“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.”
~ Dr. Seuss

Time is a funny thing.  When you are young, you have seemingly boundless amounts of it. You wake up very day, full of zeal, and passionately chase your whim du jour.    Then, one day you wake up, and you realize that time has become a commodity, with a value all its own, and the opportunities to continuously expand your horizons have narrowed considerably.  The energy once dedicated to challenging the status quo and pushing boundaries ultimately succumbs to other forces … gives way to other things.   Eventually, every pursuit gives way to something else.

I guess this is as formal an “announcement” as I’m going to give on this, but after a lengthy period of soul searching, I have made the very difficult decision to largely step away from StartupLounge.com.

Five years ago or so, when Mike Blake and I came up with the concept of StartupLounge, neither one of us had any idea of what we were getting ourselves into.  Truth be told, I think if we had known how much work we’d need to put into something like this, we may very well not have started it at all.  Some folks have called StartupLounge “influential” or “important”, and I suppose to some extent it is.  But really, at the core, it is/was really about helping people help themselves, then to help others – and about 2 guys having fun yapping on a mic every now and then. And I will tell you – I most certainly learned more about our collective craft than others probably learned from me.

My reasons for stepping back from heavy involvement in StartupLounge is complex, and somewhat difficult to explain.  A big part of it is the time commitment required to record and produce podcasts (40 hours a pop), organizing events, PitchCamp, evangelizing, etc.   I simply do not have the time anymore to contribute at a high level in order to continue making a difference.  And when you’ve poured your heart and soul into something for as long as we have with StartupLounge, it makes the decision a very emotional one, to say the least.

Another huge factor in my decision is simply the level of energy required to perform my duties at my day job (StarPound).  Although we have a great deal of work ahead of us, the team is really doing some great things there. We’ve recently raised another round of capital, and are heads down on a ton of different things right now.

Finally, and perhaps the most important reason, is my family.  As it stands now, I am rarely home in time for dinner (thanks in part to Atlanta traffic).  I have a wife and two young daughters at home that I hardly ever see these days.  And this needs to change.  So, something has to give.

I should also add that there has been some speculation that my health is suspect, and that this somehow is contributing to my decision.  This is patently not true.  Sure, I’m battling a kidney stone right now (ouch!), but this too shall pass (literally and figuratively). Trust me. I’m as fit as a horse.  Then again, they shoot horses when they actually do get ill, so maybe that’s a bad analogy to go with.

Through StartupLounge, I have met some incredibly wonderful people over the past several years.  Entrepreneurs, most of which want to do something great.  Investors who actually want to engage with them.  And a wealth of community leaders and stakeholders who want to make a difference. I place an extremely high value on these relationships, and hope to continue nurturing them for years to come.

One person in particular, though, has meant the world to me throughout this journey.  Mike Blake.  I have come to rely on his wisdom and sensibilities for so, so many things.  Not just professionally, but personally as well.  I can only hope to one day even begin to repay him for the friendship, comaraderie, and contributions he has made to my life. Mike and I remain the best of friends, and I appreciate his understanding and patience throughout my rather circuitous decision making process.

With all of that being said, I should add that StartupLounge will continue on.  The inimitable  Josh Watts has agreed to replace me as the co-host of our podcast.  If you don’t know Josh, you should.  I can’t think of a better person to step into that role.  He has a solid understanding of early-stage entrepreneurship, technology, and carries with him a wicked sense of humor that will help keep the StartupLounge podcast as entertaining as ever.  So for you die-hard listeners of our podcasts, rest assured, it will continue to be worth tuning into. Who knows?  I might even make a cameo appearance every now and then

All of the free StartupLounge events will continue, including PitchCamp, Startup Seminars, and of course, the thrice yearly StartupLounge gathering in Atlanta.  Expansions are already underway to carry the philosophy and beliefs behind StartupLounge to other areas, including Savannah and Raleigh/Durham.  Mike is 100% committed to doing this, and his continued leadership will turn this into a reality.

As for me, well, it isn’t like I’m completely falling off the face of the earth.  I’ll still be around, helping as many people as I can, where I can.  I just may not be as visible. I will continue to attend StartupLounge events when I can, as well as others.  I continue to take enormous satisfaction in helping others achieve success, be it through mentoring, speaking, coaching, etc.  Oh, and continuing to learn new things myself.  I can’t imagine my life without those things, quite frankly.

Enough rambling from me.  I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.  Peace out.

Cheers.

Every few months or so, various Atlanta startup thought leaders are corralled together on a panel or round-table to discuss what can be done to improve our startup ecosystem.  Invariably, the outcome is the same: a regurgitated list of things we already know all too well.

Examples:

• Lack of local funding sources for early-stage companies
• Lack of management talent to take a company from startup to growth stage
• Georgia’s legal inability to invest state pension funds into alternative class investments such as venture capital funds
• Too many smart people are leaving the state
• Lack of this
• Lack of that
• Blah.

Undoubtedly, we all want the Atlanta startup ecosystem to improve (or continue to improve, as I believe is the case).   But for the past few years,  there have been two distinct threads running in parallel.

