May 2008

Quote of the Week

May 30, 2008 in Quotes

"We spend $6 billion a year on infrastructure for telephone networks. I think we need to move that to subsidized broadband."

Kevin Martin

What Does Your Company Do?

May 30, 2008 in Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital

I spent a good chunk of yesterday afternoon in a fun session with Scott Burkett, Melanie Leeth, and Ashish Mistry prepping the finalists in the GRA/TAG Business Launch Competition for their presentations next Wednesday. All good presentations from companies with potential. But several of them took well over four minutes to getting around to stating what their company does.

Guy Kawasaki has a pretty darn funny post over on the Sun small business blog on how to pick up a VC that addresses this issue. His primary point, explain what you do upfront. That is pretty much what we told the presenters and would say to any aspiring entrepreneur. You want VC to think about how they are going to make boatloads of money off of your concept. Tell them the concept and they can dream the rest.

Trust me, that happened a few times yesterday too.

FoG Redesign

May 29, 2008 in Web/Tech

I went offline for six days and returned to a brand new look to FoG. The work was done by Blake Perdue.

Blake read that I was looking to change a few things. He works with me at ATDC when he is not working on his MBA at Georgia Tech. He took it upon himself to come up with 14 different designs before presenting me with three. Made a few minor changes to the one I liked best. My major goals were to make the overall design a bit cleaner with better use of above the fold space. Mission accomplished.

I have enough confidence in Blake's skills that we agreed to deploy via SMS while I was on the beach. Great work Blake!

Quote of the Week

May 23, 2008 in Quotes

"Something is technically wrong."

Twitter

Indeed. And people are noticing. When the twits built this I think they meant to say "something technical went wrong". As much as the site down it is obvious that twitter is built technically wrong. And their relative silence on the issue is not helping matters.

Update: Twitter actually changed the error message shortly after I wrote this post. The error page now returns "Twitter is over capacity. Too many tweets! Please wait a moment and try again." I seriously doubt my post had anything to do with the change.

Stock Update

May 22, 2008 in Stocks

To paraphrase America, I tried a Q4 update, but I got so damn depressed, that I set my sights on May and got myself undressed.

Boy were things ugly three months ago. As is the norm, Knology was the last of the stocks in my portfolio to report earnings. Here is my quarterly (well bi-quarterly) stock update.

AAPL. What a yo-yo. $160 to $200 to $120 and back to $190. I have faith that the penetration that I am seeing in the world of geeks is going to spread. Holding.

ELNK. Got a nice bounce to a 52 week high after the earnings call. I sold my position.

KNOL. Knology spent most the the last six months in a slide then got a pop on Q1 earnings. That is all I needed to sell. And I did. With a $3.00 basis costs $14.63 is a nice return through 41 months. I will take a 130% annual return any day.

NFLX. Same story as six months ago. Blockbuster pulling back on marketing and Movie Gallery filing chapter 11 results in strong subscriber growth at NetFlix. So much for those competitive pressures that were dampening performance. Flew up to $40 before retreating to $30. Up 38% in 12 months. Sold half my holdings to lock up some profits.

SCUR. These guys are making me sick. Stock has gone from $10 to $5 in the last six months. Every time they have an earnings call the stock drops. I have lost faith in management. I am not alone. At the moment there is no resistance. I need to unload it but will wait for a little recovery before I do so.

VMW purchased the stock at $100 on what I called "recent weakness due to misplaced concerns with Dell's purchase of EqualLogic". Shortly there after they issued guidance below expectations and the stock dropped 31% in a day. It has recovered slightly and seem volatile enough to make further gains.

I took some of the proceeds from the above mentioned sales and went a bit earlier in the food chain with some private equity investments.

As mentioned previously, I made an investment in RTEV, an electric car company run by Mike McQuary.

I also wrote a check to Profounder, an investment company focused on turning ideas and technologies into compelling opportunities for professional investors. The company has not launched.

What a Startup Riot

May 20, 2008 in Startups

Riot indeed!

Yesterday was Startup Riot. Essentially the Atlanta version of the TechCrunch50. Except there were 55 companies. Fifty five companies giving three minute presentations on their businesses. It was a fantastic event. A seminal gathering in the development of Atlanta's startup ecosystem.

For the first time I saw the bubbling up new wave of entrepreneurs mixing with the more established set of early stage technology investors. And I am talking mixing with intent. Investors were asking for introductions to entrepreneurs. A good number of the companies that pitched ended up in some serious discussions with investors after they got off the stage.

Fifty five companies presenting in a day in some ways felt like a recipe for a disaster. But Sanjay Parekh pulled this one off without a hitch. From the opening to the after party at on the beautiful deck of Nelson Mullins it just all flowed with great energy. Kudos Sanjay for putting this together.

