How do you divine?

RENDER| Innovating Through Culture and Technology with Justin E Samuels

• How do you divine? • Season 3 • Episode 24

Share episode

In this episode we sit down with Justin E. Samuels, the Visionary and Founder of RenderATL, to discuss the technology revolution in Atlanta. Justin shares his journey, the cultural and technical significance of his conference, and the challenges and opportunities of creating a diverse and inclusive tech community. Celebrating the blend of technology, culture, and community, we also discuss the future aspirations for RenderATL and how it aims to inspire the next generation of tech innovators. Tune in to discover how this unique conference is redefining the South's role in the tech industry.


Please support RenderATL -https://www.renderatl.com/

Send us a text

Thank you for listening and for adding new dimensions to your definitions. Keep growing, keep exploring, and keep defining life on your terms.


🌐 Explore the new website www.howdoyoudivine.com
📲 Follow us on social media

Meet Our Founder & Host 🎙️
Sanika is a storyteller, vibe architect, and crowd igniter—passionate about self-discovery, culture, and the power of words. With a background in technology and marketing communications, she’s built a platform rooted in authenticity and resonance. Whether commanding the stage or leading deep conversations, Sanika doesn’t just hold space—she transforms it. Her work inspires growth, challenges perspectives, and amplifies the voices that need to be heard most

As the host of How Do You Divine?, she invites listeners to redefine meaning, embrace transformation, and navigate life—one word at a time. Her mi...

Speaker:

Welcome to this episode of How Do You Divine a show where we explore how the words that craft our lives are defined in every single season. And when you think about the future of tech, culture, and community and how it collides in one space. You think of render a TL and at the heart of that movement is a visionary who saw Atlanta, not just for the culture but for its innovation. Today I am honored. To sit down with the man behind it all. Justin e Samuels, founder of Render a TL, to talk about his journey, the movement, and what it really takes to build something that shifts narratives and inspires generations. Justin, thank you so much for being here.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much, uh, for having me, and I thank you for great introduction.

Speaker:

Yes. Because I think what you've built with render a TL deserves. So much more platform. Right? You guys were just recognized. Yes. Inc. 5,000, and I just think the recognitions will only come more and more over the years because being in the space I was fortunate enough to be at render a TL this year. And to me it really was a game changer for various different reasons. As someone who works in the technology space. I came in, I was really enamored by like the visuals. It was beautiful. It was pretty, you know, like I'm a marketing girl at heart, so all of the branding and everything, it was, it was very inviting. Right. Many conferences online do a great jobs with reels and things like that, but that aesthetic sometimes doesn't trans transcend into like real life. You know, you get there and it looks like, yeah, this was just a building yesterday.

Speaker 2:

Um,

Speaker:

yeah, but render has, render really felt like, oh, this is render a TL. Like they have everything branded to the pillars, to everything. So I really love that. Right. So I left Atlanta feeling like, wow, I need to learn more about this. So just jumping into your story, when render a TL started as a vision, now grown into one of the largest tech culture gatherings in the South. What personal experiences or challenges pushed you to launch it? When was the first moment you said this needs to be made?

Speaker 2:

The catalyst for us was I wanted to create a technology conference that allowed people from all cultures, all walks of life to come a fellowship, but also learn a lot while they are at our. Event every year. I'm an engineer by trade and most of the conferences or events that we get invited to usually are the exact same in that nature. You got an open room? Yeah. A boring food. It's just

Speaker:

cold food. Is that cold? It, yeah.

Speaker 2:

You know, it's just a very boring, and I said, well, I don't. See a technical conference out there, not a tech conference, but a, the actual technical part of the word, a technology. I don't see a technical conference out there that infuses culture, authenticity, uh, local origins where you get a, a taste or a, a sense of that particular a city that you're in. And gives great education, and I truly believe that being able to do that here in a TL is one of the, a few only places in the whole world where that is possible because we do that each and every single day. If you come here, everything I just talked about, everything I just hit on, you can identically see it happening here each and every day.

Speaker:

No, I, I agree a hundred percent. And you touched it on this as being as an engineer. Mm-hmm.

Speaker 3:

Right.

Speaker:

That word render.'cause you know, here at the podcast we believe in the definitions of words, transform the word render has both a traditional and transformative meaning to you. Why render when you thought about this vision?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So, um, render began as a, a React JavaScript conference. At the time when I began the conference, uh, react was the, a new kid on the block, well, I'm not gonna say a new per se, it was more the kind of a seasoned kid. It was around for about, uh, five years at the time. So it was still a lot of hotness around it. So usually every single region has their own. React Conference. Uh, for some reason everybody skipped over the whole Southeast, so I said, oh, I'm gonna have our own. And most people will just put the name, put the, A framework in the name, like,

Speaker:

yeah,

Speaker 2:

react, NYC or, or react, uh, la Oh yeah. That's kind of lame. So I just rattled my brain. Yeah. And I said, oh, render. Is in part of the React, uh, framework. Yes, let's go with adapt. So that's how the name came to be. And over time, I love to see our audience, uh, find different names or meanings for it. Yeah. Um, and we call our audience the, our radicals'cause of the, uh, rings that go around the peach. Yes. So I. Truly love watching the radicals, uh, find new ways to integrate what the meaning is into their day-to-day or their engineering life.

