The cycle for the 2009 edition of the GRA/TAG (Georgia Research Alliance/Technology Association of Georgia) Business Launch Competition starts on January 8th.

Many of you may remember my post and the resulting comment storm about last year’s affair.  I caught a good bit of flak for over that post, but the good news is that it promoted an important dialog, and dialog is never a bad thing.  The good news is that the organizers of the event have apparently listened to the collective voice of the community, and key changes have been implemented.

According to Lance, the competition organizers have clearly set forth that entrants must have raised less than $500K in aggregate cash capital, regardless of source. The TAG/GRA event took a nasty blackeye over the aforementioned flap last year, but they seem to have corrected the problem for future events.

With all of this being said, at a time when fewer angel investors are writing smaller checks with less frequency, this competition is even more deserving of your attention.

The winner of this year’s competition will receive $100,000 in cash, $200,000 in support services and lots of good publicity.

Each year, the GRA/TAG Business Launch Competition organizers select a theme for businesses that they will consider for the award.  This year, the theme is Internet Technologies.

“This includes companies that are developing products, online services, or backend technologies that are using or extending the reach, flexibility and ease of the internet; with a particular interest in companies within the fields of digital media/technology, cleantech, mobility and securities.”

Formal applications are due by February 10th, 2009.

Lance is leading a panel discussion of prior winners on January 8th TAG Entrepreneurs Society monthly meeting at the ATDC (TSRB building) at 7:30 am.  The panelists will include IVOX, Acculynk, and REACH Call.

By the way, you can learn more about IVOX’s experience with the competition by listening to our podcast (StartupLounge #17) with Greg Warren called “Inside the Winner’s Circle: IVOX”, which we published on August 7, 2007.

Cheers.

The folks at TAG asked me to help get the word out on their new entrepreneurial survey.  Details and link below!

Subject:  GA Entrepreneurs: Join TAG’s Research Panel

Let your opinion be known: Opt in to TAG’s Entrepreneur Survey

Dear Georgia Entrepreneur,

Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) requests your participation in an important entrepreneur needs assessment survey currently underway.

Your feedback will directly influence programs and policies that affect all entrepreneurs in Georgia.  This is your chance to be heard.

Please take one minute to join our research panel by clicking here: Entrepreneur Survey Opt-in.

Within two weeks of joining the TAG Research Panel, you will receive the “Entrepreneur Needs Assessment Survey” with questions about your needs and experiences.  After you complete our survey, Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) will send you a free copy of “2008 State of the Industry Report: Technology in Georgia.”  This report, which will be published in March, will include hundreds of charts showing technology job growth, venture funding practices, sector growth, the results of this survey, and much more.

We thank you in advance for your participation.

Sincerely,

Tino J. Mantella – President, Technology Association of Georgia (TAG)

The Entrepreneur Survey is sponsored by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), an independent non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of Georgia’s technology industry.

Cheers.

If you haven’t heard by now (Lance Weatherby), ATM Direct won the 2008 TAG/GRA Business Launch Competition. On the one hand, I congratulate the ATM Direct team for their victory. They walked away with $100K in cash and $200K in services from various sponsors and partners. Not bad!

My other hand, however, is left wondering why a company that at one point was a significant going-concern, and was eventually bought out of bankruptcy court was even allowed to enter a competition aimed at fostering “new” companies. According to the rules of the competition:

The competition is aimed at “new” businesses, however the time and effort required to launch a successful business in the targeted areas may require that an entrepreneur form a company and begin certain limited functions before any meaningful business operations occur. These functions could include prototype or Intellectual Property development and for these or similar reasons up to $500K in external funding may be allowed. Market trials may also be required and for this or a similar reason some limited revenue may be allowed.

Some incredibly cursory research on the web revealed that back in 2005 or so, ATM Direct was bought by Pay to Touch for a little over $30M. One person told me that deal was a bankruptcy matter as well, although I can’t seem to find any reference to it. Just a few months ago (February, 2008), ATM Direct (or at least their patent portfolio) was sold under bankruptcy court supervision for a mere $600K to Accullink LLC (also located here in Atlanta).

No matter how you slice this, it bothers me. It bothers a lot of people that I’ve talked to over the past few days.

I volunteered this year as a pitch mentor for the other three companies that were in the competition (Skybloxx, Global Crypto Systems, and ProperNotice). Each of these embryonic teams worked extremely hard to make it to the finals of the competition. During our pitch mentoring sessions, ATM Direct was absent – no idea why. But I know the other 3 teams came in and walked away with newly gleaned insights into their stories, and a genuine hope that they had a shot to win and get their companies off the ground. Instead, they lost to a company that had been auctioned off on the bankruptcy circuit (at least once, possibly twice).