When you get 55 technology companies from one city the pitches are going to be a little uneven. But no one embarrassed themselves (though there was great snarkiness on backnoise) and they all stayed within time. Standouts to me were Brainlike Surveillance, Jungle Disk, Masten Space, Purewire, Servinty, Tag6, and Zenda. And of course Skribit. Paul got the biggest laugh of the day with a statement something along the lines of "Skribit is comprised of three very talented developers and Lance." He was also told the company could easily raise $300k by a very prominent angel (We might have to get to work on that).

Following is a full list of the presenting companies with their twitter like 140 character or less description. I want to get this up and will update with links as time allows.

Update: Lots of good chatter from Scott, Stephen, and Stamatiou on this one.

Update #2: Video from the event.

_________________________________________________

Atlanta Catheter Therapies will treat dialysis graft failure & circulatory diseases. The founders (physician, engineers, & entrepreneurs) seek funds & talent.

Axis Avenue is a company devoted to helping authors market themselves to a wider audience, while giving readers a new outlet to creativity.

BeyondLS replaces the legacy real estate systems operated by Multiple Listing Services with proactive social networking based technology.

bigWebApps provides a SaaS solution suite to assist the SMB and education markets in tracking help desk request and asset management support.

BioData Services, Inc. assists health care providers through analyzing medical practice data for key insights and solutions.

Blue Violin creates open-source web-based testing tools for web applications aimed at small-to-medium sized software development groups.

Brainlike Surveillance, Inc. reduces clutter in real-time sensor systems for defense, homeland security, and commercial applications.

BrokenCurve is a digital solutions provider for "Entities Of Gravity" such as celebrities, brand name marketers and other organizations.

CityComber uses GPS technologies & digital media to guide users through a walking or driving experience of a desired destination.

CO2 Report is the only interactive one-stop consumer website promoting home energy reduction with easy access to conservation resources.

Dash Express is the first navigation system with two-way, Internet connectivity.

DecipherTech provides Business analytics as Web Services with a hosted Data warehouse and prebuilt best practice Dashboards and Reports.

Digitalguestlist.com influences users to attend mid to high-end events via admission incentives in behavioral & geo-based niche communities.

Divvs provides web applications that enable peer to peer lending using social network identities as collateral.

Dr. J Says. is a healthcare IT company that delivers the power of personalized preventive and pervasive medicine to the masses.

Evenview develops technology for iterative writing, with use cases in education, editing and planning.

FeatureFrame provides an online video platform that capitalizes on viewers' attention with a timely call to action.

Global Crypto provides strong, easy to use authentication software to protect business on the web.

GreenHomeGreenPlanet uses closed social networks sponsored by Green Companies to help elementary families & schools "Go Green" nationwide.

Hi-Breed Water Systems seeks seed capital to develop compact "green" water heater allowing consumers enjoy endless hot water at low initial and operating cost

Highgroove Studios helps organizations remove 'complex', 'inflexible' and 'ugly' from their enterprise software vocabulary.

Hob Nob helps you find your dream career by connecting you to a community of individuals focused on sharing their professional experiences.

HUM is an unmatched media company generating news and content from the under-covered countries of the emerging and developing world.

Illumitron International is a cleantech company whose mission is to provide innovative technologies to reduce and manage energy consumption.

ImHONEST.com is a non-traditional lost and found service that facilitates the return of lost items and protects data on mobile devices.

InVasc Therapeutics, a drug development company founded by clinicians and researchers, creates SarVasc therapy for cardiovascular disease.

iResume is the easiest way to create your online resume and professional profile and use it ANYWHERE.

Jungle Disk provided reliable online storage powered by Amazon S3.

LenderFlex creates technology to bring transparency, efficiency and trust to the mortgage process.

Maestro.fm is a next generation social music platform with a playlist-based music discovery engine and an interactive marketplace for music.

Masten Space builds and operates reusable space vehicles that allow anyone to fly suborbital payloads into space affordably and reliably.

Mechanixloop.com lets Auto repair centers manage their online reputation, and lets car owners find the highest rated local repair service.

MyFinancialAlerts' products are designed to safeguard against and provide real-time detection of financial card fraud and abuse.

Nauti-Clicks products are the essential accessories that ensure boaters are able to have a fun, safe, and enjoyable experience on the water!

NearbyThis has developed an online coupon widget that can search a webpage for an address and display coupons for things near that address.

Neybor take control of your Real Estate Marketing and connects professionals to get the job done right.

One World Connects created the Meridian, an exchangeable medallion with a social networking site for people that want to change the world!

Purewire secures interactions on the Web. Purewire develops algorithms and services to secure users from harmful People, Places and Things.

QuantumXML provides XML acceleration software that increases business transaction processing by 500% and saves 80% in server costs alone

QuickVault's vision is mobile data loss prevention. Our mission is to build secure applications to protect data stored on mobile devices.

RideCell provides real time traffic congestion solutions for commuters by merging mobile communications, transit options, and cost sharing.

Salestrakr is the world's easiest to use sales force automation app. AJAX based, Salestrakr delivers innovation at a cost-effective price.

Servinity is how bars and restaurants find and manage staff online: Connect. Find Jobs. Manage Schedules. Achieve Servinity.

