I happened to run into Stephen Fleming last night, and we started talking a bit about early stage incubators.  One of the things that Stephen likes to say is that if the ATDC is an incubator then VentureLab is pre-natal care.  And while it is not a requirement that an ATDC company has a connection to Georgia Tech, VentureLab concepts must be based on IP that comes out of Tech.
Both he and I have come to the conclusion that this is leaving creating a “bridge out” in the ecosystem to create tech companies here in our fair city.  There is no VentureLab for non-GT technology.

This begs the question “what exactly does VentureLab do?”  From their web site:

Georgia Tech VentureLab provides comprehensive assistance to Georgia Tech faculty members, research staff members and graduate students who want to form startup companies to commercialize the technology innovations they have developed.

As a one-stop center for technology commercialization, VentureLab provides a clear pathway from laboratory innovation to the commercial market. VentureLab specialists help transform innovations into early-stage companies by assisting in business plan development, connecting the innovators with experienced entrepreneurs, locating sources of early-stage financing, and preparing the new companies for the business world.  Graduates of the VentureLab program may apply for admission to the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), also a unit of the Enterprise Innovation Institute, or EmTech Bio, an incubator operated by Georgia Tech and Emory University.

VentureLab helps faculty members, research staff members and graduate students answer such questions as:

• Is there a commercial market for my innovation?
• What should my role be in building a company based on the innovation?
• What are the steps between laboratory discovery and commercial product or service?

In a nutshell, they lead companies through the stages of idea stress testing, building an initial team, naming the company, incorporating the business, drafting a b-plan, getting seed funding, staking out some IP, and perhaps building a prototype.

I have come to the further conclusion, from observation and discussions with Big Thinkrs like Scott Burkett and Wayt King, that there are actually two bridges that need to be constructed.

Yes, there is a need for a VentureLab for non Georgia Tech deep technology companies.

And as Wayt has publically stated, there is also a need for a Y Combinator, or in my view perhaps an Ignite VP model, that can take advantage of the light capital requirements of early stage web companies.

Time to mix up some concrete and get to building.