In keeping with the confidential setting of the meeting, I don’t want to reveal anything about the actual companies, but I can make some generalizations.

The format was very interesting. They had two companies do their pitch. One company was an ATDC company, the other was commercialized technology coming out of Georgia Tech. There were a few questions asked of each entrepreneur. Afterwards, the entrepreneurs left the room and the 20-25 angels in the room had an open discussion about what they thought of the deal. There were some really interesting exchanges of information, and I really like the format they used.

The diversity of backgrounds in the room made it so that there were “logical subject matter experts” on hand. The rest of the group relied on these individuals to give legitimacy to (or shoot holes in) the deal. Very nice.

For those interested, they were discussing 500K-$1M deals. After the discussion, someone was appointed to lead a “due diligence group,” I would assume to go off and meet with the company, and put together a more formal assessment of the company, market, technology, team, etc.

I also learned that Knox will soon be joining the blogosphere. I think this is a very welcome addition to the landscape here. I wish we could get more of the Atlanta venture folks blogging and exchanging ideas.

Afterwards, I had a great chat over dinner with Jeff Haynie. Bright guy – I wish I had met him years ago, but certainly glad we’re connected now. I love people that are brimming with ideas. It’s great to feed off that energy.

Cheers.

Enjoy!

If you weren’t able to attend, we hope you can make the next one. We certainly had a blast putting it together, and even more fun sharing ideas and connections.
Cheers.

We sent out 30 emails to our friends, and quite honestly, we thought we’d have 30 or 40 fast-growth entrepreneurs and a handful of angels hanging out in a bar somewhere. Now we’re pushing 200 people. There are over 35 investors slated to attend, ranging from individual angels to a $1B fund and everything in between. We moved the venue due to demand, then filled up the second venue. We finally stopped accepting applications – we had no choice. This thing has morphed into something that far exceeds our wildest expectations. Our next event (in the fall) could very easily have 300 people in attendance.

Am I nervous? I suppose a little. I’m no event planner, that’s for damn sure. But I’m of the belief that if you put ideas and capital in the same room, lock the door, and let nature take its course, only good things can come out of that. Of course, the hors d’oeuvres and fully stocked bar will help … :) Hopefully it won’t be a complete goat rodeo.

Today we made 200 phone calls. We called every single person that had RSVP’d in order to make sure they received the email on the change of venue (we wanted to make absolutely certain that everyone was aware of it.) The comments we received during those calls were amazing. People are not only excited about the event, but they are very gracious for it, and that makes us feel very good indeed. And I’m not just talking about the lowly entrepreneur here – the investor comments ran along the same lines (especially so among the angel community.)

There is some serious pent-up demand out there.

I want to serve up some props.

The “Atlanta venture community” (an oxymoron to many here, including some local investors) really responded to this event. Most of the local players will be there (Noro-Moseley, Imlay/Sig Mosley, Kinetic, EGL, Croft-Bender, Atlanta Technology Angels, Smith-Hoffman Capital, the UPS Strategic Venture Fund, VentureLab, etc.) and I’m very pleased about that. I don’t expect them to start dramatically swinging back to the early stage come Thursday morning, but the pulse is there. I give them props for realizing that there is a new movement happening around them. They know they need to become more immersed in the community, and I hope our quarterly event can be a catalyst to help with that moving forward.

I also have to give mad props to North Carolina. First off, they are totally kicking Georgia’s ass in venture investments. Second, at one point there were more NC funds slated to attend our event than GA funds (although it is more balanced now.) There are some lean, mean, hungry funds coming out of NC, folks.

I should also thank the many folks that pitched in to help pull this event together.

• Mike Blake
• Stacy Williams
• Jeff Haynie
• Jerry Recht
• Sam Bailey
• David Ratajczak
• Sanjay Parekh
• Paul Freet
• Lance Weatherby

Some gave cash, some their time, and some just helped to spread the word, but everyone is chasing the same dream here, and that is to bring Atlanta back. We’re going to do it, hell or high water.

See everyone tonight!

Cheers.

