VentureWire reported today that CoalTek, a Georgia-based developer of clean burning coal technology, has raised an additional $33 million in its third round of outside capital. The investment deal was led by Lightspeed Venture Partners, but also included participation by Warburg Pincus, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, DFJ Element and Braemar Energy Partners. Draper was also one of the earlier investors.

CoalTek’s technology converts “low rank” coals into high-rank, clean coal alternative fuels for use by coal-fired electric utilities.

Total # of Georgia VCs in the deal: 0

My guess is they weren’t invited to the dance, but who knows. There seems to be a lot of this going around lately, for reasons I’ll probably blog about sooner or later.

CoalTek is one of those rare companies that has attracted a substantial amount of venture capital, yet has one of the worst web sites I have ever seen for a business. They are running DotNetNuke, and you actually have to create an account on the web site to even see basic information about the company. And today, the web site wasn’t even functioning (blank page). Hopefully, they’ll take some of their newly raised capital and put it towards the development of a viable online presence.

In any event, this company is seriously chopping wood and solving a real problem.  There are lots of people running around trying to solve the energy problems through the creation of new energy sources.  But this country is still powered largely by coal, and CoalTek has developed a way to do that cleaner and more efficiently. With Draper behind them now in two rounds, they are poised to explode.
Cheers.

In case you weren’t aware, this week (Feb 24th through March 3rd) is EntrepreneurshipWeek USA, sponsored by the Kaufmann Foundation.

According to the official web site, there are a number of events happening here in Georgia.

The sad part is, I just learned about it today (the 25th). Whoever was responsible for promoting this thing in Georgia really dropped the ball, in my opinion. Granted, with a one year old daughter at home, I am lucky to remember my own name these days, so it could just be that I missed something.

I don’t see any events organized by any of the usual entrepreneurial support groups here in Georgia (TAG, MIT Enterprise Forum, IEI, AEA, StartupLounge.com, etc.) I assume this is (again) the poor marketing at work. It is a shame, as this seems like a great idea.

Does anyone else see the irony in a group of entrepreneurs not being able to get the word out effectively?

Cheers.

There has been a mini-explosion for Georgia in the clean energy technology (cleantech) space over the past couple of years. And the Technology Association of Georgia’s Business & Technology Alliance (B&TA) is responding by putting together an event around the subject for later in the year.

We have enlisted the aid of Wes McDowell, CIO of Georgia Power to help put together the event.

If you are aware of Georgia-based investors or companies that are playing in the alternative energy, renewable/sustainable energy, or some other segment of the cleantech space, I welcome you to reach out to them and have them contact me through this blog (or just drop a comment below), so we can see how they may be able to participate in the event.

I’m not an cleantech expert, but the space does fascinate me.

And in case you haven’t heard, Vinod Khosla recently committed north of $200M to build a wood-based cellulosic ethanol plant here in Georgia. That is definitely an investment in the long term, and it will be interesting to see how it pans out. Vinod is a rockstar VC with a proven track record.
Cheers.

For a great intimate conversation with Mitch Free, CEO of MFG.com, check out the latest installment of the StartupLounge.com podcast. I honestly think that content-wise this has been one of our stronger shows.

Mitch shares some very candid views on a variety of topics ranging from what its like to work with Jeff Bezos to what his view of the early-stage venture market is here in Atlanta.

Read more »

It is no secret that a good grasp of mathematics is an important asset for any businessperson. With the early stage entrepreneur, I think it is even more critical.

Researchers estimate that between 50 percent and 80 percent of U.S. adults, and probably a similar share of children, suffer from some form of math anxiety. That fear translates into subpar performance of children, experts say. Researchers ranked American students 24th out of 29 industrialized countries in math literacy. Nice.

Read more »

Often times when an entrepreneur or small business has a dispute with a vendor, client, service-provider, or partner, it can be remedied outside of the courtroom, using mediation or arbitration. Yet many entrepreneurs still pay attorneys hefty legal fees to file lawsuits on their behalf.

Ellen Malow, a former trial attorney, and now the founder/CEO of Malow Mediation & Arbitration, joined us for a lively discussion on this topic over at StartupLounge.com. Take a listen for more details!

I do want to thank everyone for your kind emails and notes. Our goal at StartupLounge.com is to provide an interactive and entertaining venue for early-stage entrepreneurs to get the help that they need, for free, without being shaken down by some service provider in the process. If we can help just one entrepreneur be more successful, then we will have been successful in our efforts.

Cheers.

Last year I was one of the first to report on Carbon Motors, the company setting out to build the world’s next-generation police cruiser. I also reported on the deal that Carbon signed with Georgia Tech to help design various aspects of the vehicle. Expectations were pretty high for them, by all accounts. I haven’t heard much from them since then – until today.

Read more »