Nearly a decade ago, Black Airplane launched in Cherokee County with a vision for building a different kind of technology company. What started as a small software development firm operating out of The Circuit Woodstock has grown into a nationally recognized company serving clients across the country and employing team members in multiple states.
Along the way, Black Airplane has become one of Cherokee County’s standout entrepreneurial success stories, demonstrating how the right combination of talent, support, and community can help a business grow.
For co-founder & managing partner Michael Caldwell, Black Airplane’s success is also a reflection of something bigger: the emergence of Cherokee County as a destination for technology companies, entrepreneurs, and innovators.
“We started our business in Cherokee on purpose. Number one, this is home. But number two, there is not a better place to build a business. There is nowhere in metro Atlanta that has more resources [or] a better team here to support you,” Caldwell said.
Those resources proved invaluable in Black Airplane’s early days. As one of the first members of The Circuit Woodstock, an innovative coworking space made possible by the Cherokee and Woodstock Offices of Economic Development and Chattahoochee Technical College, the company found an environment designed to help entrepreneurs succeed.
“This was an incredible launch pad for us. We were the first members here, and it allowed us to keep our overhead low at a time when we were getting off the ground,” Caldwell said. “It allowed us to build a business that has now impacted 75-plus families, hundreds of customers, and yielded tens of millions of dollars in revenue over the course of the last eight or nine years.”
Black Airplane’s journey reflects a broader trend taking shape across Cherokee County. While many people have long viewed the county as a place where professionals live and commute elsewhere for work, Caldwell believes Cherokee’s greatest strength has always been its talent.
“We’ve always been the tech talent base for Atlanta,” he said. “We talk about [being] an 78 percent out-commute county, but what that really means is our strength is we’re the workforce of metro Atlanta.”
Today, more companies are beginning to recognize what local leaders have understood for years: Cherokee offers access to a highly skilled workforce, a strong business climate, entrepreneurial support systems, and an exceptional quality of life that helps companies attract and retain talent. As technology professionals increasingly choose to live in Cherokee County, the area’s innovation economy continues to gain momentum.
“More and more tech companies are starting to recognize that, and more and more of them are locating here,” Caldwell said. “We live in a county that continues to invest back into those entrepreneurs and make sure there’s a clear runway and path for us.”
That growth is no accident. Cherokee County’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurs and business growth has helped create an environment where startups and established companies alike can build for the long term. Organizations like the Cherokee Office of Economic Development & Startup Cherokee, local government partners, educational institutions, and innovation-focused resources continue to strengthen the foundation for business success.
As a longtime investor and partner of Cherokee By Choice, Black Airplane has benefited from that ecosystem and now plays an active role in helping it grow.
Caldwell sees that responsibility through multiple lenses. In addition to leading Black Airplane, he serves as Mayor of Woodstock, where the city recently issued an entrepreneurship proclamation as part of a movement called America the Entrepreneurial. The movement celebrates the United States’ 250 anniversary, alongside recognizing the entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses helping drive innovation and economic opportunity throughout the nation.
“[We are] celebrating the entrepreneurs that built [this country] and rededicating ourselves and our city to ensuring that we are entrepreneurship friendly,” said Caldwell. “[Woodstock] is the ninety-ninth founding member nationally.”
One of the most visible examples of that commitment is the Cherokee Tech Meetup, a partnership between Black Airplane and the Cherokee Office of Economic Development (COED) that has become a cornerstone of the county’s growing technology community.
What started as a simple idea to bring local technology professionals together has evolved into one of the region’s most vibrant networking and innovation communities.
“At the very first meetup, we had 130 people show up – with no agenda, no programming, just grab a beer and hang out and talk to other tech professionals,” Caldwell said. “Now, two and a half years in, we’ve done 25 or 30 events, we have more than 1,000 members, and we’ve brought together some incredible guests in technology, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.”
The meetup serves as a reflection of Cherokee County’s growing status as a technology hub. Developers, cybersecurity professionals, startup founders, executives, students, and job seekers regularly gather to learn, collaborate, and build relationships.
For Caldwell, the success of the meetup validates what many already know about Cherokee’s workforce.
“The tech talent base of Metro Atlanta lives here in Cherokee County,” he said. “The fact that we can host that here in Woodstock, here in Cherokee County, only works because the senior talent for the metro base lives here, works here, plays here and now gets to meet up here.”
More importantly, those connections are producing real results.
“I’ve watched tons of people get placed in jobs. I’ve watched deals get made in the room,” Caldwell said. “You’ll have everyone from the college grad just trying to get their foot in the door all the way up to the senior VP or CEO. You get all of them in a room together, and it has been one of the most welcoming meetups I’ve ever been a part of.”
As Cherokee’s technology ecosystem continues to mature, leaders like Caldwell see community as the key ingredient that sets the county apart.
“Community has to be at the center of what we build,” he said. “That has been a huge focus for Black Airplane since the early days here, because this community helped get us off the ground and helped build us.”
That sense of gratitude is what drives Black Airplane’s continued investment in Cherokee County and its partnership with organizations like COED.
“This is just one way that I hope we’re able to give back and help set up the next decade of entrepreneurs who will come through and figure out what tomorrow will look like for this place,” Caldwell said.
Nearly ten years after launching Black Airplane, Caldwell still sees the company’s success as inseparable from the community that helped make it possible.
“I am so grateful for what Cherokee By Choice has done to help build an environment in which we could succeed,” he said. “[I’m grateful] that community has real meaning here and is not just a word we put up on the wall. To everybody who’s part of this incredible community, thank you for investing in us. We’re thrilled to get to invest in you.”
Black Airplane’s story is ultimately more than a business success story. It is a reflection of what can happen when a community intentionally invests in entrepreneurs, develops a strong talent pipeline, and creates opportunities for innovators to connect and grow. Through strong partnerships, resources like The Circuit, and initiatives such as the Cherokee Tech Meetup, Cherokee County continues to establish itself as a premier destination for technology companies and startups.
For businesses looking for access to talent, meaningful support, and an exceptional quality of life, Cherokee offers something increasingly rare: a place where companies can grow alongside a community that is invested in their success.