Over the past two months, I have evangelized this event to hundreds of people. I’ve worked the phones, email, the blogosphere, message boards, and even went door-to-door in some cases. It is pretty easy to see why people get excited about the event – I mean – what’s not to like?

But I keep getting asked this one little annoying question.

How are you getting paid?

As I’ve blogged about before (and talked about on the StartupLounge.com podcast), one of the things that is wrong with this community is that everyone is walking around with their hand out looking to get paid. It seems to bug people to no end that we aren’t charging a door fee, charging for people to pitch their deal, or instituting some sort of membership fee. I’ve even been told that we should “scale this out nationwide and charge for it.” Blah.

We are trying to tear down the artificial walls in the early-stage community here, not add new ones.

We will get paid in the end the same way every attendee will: a rising tide lifts all boats. By creating a more vibrant early-stage community here in Atlanta, there will be more fun things to invest in, more great people to meet, more jobs created, and more problems to solve. And that, my friends, is what it is all about.

This event is not the answer to everything that ills us in Atlanta – but it does represent a start. It is an artificial process that will hopefully jumpstart a few deals (especially since we’re doing it every quarter.) The real startup ecosystem or process will evolve on its own – it cannot be artificially created. But hopefully, this event can be a catalyst to help ignite the fire.

Cheers.

On Thursday, May 10th, the ATDC will be holding their yearly showcase event. They’ll be graduating a handful of companies and there will be some good networking and product demos all around. From what I understand, there are nearly 300 people signed up to go, so it should be a pretty big affair.
The graduating companies this year are Cambia, Jacket Micro Devices, FTrans, Qcept, Racemi, and ScanTech.

For more info on the event, click here.

Sidenote: Some of these companies will be at our Capital Connections event coming up in two weeks, so if you are an investor or entrepreneur, and want to get closer to them, check it out.

Graduation from the ATDC effectively means that the company is finally sustainable (or they have overstayed their welcome of 3 years – whichever comes first, I believe.) In either case, these companies have all worked very hard to reach this point, and I encourage all of you to head down and congratulate them on this achievement (and to learn more about some of the newer companies.)

I do want to make a few observations, however.

The ATDC is calling this year’s event the Billion Dollar Celebration. According to their promotional material:

Join us to celebrate the Billion Dollars that ATDC companies have raised since 1999!

In my view, they shouldn’t count the 1999-2000 timeframe in the calculation at all. That was the height of the dot com bubble (and some could make an argument that 2001 shouldn’t be counted either, but …). That timeframe easily represents half (if not more) of the billion dollars, and lets be honest, since the vast majority of those companies imploded (or were acquired at ridiculous valuations, and then imploded), I don’t think we should go there.

I believe that the $1B figure also includes acquisitions, exits, and IPOs – essentially, any capital activity that occured against an ATDC company. Unless the activity occured while the company was physically in the ATDC, I don’t think it should count either. Anything that happened to a company after it leaves a business incubator is largely a reflection of their leadership, not who incubated them. Caveat: It may not actually be counted – I’ve no idea, as I haven’t seen the detailed numbers behind the actual calculation. Subtract all that out from the $1B and divide by the five or six remaining years and a slightly different story might emerge. Not a bad story, mind you, just one grounded in a little more reality.

However, I want to offer a slightly different perspective on things. The mission of the ATDC is to incubate companies that will provide economic/job growth for the state of Georgia (as opposed to wealth creation for individual entrepreneurs or investors.) To me, a better metric would be telling us how many jobs have been created (and are currently active) that stemmed from ATDC companies. I would venture to say that there aren’t many jobs still around from the dot com flameout. So how many companies graduated post-2001 from the ATDC and went on to (and continue to) have a substantial impact on the high-tech job market in Georgia?

The answer is: it is too early to tell. Food for thought.

So lets not get hung up on the $1B number. Instead, focus the celebration on the graduating companies and their hard work, along with the new class of ATDC entrants.