Simatra makes software that solves complex math really fast.

Singrid Investments, Inc. was founded in 2006 by Susan Nicholas, MD to optimize efficiencies and maximize profits in healthcare businesses.

Skribit helps bloggers cure writer's block by providing topic suggestions relevant to their readers' interests.

SneakySunday.com provides recommendations for restaurants, bars, clubs, hotels and shopping across the US.

TAAS company provides general contracting services and design work for airborne survival systems.

Tag6 provides physical "Tags" with unique one time use codes that can be entered into Tag6.com to confirm a connection between two people.

Twelve Foot Guru provided innovative information and workflow management applications for consumers and b2b, including work requests/CRM, CMS and knowledge management

Tyfish protects mobile content from loss, theft or damage by providing over-the-air backup and security.

WeTheCitizens uses Social Mobilization to help cause-driven and political organizations recruit more supporters and achieve their goals.

Zenda Technologies' mission is to bring to market innovative products for quick, accurate neuropsychological assessments of brain related disorders.

Zift Solutions provides a unique personalization technology allowing collection and redistribution of marketing collateral across the web.

Quote of the Week

May 16, 2008 in Quotes

"There's a lot of hot air in the business that we'd all be better without...a lot of useless pontificating in front of entrepreneurs who are devoting their lives and are working a lot harder than we are on their enterprises."

Mike Moritz

GRA/TAG Business Launch Finalists

May 13, 2008 in Entrepreneurship

I am quite sure that the Georgia Research Alliance and Technology Association of Georgia will get around real soon to officially announcing the finalists to the GRA/TAG Business Launch Competition. But since I was in the room and people keep asking me I am going to give you loyal FoG readers the scoop. Here they are.

ATM Direct. Founded and funded by Nandan Sheth, the co-founder and COO of Harbor Payments, ATM Direct seeks to become the leading alternative payments provider with a platform technology that enables PIN debit payments on the Internet.

Global Crypto Systems. Global Crypto provides strong, easy to use authentication software to companies that expose sensitive information on the Web by embeding cryptographic information in digital images. Or said another way, they protect consumers and financial institutions from phishing. CEO Todd Merrill went through ATDC's CapVenture program last fall and word is they are about to close a small angel round.

ProperNotice. Made their way into the semifinals as the winner of the Peoples Choice video competition. The company bills itself as a penalty prevention service. They have a web based notification system to save a user money by enabling informed business decisions and eliminating contractual penalties.

SkyBlox. Founded by a bevy of key members of EarthLink's former muni wi-fi group, SkyBlox is working to become the leading site for neighborhood wireless networks and the source for up to the minute information about those neighborhoods. They currently have a pilot program up in Virginia-Highland. While it looks like a network play, long term this is a hyper local advertising business. And they have the best logo.

The final four. Congrats to each of them. And the 15 companies that made it to the semifinals.

If you are interested in seeing the final four companies make their pitch for $300,000, presentations are open to the public and will take place on June 4 at IBM.

Update: Here is the official release.

Event Roundup

May 12, 2008 in Entrepreneurship

I try to stay away from the whole event listing thing because it really is not what this blog is about, but with the flurry of activity coming up this week it is a must. Hope to see you Atlanta peeps and visitors from afar out and about. Here is what is going on in the ATL over the next week or so with a bit of a personal slant.

Cleantech Georgia 2008. May 14th. Georgia is making some noise in the emerging CleanTech space and this is the place to learn about it. John Baumstark of ATDC member company Suniva will be speaking as well as my former partner in crime Mike McQuary of RTEV.

ATDC Entrepreneurs Showcase. May 15th. If you are in Georgia you need to join the 579 folks that have already registered to attend this event. Afterward it is to The Globe for StartupDrinks and then the Atlanta Web Entrepreneurs where I am the expert speaker on startup fund raising.

Startup Riot. May 19th. With over 70 companies presenting it very well may turn into something riot like. At least one of the companies of particular interest to me is Skribit, which continues to gain traction. It will also be interesting to see if people grok BackNoise.

CapitalLounge. May 21st. Formally called Capital Connections, Scott Burkett and Michael Blake are at it again with their quarterly entrepreneur/investor networking event. They have killed the demos so the geeks can't hide behind their computers. A must attend for entrepreneurs seeking early stage funding.

This whirlwind of activity makes sleeping in a tent in Douglas County on Saturday night tame.

Geek Wanted

May 12, 2008 in

If you have:
* System software development experience with C/C++ and Java, but also the ability to develop in Ruby and/or Python if the need arises
* An ability to provide technical leadership
* Work experience in the Internet security field
* Expert user level understanding of UNIX-based OS and shell commands
* TCP/IP networking and higher level protocol knowledge
* Comfort using SQL
* The ability to perform at a superstar level in a fast paced environment
* Communicate skills relatively strong for someone this geeky

And want to work hard in a team-driven environment with for a startup with a lot of potential upside I may a a job for you.

Good comp and benefit program. They even have free snacks and beverages.

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