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Sometimes, out of the chaos of business, great ideas emerge.  Unfortunately, you rarely have the chance to aggressively chase those great ideas in the here-and-now.

I’ll be blogging more about this soon, but we’ve been pretty busy at StarPound lately.  We ended Q4/2009 strong, including the deployment of our platform to solve some major problems for a Fortune 50 customer (largest global player in their industry).  But amid all of the frenetic activity in Q4, something else emerged.  A really, really cool thing that I’ve decided needs to be it’s own thing.

So, to cut to the chase – here is what I am looking for.  Hopefully, some of you may have someone in mind for this:

I’m looking for an energetic, startup-minded developer (C++, Javascript, AJAX, XHTML, CSS, widgets, maybe some PHP, MySQL, etc).  Some Java would be nice, but not required.  The technology is a very unique IP voice application.  I am willing to give this person:

• Fully paid 3-4 bedroom apartment, including utilities – we’ll eventually give you some roommates to work with
• Salary, albeit small, but there nonetheless
• Equity in the newco

This person needs to be here in Atlanta, and is ideally a junior level person and is looking for a cool startup opportunity.  This is an awesome chance to get in on the ground floor of something very cool and exciting.

If you have anyone in mind, you can reach me at sburkett AT star-pound-tech dot com (no dashes).

Cheers.

If you care at all about the Atlanta startup ecosystem, Mike Blake and I humbly request your presence next week at the monthly Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs meeting (18th at the ATDC).  Mike Schinkel and the AWE gang have graciously invited Unblakeable and I to present our views of where Atlanta is right now, where we’re going, and some ideas around how we’re gonna get there. We believe that we are at the end of phase 1 in the rebirth of Atlanta, and that we are entering a very different phase 2.

We are bringing ideas to the table, and we want to hear yours.  And more importantly, we want to recruit you to help in the effort.  The only way we’re going to get there is if we execute together.  Gee, kinda like a startup team.

Click here for full details. Schink does a great job of laying it all out there.

If you currently play a current role in the Atlanta startup scene, want to play a role in it, or give a crap about it at all, you need to be there.  We are going to try and record the session for a slidecast/podcast for those that can’t make it – but no guarantees.

If you have ideas, bring ‘em on.  But don’t forget to bring your spirit of volunteerism with you as well.  Because you are quite likely going to be put to work.  Sitting in the crowd like a knot on a log is going to add zero value.  Throwing out ideas and not stepping in to help bring them to fruition adds only marginal value.  We want those people who are ready to step up and play their part as a software developer, web developer, mentor/advisor, educator, marketer, public relations guru, etc.

Let’s get it on.

Caveat: my wife and I are expecting our 2nd daughter to arrive at any point in the next week or so.  There is a possibility that either Unblakeable will have to go it alone, or that the event gets moved to another time.  Or, that I will run screaming from the building in a panic to get to the hospital right in the middle of something important 

Cheers.

We get a TON of applications every time we put together a CapitalLounge event. While most of the applications have some degree of merit, and eventually get accepted, there are many that don’t.  Historically, we have a non-invitation rate of anywhere from 20-30%.   Despite the enormous level of detail that we’ve published as to our selection criteria and process, invariably, we get a flood of emails the week or so leading up to the event with people appealing and arguing with us (or trying to) about why their deal was rejected.

Here is a tongue-in-cheek look at some reasons why the event applications for some entrepreneurs and investors get rejected.  If you don’t find any of this at all funny, then you most likely fall into one of these categories.

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Lately I’ve been getting some blog comments and Skribit “suggestions” from an anonymous visitor.  Let’s just say the comments haven’t been terribly “engaging” – some of them have actually been quite nasty. And look, I’ll be the first to admit this – I cuss like a sailor (well, a former soldier), and believe me, I can carry my weight in a bar, but I try to have at least some modicum of class when it comes to what I post on the Internet.  Nothing says “class act” like posting an anonymous comment on someone’s site and using an email address of “dickbastard@gmail.com”.

I normally would not engage in a dialog over these types of comments, but today I am going to make an exception.  I just received this comment from Captain Anonymous:

any successful startups in Atlanta?  Seems like alot of “talk” and no meat.  When was the last exit?

Wow, where do I begin?

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A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Jason Jones of CresaPartners, who hosts a podcast called “Battlefield to Business” for Business-to-Business Magazine.  If you don’t know Jason, he’s a great guy, and a former naval aviator who served on the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Enterprise.

We had a great candid chat about how my personal military experience translated into the business world, specifically the world of fast-growth startups.  We covered a variety of different aspects of startups, ranging from team building, cross-pollination, culture, problem-solving, hiring employees, risk taking, leadership, and the applicability of small unit tactics. I shared some stories not only from my Army days, but also anecdotes from my day job as well as other tidbits from throughout my professional career.

Thanks to Jason for the opportunity to hang out and share my perspectives on a subject that is near and dear to my heart.

It was great fun, and hopefully some folks will find some value in my ramblings. I will admit, having now done nearly 40 podcasts for StartupLounge.com, it felt very different being on the other side of the microphone – good fun, though …

You can listen to the podcast here on their site, or locally using the embedded flash player below.

Cheers.