In any event, I do like where the ATDC is going. They are beginning to expand their operations and reach, and I like what Lance Weatherby is doing in putting a more transparent face on things there (via his blogging and open outreach to entrepreneurs.) If anything, I’d like to see them get even more funding from the state, so that they can have more of an impact in other parts of Atlanta and Georgia.

Cheers.

Currently, we have over 60 companies and over 20 investors signed up to attend. We’ll probably hit around 80 to 90 companies and 30 investors before all is said and done (space is limited for this first event – it is already getting close to standing room only). What is also equally as impressive (to me at least) is the sheer diversity of ventures that will be in attendance. There are companies from at least a dozen different industry sectors, including information technology, IT security, social media, new media, outdoor media, cleantech, biotech, nanotech, pharma, and even athletic apparel!

We’re going to be doing our first ever podcast from a live event as well, so have your pitch ready! :)

So if you are an early-stage entrepreneur that doesn’t have much experience with investor networking, Mike and I would like to serve up a few tips that will hopefully help you get the most out of the experience. Feel free to add your own as a comment!

1. Bring demos/laptops! If you have a demo of your product that can be shown on a laptop – bring it! We’ll have a few tables on hand. If you get into a hot discussion with a potential investor, hop to the back of the room and fire up your laptop. Show and tell, baby!
2. Perfect a concise pitch! You want your pitch to deliver value in one or two sentences. I like the old format of: “We are Company Name, and we solve this problem, for these customers, by doing X.” Example: Acme Corporation is a maker of “magic paint” for homeowners who are tired of having to paint their house every few years.
3. Don’t hog an investor’s time! Toss out your pitch, listen to their questions, and answer them equally as concisely. Nothing turns an investor off more than an entrepreneur who drones on and on about how great they are. I’m guilty of this, too – most entrepreneurs are! So you have to check yourself. Get their card, thank them for their time, and let them know you’ll be in touch with your business plan, etc. Then free up their time for someone else (and your time to move on to another potential investor.)
4. Likewise, don’t let an investor hog your time! Do you really want to talk to the same investor for two hours? Probably not. Raising capital is a numbers game, so hit and run!
5. Ask investors what they are investing in (a novel idea, I know.) Seriously, it helps to set expectations. If you are a technology company and the investor in question is only looking for a nanotech deal, probably not worth camping out there (for either of you.)
6. If an investor doesn’t invest specifically in the kind of opportunity that you have, ask for a referral to someone he or she may know that actually might be interested – networking 101!
7. Don’t overlook the the value of making connections with your fellow entrepreneurs – they are gatekeepers to capital, customers, and other resources, and are often investors themselves!
8. Dress in a manner that will make an investor comfortable in giving you lots of money. Should you wear a suit? Up to you … but definitely don’t go any lower than business casual.
9. Help others! If you meet an investor that can’t help you, but may be able to help a friend of yours, walk the twelve feet and make the introduction.
10. There will be a handful of observers in the room. You’ll be able to identify them by their red name tags. They aren’t necessarily entrepreneurs or investors, but are industry luminaries, community figures, media members, and special invited guests. Do yourself a favor and take a moment to introduce yourself to them. You’ll thank us for it later.

This first event will be held on Wednesday, May 16th, from 6-8pm, so mark your calendars. You can read more about the event here.

Cheers.

Yes, I think all of these apply to Atlanta. But not Atlanta alone.

Number 1: Base every entrepreneurial event around a speaker

“Attention entrepreneurs! If you are attempting to build a vibrant, flourishing business, come see Johnny Coolguy speak at our upcoming event. Learn how hard he had it when he first started, and listen as he tells you how much money he has now! Grow your own business by keeping a chair warm for us at our monthly meeting!”

The bottom line: speakers can be fun, but they aren’t the solution for bringing people together for the right reasons. They never have – they never will. Entrepreneurial events should go beyond the speaker. Have demo sessions, semi-private networking events for investors and entrepreneurs, etc. Speakers are inspirational, and possibly a little motivational. But they’ve never helped a kid with a big idea build a business.