Speaker:

Yes, ILI loved it when I first thought about render, I was like, oh, are they, are they rendering code? What's happening here? Because you know, when, you know from like a technical standpoint, but again, that level of intentionality when you were even creating this vision is very clear, right? Render a deal is also known to blend, like we talked about, that deep technical content, but also music and culture. Why was that important to you to create a space that went a little bit beyond that traditional tech, and how do you maintain that balance?

Speaker 2:

You wanna think about what are the catalyst over time that usually bring people into a unison and over. Time. I mean, from the dawn of a man until now, things that have usually brought people to the same table to talk about ideas was a music and a food.

Speaker:

Yeah,

Speaker 2:

and music and a food can be, I identified as one particular word, which is culture. So with that. We wanted a way to bring everyone into one building for one particular week, for one particular conference. Yeah, and the easiest way to do that is to go back to that. Sociology or a psychological mindset is you'll come to the conference because you enjoy good, uh, food. You will come to the conference because you enjoy good music and because of that, that has helped make us successful over the years.

Speaker:

Yeah, for sure. And I always say Atlanta has always been positioned as like the cultural capital of the south, to be honest. Right. But now I feel like there are conferences like render a TL that's really helping amplify it as a tech hub. Mm-hmm. Right. Truly shifting that narrative, what are some barriers that you still think are there in that, in the region to, to get Atlanta to become the key place for tech founders?

Speaker 2:

Um, I think the biggest thing is a, a sense of a bias where not all in investors or pro professionals and technology are viewed the a southeast as the next, um, hub for the a next innovative brand, whether it's your next Uber or your next Google, or your next Twitter. They only view one place, which is a silicon, a valley as that holy site. Whereas we create what we now call the A silicon a South, where our goal is to make the southeast the next bigger thing out here. Mm-hmm. And rightfully so, we understand that we're able to change. What their per except is of what the southeast has to offer in the world of tech. It will then lead to dollar signs later on and more in investment. Not uh, for our company per se, but for all the other entrepreneurs. Yes, located India Southeast.

Speaker:

Yep. I agree. I agree a hundred percent. Um, every time I am in Atlanta, that's, I feel like I make it a personal mission right. To, to connect with other founders and tech builders in that region because I agree. I agree that Silicon Valley, while Great does not have the next best thing, honestly, I really do believe it's in the South. And as someone who lives in New York, I, I think for it from a certain standpoint, we have. More fashion driven pop culture, um, that will come from New York, but tech innovation I think will come from the South.

Speaker 2:

A hundred percent.

Speaker:

A hundred percent,

Speaker 2:

absolutely. Absolutely. And I feel like the, the South has their finger on the culture more. Yes. So it allows them to. Adapt quicker and be more impactful when it comes to consumer sentiments and buying a power.

Speaker:

Yes, because long gone are the days of brand loyalty based on metrics. It's all about sentiment and that nostalgic feeling and really knowing what a brand is about, even if you're serving from a text standpoint. Right. I always say that SaaS just solves problems via automation and you know, in a tech space. But problems are solved at a brand level. Right. And largely for the, not only for their audience, but everyone that audience touches. So agree a hundred percent that. The South will definitely be the next big thing. So as a founder, you've navigated building teams, raising capital, delivering on visions that many might have not understood at first, right? Mm-hmm. What's been some of those leadership lessons you've learned along the way? Give us some of those gems. I

Speaker 2:

think the number one thing is if you want to go a far, build a team. If you want to go a fast. Go alone, which is extremely true. And understand that in the early days it's gonna be a lot of work, a a lot of discipline, a lot of burning, both ends of the candle. But you are striving towards a, something great that really requires more energy and effort beyond. By yourself. So keep that in mind that if you wanna build a thing that you are passionate about, a fast go alone, and you rightfully I should go alone in your early days. But after that, you need to build a strong, a team that believes in your vision and can execute upon your vision. Um, the other thing, um. It's okay to want to talk about your accomplishments and to brag about your wins. I feel like a society has this view that if you are talking about your accomplishment, uh, you are a bragging, but in actuality you aren't. Um, you are just appraising yourself for those late nights, sleepless nights, whereas. If the other person had the opportunity to, they also would too. So that being, I said, I celebrate your wins and make sure you celebrate the wins of others too. Because at times that's all you, you could have. Oh,

Speaker:

that was, listen, I feel like you was speak, you was preaching to me on that one. I love that. Thank you so much. Um, so where do you see render a TL in five years is it about scale or is it about bigger stages? Global reach. Deep in the impact. Like I feel like there is, so in my mind as a strategist, I I see render a TL going like this. Like tentacles spreading so wide. Right? So I'd love to hear from you. Where do you see it? In five years?