In any event, the TAG/GRA business launch competition should be aimed at promoting and fostering the launch of new companies here in Georgia. Unless I am missing something obvious here, I can’t help but feel a little shame in this year’s affair. It sort of reminds me of a 16 year old trying to play on a little league team – great for the team that recruited him, but not terribly fair for the other teams. I suppose one argument would be that since the assets of ATM Direct were sold to Accullink, it is a new incarnation, new company, etc. So that would qualify them for the competition. I still don’t like it, though. It just doesn’t give me that warm and fuzzy feeling that I expect from a winner of a competition like this.

In fact, one could counter-argue since the assets were purchased for $600K, that alone would disqualify Accullink/ATM Direct as that would constitute an investment that is greater than the $500K limit outlined in the rules of the competition. I’d have much rather seen a true green-field idea company in that slot (like the other three contestants).

Nevertheless, I sincerely hope that TAG/GRA addresses this matter at some point, if nothing else than to send a message to would-be entrepreneurs here in Georgia that your dreams and efforts still matter. Due diligence is a good thing. Hopefully, someone from TAG or GRA will come and post here and help make some sense of this.

Cheers.

I just had a moment to watch the various video pitches recorded for the TAG/GRA Business Launch Competition. A couple of quick thoughts:

• A couple of trends -the big clusters seem to be in:
  • Events, finding something to do, connecting with friends, social networking (3 deals out of the 25)
  • Educational plays – of the 25 pitches on the site, 5 of them were in the education space – that’s a very positive trend, in my opinion.
• A handful of the companies listed recently attended one of our PitchCamp sessions. I’ll say this. It is very obvious to me which ones put in the effort. The difference is night and day in terms of getting the core message across.
• Video pitches have the power to turn otherwise normal people into amateur actors. When I watch a 2 minute video pitch, I don’t want to be entertained – I want to learn about the business, the market, the company, the product – the pain. Bringing in your children for cameo roles, doing humorous skits, or hooting and hollering like a used car salesman just don’t get me all that excited. Granted, it leaves me laughing, but at what …. the jokes, or your business? My two cents … your mileage may vary. At the end of the day, an investor wants to invest in your business, not a local chapter of the Screen Actor’s Guild.

Cheers.

Over the past few months I’ve had the privilege of serving as an advisor and mentor to Henry Hipps, a young entrepreneur here in Atlanta who is embarking on a very ambitious, yet noble undertaking with his venture (Trajectory Learning). Henry entered Trajectory Learning into the TAG/GRA Business Launch Competition, which has a cash prize of $100K and $200K worth of professional services. This prize would allow him to really get the business going. He’s worked extremely hard on this, and it is exciting to see it coming together.

Henry participated in a video pitch component, which if he wins it, he will earn a “bye” during the first round of judging. This is the equivalent of the “People’s Choice” category.

If you have a moment – check out the pitch here (it is the second one listed). It is only a couple of minutes long. I’m sure Henry would appreciate your vote as well – if you have a moment, click the “Vote Here” link at the top of the page, and check the deal you like the most (we’re hoping, of course, that it is Trajectory Learning)

Good job, Henry!

Cheers.

My good friend and StartupLounge.com co-conspirator, Mike Blake, is going to be presenting a very “unique” presentation at the upcoming TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs gathering on March 6th. Sadly, I will be out of town, and won’t be able to attend, but trust me, you will want to attend this one. Mike has put together perhaps one of the most compelling and thought-provoking presentations I’ve seen in a long time.

Please join us for TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs “The South Shall Raise Again: Raising Early Stage Capital in Georgia and the Southeast” with Michael Blake, CFA and managing director of Adams Capital, Inc. This session will focus on the challenges early stage companies in the SE are facing in respect to raising capital. Mr. Blake will also convey success stories and address his thoughts on best practices. Finally, he will forecast the fund availability outlook going forward, and discuss what GA needs to do to be competitive with the SE and the most successful parts of the USA.

The event details are as follows:

• Organization: Technology Association of Georgia
• Event Name: TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs “South Shall Raise Again: Raising Early Stage Capital in Georgia and the Southeast”
• Date: March 6, 2008, 7:30am to 9:00am
• Entrepreneurs Only Roundtable:* 9:15am to 10:00am
• You MUST attend the presentation in order to attend the Roundtable*
• Location: Centergy One Building
• 75 5th Street NW Atlanta, GA 30308
• http://www.tagonline.org

Cheers.

A little breaking news here, folks. Through a strategic partnership between a number of groups, including the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG), the Georgia Research Alliance (GRA), the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, ATDC, Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), AEA, and others, a new $30M early stage technology venture fund is in the formative stages. Still early in the process, but this is certainly good news for Georgia entrepreneurs.

Tino Mantella, the President of TAG joined us for a great podcast over at StartupLounge.com. In addition to giving us a nice update on this initiative, Tino also shared with us some other goodies, such as a new partnership with the ATDC. Take a listen for more details!

Cheers.