Number 2: Charge fees for everything

Establishing a “get-your-hand-out” mentality early on is key here! Charge yearly membership fees, charge for admission to your events, and charge for the food, too! If you can swing it, charge for the air people breathe in the room too! Think of your bottom line, baby! If you come across a young entrepreneur who is trying to start a new business, by all means help him or her, but for a fee! $50K for a business plan and $25K for a PPM are the going rates! These are all services that most entrepreneurs really don’t need but hopefully they’re too inexperienced to know better! Don’t give any advice or introductions, no matter how trivial the effort required by you, for free! Mentoring is for losers who don’t want to get paid baby!

Nickeling and diming struggling entrepreneurs for whatever you can get out of them is the wrong approach. Especially when you combine these fees with other event-related items in this list. There are plenty of other ways to monetize your organization. If you need help in this, just ask the nearest entrepreneur (imagine that!) Or better, if you believe, as I do, that all boats rise with the rising tide, then don’t charge anything. Just help people, and then brace yourself.

Number 3: Facilitate service-provider overload

“Exclusive networking for entrepreneurs and investors! Come on down! Oh, and if you need accounting services, legal work, web hosting, or lawn care maintenance, we’ll have a cadre of service-providers standing by to assist you!”

Nothing screams “our town sucks for entrepreneurship” like targeting a whole bunch of events at entrepreneurs, and then filling the meeting with service providers. This is why most entrepreneurs and investors don’t bother going to such events (and certainly why you don’t see the successful ones there.) Service providers are an integral part of any economy – and we need them! But anything that distracts from connecting ideas and capital is not something you should invite.

Number 4: Promote the “broker” mentality

“If you’re an entrepreneur in need of capital, this is your lucky day! For a small retainer fee, an equity stake in your company, and a finder’s fee of more than what a realtor makes on a typical home-sale transaction, I’m happy to help you find the cash you need! Not to your liking? No problem! For $5K, I’ll fill a room full of people that you can pitch your deal to!”

The fewer touchpoints you have in between ideas and capital, the faster your community’s path to startup nirvana. There is a reason that people constantly strive to cut out the middleman. It’s called an efficiency. I am of the belief that an entrepreneur should never ever pay to pitch their deal. Good deals will get funding. If you need help, ask for it – don’t pay for it.

On a related note, the “broker” mentality also helps to ensure that entrepreneurs don’t develop the remedial networking skills to eventually raise capital on their own. Remember, ecosystems are long-term projects.

Number 5: Hold your events at inaccessible locations

“Are you a progressive, cutting-edge organization that wants to shrink its membership faster than your competitors? Then hold your events solely in downtown urban areas, far from 75% of the population! Be the envy of the city! Hold events in locations that are most convenient for academics, consultants and other people with too much time on their hands. Make sure they aren’t held anywhere convenient for the people who are most likely to become fast-growth entrepreneurs and/or angel investors. They might actually show up!”

Local support structures need to evolve alongside the local economy. Not doing so will effectively render an organization ineffective by limiting growth and increasing member attrition and attendance.

Number 6: Become a Corporate Whipping Boy

Sign a bunch of corporate sponsors, and then sacrifice your vision by serving them instead! Make sure to turn your events into infomercials for your sponsors. We don’t get enough of them on cable. Make sure every speaker is a partner or manager for the sponsor, no matter how little they actually know or care about the real issues entrepreneurs face.

Not saying sponsors aren’t helpful – they are! After all, someone has to foot the bill for certain things. But be careful – this is an incredibly slippery slope. The minute you start serving sponsors more than your entrepreneurial constituents, you make yourself largely irrelevant.

Number 7: Create Elite “Clubs” that Purport to Help

“We are tired of the negative image that our town gets. We are friends of the entrepreneur! For only $10K per year, you can join our efforts to attract more business to our city! In fact, you will also get, as part of your membership, exclusive networking access to our top-shelf board members and our yearly golf outing! Stand up for your community!”

Sadly, this happens – here in Atlanta, as well as other places. This helps no one.

Number 8: Be a Laggard!

