcorp.com/nownetwork to join and for more information.

Invest Atlanta
Invest Atlanta is the official economic development authority for the City of Atlanta. Its purpose is to strengthen Atlanta’s economy and global competitiveness to create increased opportunity and prosperity for the people of Atlanta. Chaired by the Mayor of Atlanta and governed by a nine- member board of directors, Invest Atlanta’s programs and initiatives focus on developing and fostering public/private partnerships to create jobs, grow the economy, revitalize neighborhoods, attract investment, spur innovation, and encourage entrepreneurship. To achieve these goals, Invest Atlanta leverages many tools, including the benefits of bond financing, revolving loan funds, housing financing, tax increment financing and tax credits.

About Now®
NowAccount® is an invoice payment solution that redefines how and when businesses get paid. Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, Now® was created by serial entrepreneurs who felt the pain of waiting on invoice payments from larger customers. Now’s mission is to empower businesses to grow fearlessly through accelerated invoice payments. Inspired by the credit card system, NowAccount® allows you to get paid immediately on your invoice while allowing your customers the flexibility to pay later. In creating the NowNetwork, the company is furthering its vision to create a world where diverse businesses of all sizes have access to capital, commerce, and customer opportunities.

Contact Information

Rick Liebling

Account Manager

VSC for Now

nowcorp@vsc.co