Dave Payne in

Dave Payne

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Co-Founder at loop‎‎
📍 Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Dave Payne is a seasoned entrepreneur and the Co-founder, Managing Partner & CEO of Neighborhood Studios, a venture studio focused on hyperlocal startups. With a career starting in the mid-90s, he also co-founded Switchyards and mentored founders at Techstars. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellons Tepper School of Business.

Outside of building companies, Dave is dedicated to giving back to the startup community through mentorship and his personal blog, where he explores key founder concepts. He draws inspiration from creative thinkers and is fascinated by what makes an idea evolve into a business that customers truly love.

Unique Fact: He delivered the 1994 Keynote Commencement Speech to his graduating class at Carnegie Mellon University.

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Experience
31 Years
Current Role
Co-Founder
Job Level
Leadership
Location
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Personality Overview

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Communication Style
Decision Approach
Work Preference

Behavioral traits and communication patterns that shape how this person evaluates opportunities, builds trust, and makes decisions in professional settings.

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Priorities

Topics Dave cares about

Hyperlocal Startups
His current venture, Neighborhood Studios, is exclusively focused on a repeatable process for building startups that solve problems at a local level.
Venture Studio Model
As the co-founder of a venture studio, he actively thinks and posts about the model's effectiveness in allocating the best resources to the strongest ideas.
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Career

Work history

11-2024
Co-Founder
loop‎‎
4-2023
Advisor
Hot, Inc
7-2022
Co-Founder & Managing Partner
Neighborhood Studios
4-2021
Advisor
Moonrise
12-2018 - 3-2022
Managing Director of Techstars Atlanta
Techstars
In the press

Media appearances

Real Founder Lessons – Announcing Neighborhood Studios. Featured in Silvrback
See now
Five & Thrive – Episode 44: Neighborhood Studios, CodePath, New AI Meetup, AlpTechStories, Eric Spett Coaching. Featured in Atlanta Ventures Podcast
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Education
1990 - 1994
BS
Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper School of Business
Social presence
in
Behavioral profile

DISC profile (public)

DISC behavioral profile

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