Why forge ahead and trailblaze the path for others, when comfort can be found in being the sole laggard? Why invest those state pension funds in private equity ventures, when you can earn a strong, undiversified, low-risk 2.2%? And ensure that no jobs or industries are created in the process? Make sure the state continues to give Wall Street the support it so desperately needs!

Number 9: Glorify Linear-Thinking, Serial Entrepreneurs

Serial entrepreneurship is great. However, serial entrepreneurs who only think about themselves are not. “Thanks for the $100M exit! I am now going to go off and plan my next big company. Oh, and I won’t be investing in anyone else’s startups. I won’t have the time. Pffffft! Thanks for having me speak at your next event, though. And did you see my latest writeup in the paper?”

Contrary to what you might think, parading these selfish-successes around as speakers, panelists, and spotlight artists is a sure-fire way to put an extra finger around the throat of your community. Stop glorifying the guy who built one company and letting him ride that event forever. Start glorifying the ones that want to create a better ecosystem for everyone. We need more Reid Hoffmans out there. All it takes is one in any community to drive change. I keep wondering who this will be in Atlanta. I have a short-list of candidates, but so far, they’ve all grossly disappointed me.

Number 10: Ignoring the Entrepreneur

Problems are solved by entrepreneurs, not by attorneys, accountants, politicians, and consultants. Not involving entrepreneurs as you try to attack a community’s early-stage woes will only lead to more artificial walls being thrown up. Period.

Cheers.

There are at least 5 or 6 attending companies that I think have a very good story to tell (in terms of traction.) I don’t know all of the attendees, so I don’t really know their stories yet.

If you are a Georgia entrepreneur, a high-net-worth individual investor interested in doing angel investments, or are a venture capitalist looking to scout the Georgia market for early stage entrants, you’ll definitely want to make this event.

Admission is free (as it should be – shame on people that charge for capital networking!) However, you will need to apply for attendance, be approved, and then RSVP with the # of people in your party.

To reiterate: service providers and job seekers will not be allowed to attend this event. We are taking some fairly exhaustive measures to make sure that the focus of the event remains on putting ideas and capital in the same room – free from as many distractions as possible. We define a “service provider” very broadly. It is anyone who charges a fee to conduct a service that would logically be aimed at any of our attendees. Service providers include consultants, attorneys, capital brokers, agents, marketers, etc.

This first event will be held on Wednesday, May 16th, from 6-8pm, so mark your calendars. You can read more about the event here.

Cheers.

What he didn’t say in his post was that he will also be here on the 16th (the day before), and will be our guest on the StartupLounge.com podcast. He will also be attending our Capital Connections event that night. So if you want another opportunity to meet with Jason (and his partner David), merry early Christmas.

I’ve blogged about this before, and I think what he is doing is wonderful.

Cheers.

Will someone please tell me why the following three events are all happening on the same day, and at the same time?

• AVF – Atlanta Venture Forum
• TAG/ATDC Entrepreneur’s Society
• IEI (Mike Vollmer’s group that split off from TAG a few months ago)

These groups all have their next events scheduled as a breakfast on the morning of Thursday, May 3rd.

Why are we splitting up an already fragmented entrepreneurial audience even further?

Given Atlanta’s population of 5M residents (we’re the 9th largest metro area now) and abundance of sprawl, the entrepreneurial/startup community is already fragmented enough as it is. And of course, the trend continues with all three of these events being held in either Buckhead or Midtown – out of reach of 75% of working Atlantans and about 20 miles (and an hour and a half of a miserable commute) out of the way for most angel investors.

As it stands, any investors that do venture (pun intended) beyond their offices that morning are going to be at AVF. The rest most likely won’t be seen at either of the other events (probably for fear of actually bumping into an early-stage entrepreneur.)

Building a successful startup culture is not something that is going to be achieved by simply parading around speakers. We don’t need more “speakers” anyway, and we certainly don’t need them all at once. We need more workshops, more capital, more networking, more outreach, more mentoring, more process, more geographic marketing, more tangible results – and less speakers, fragmentation and artificial walls. We need more transparency in the venture/startup process, not $25 at the door.

Cheers.