Speaker 2:

I think you hit the nail on the head. We're gonna start to spread our tentacle more. We're gonna start to work with more people, more organizations. Immunity cannot exist in a a silo. Mm. Um, and if you try to make it exist like that, uh, the effects of that are usually detrimental to your organization and to everybody else in, uh, we usually, I see this play out on a world stage more with like. Isolated kingdoms or countries like North Korea or Cuba. Yes. Where isolation does not bring out the best in innovation or so you hit the knee on the head, which is. Come immunity cannot exist in a a vacuum and we're about to start branching out and engaging with other ecosystems and expand by having more e events elsewhere and like new offerings that, uh, people could then engage with the brand. A 360, a five rather than only a four, five days out the week. I mean out the whole year.

Speaker:

Yeah. Nice. I'm excited. I'm locked and I'm locked and loaded and listening. I love it. I love it. So here at How do define I love music. I feel like music moves our souls, right. It helps us. Absolutely does. Listen, it helps us through the rough times. It boosts us up in the, you know, hype you up well during the great times. Yep,

Speaker 2:

sure do.

Speaker:

So what song do you think best captures the vibe of render A TLI?

Speaker 3:

I don't think it's a song, it's an album.

Speaker:

Ooh. See that's how I know you really about music.'cause you said album. A lot of these people nowadays just, you know, they're about these singles. I'm an album girl myself.

Speaker 2:

I think if I had to choose an album that I'd been jamming to, um, which was probably the best concert I've gone to in the last five years, which is beauty. Uh, Beyonce Renaissance tour. It was great. Um, I think that album represents where the brands is at right now. Um, literally with the word or renaissance, but also, uh, figuratively where we want to bring joy and a soul and kind of eviction to our people. In the early days, I was kind of more my a Jay-Z a reasonable doubt, a blueprint type of, lemme

Speaker:

find out we got the same playlist

Speaker 2:

and, um. I don't think you could always be that way. I mean, it's a, a reason why he made those albums. He made Kingdom Cut and he jumped over, made 4, 4, 4. And he evolved over time. It's kinda like what he said. Um, you want the Old Ho by my old album? Yeah. And it's like you cannot always be the same person you were over the years and. Where the conference and the brand is at now, uh, is in a more joyous place. It's a yes. A revolution as a or a renaissance. Um, and I'm exci excited to have everybody join us.

Speaker:

I love that. Soon as you said that, the song that immediately came to my mind is who they came to see me. Who? They like me. Don't let me get up outta my seat. I, as soon as you said the Renaissance, I was like, I feel that my house. That's funny. That's

Speaker 2:

funny. That's funny.

Speaker:

For sure. So I love that. So 10, we talked about where we'd be in five years from now. Right. But in 10 years, right. I always feel like when you create a brand, when you create a movement, you're thinking of legacy.

Speaker 3:

Mm-hmm.

Speaker:

So I wanna leave you with this last question. If someone. Was to ask you about render a TL 10, 20 years from now. We just talked about the evolution, right? If this is not, let's just, this is not your blueprint. This is probably your, I'm trying to think what album this would be for. You. What, what Jay-Z album would this be for

Speaker 3:

in the next,

Speaker 2:

uh, 10 years?

Speaker:

Yes. What, what was the, what do you think would be the first thing that comes to mind? When day you render a TL,

Speaker 2:

we're going off of Jay-Z albums. 10 years would be a Magna Carta Holy Grill. Mm. And in between, I, I will say in between now, in the next 10 years, you, you will get a watch, the a throne a a moment, uh, from us working with other brands. Um. So I think for us, the next big thing or the next legacy we want to live is that we've built an ecosystem that is inclusive and welcoming of all, not just a, a

Speaker:

few.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. Um, kind of like the, uh, a Jamaican coat of arms. Um, uh. Out of

Speaker:

many.

Speaker 2:

Yep. Out of many. And it is, I always think about that quote,'cause I'm like, if so many people could come from that one island and spread culture all over the entire world, um, we could also do the exact same thing with our small. Company and spread culture of technology being inclusive of everybody across the whole globe too.

Speaker:

Yes, I agree so much. And like they say outta many one people, you really closed this out really well. Saying that render a TL is an inclusive place, not for the few, but for the many, for the engineer to the sales rep, to all of go to market. Right. Um, and I'm really honored to have you on the podcast, and this is,

Speaker 2:

thank you a ton for having me. And it's like we say it's a render is a place of where talent, uh, feels welcomed. And we want everybody to feel, uh, welcomed.

Speaker:

Thank you so much and this is how do you Divine Render.

Speaker 2:

Thank you.