Nobody Told Me

Thanks for posting this Lance - was starting to think there weren't many people in Atlanta thinking this... I was recently having a similar discussion at one of these events with a friend.

There are all these events and all this "community" in Atlanta - but I don't want to know everybody in town and only barely know what the hell they're doing. That's not community.

Community is **actually** giving a crap about people and lending a helping hand to each other. Isn't it? Isn't it about being friends with people?

Isn't it about encouraging each other to get off our asses and go **do** what needs to be done when that's what needs to be said? Isn't it about grabbing a beer and decompressing together when that's what needs to be done?

Who are the most successful startups in town? Do you see them at every event?

I think we need to go to fewer events and have more real friends. And that's what everyone wants - but let's focus on bettering the lives of other people we already know instead of meeting more people at 9 events a week.

Yes, it's great Atlanta has that many events. It's great there are that many like-minded entrepreneurs (or at least wannabes) out there. That's awesome.

But has it improved Atlanta or just made it more hectic?

There are way too many meetings and not enough innovation. If we spent the energy on creating company like we did on creating meetings about creating companies, we would be in a better place. I haven't been at many of these meetings as I have been too busy building a company.

Is it more or less fragmented than San Francisco, Boston or New York or is it just that the ratio of events to entrepreneurs is different than those other places?

I was just talking to my wife last night about the frenetic startup activity in Atlanta last night and it's rapid growth over the past year or so ( and lamenting that I live so far OTP that I miss most of it). From my perspective, that level of activity is fantastic because it increases the likelihood of me being able to make it to at least SOME of the events! That's one of the reasons I was so happy that ATDC spread out and started having Office Hours in Alpharetta.

It does seem like all these events are not focused around a central agenda (other than a very high level "support startups" theme) but the startups themselves are all wildly diverse and at various stages in their development.

I happened to be at StartupAtlanta last night - one of my rare attendances in the ATL tech scene and I was thinking about the number of events - and almost the same set of people :-) Many, many social events... would be interesting to see the results in a few years from now!

I think pulling a community of entrepreneurs together by fostering lots of events around "startups" and "startup culture" is too literal. Most of the businesses that inspire me aren't built by people primarily passionate about having a startup; they're built by people who are deeply interested in a particular domain and fixing something, making something easier, fulfilling their own interests, or fueling something in that domain. Aiming to get a bunch of startup entrepreneury people together, to me, is kind of like getting real estate investors or would-be fast food franchisees all in the same place.

That's why I'll continue to go to events like SXSW, ROFLCon, MaxFunCon, (as well as any conferences, lectures, and small gatherings about stuff I'm interested in) but am tapering off the "Blog" "Social Media" and "Startup"-focused events. Just because they were the right reasons to get together and talk 5 years ago doesn't mean they'll always be or are now.

I've pretty much given up on most of the events. I keep telling myself that I need to get out and "network", but I've got way too much work to do. I RSVP for an event (like the SEM talk today at Ignition Alley), but when the actual day rolls around, I inevitably skip the event in order to work.

That's what always surprises me about these things. Assuming other startups are as difficult as mine, where does everyone else find the time to go to all these events? Is the time lost in productivity worth the gain in networking?

Agree with you 100%. Too much to keep up with. So, I focus on the two groups I am in and my own business. I will say however, that being able to ping you or Paul Freet for questions as well as the rest of ATDC is worth all the fragmentation frustration. And seeing Ignition Alley grow out if this has been inspiring. Hoping that 151locust.com will also continue to grow.

Great post and I certainly agree that we need more engagement.

I couldn't agree more. Fewer events = more time at home with the family.

As someone who came to a few events and ultimately bounced off of the culture and community, here are my thoughts as a relative outsider.

It does feel somewhat like a social club and a clique moreso than a functional, organized effort for a common purpose.

To foster successful new companies, the aim should be on broadening the circle. Pulling in latent talent from around the metro area and activating it, teaming it up in smart ways, and providing the type of support that is efficacious--but doing all of this systematically and intentionally.

As long as the community is cliquish and diffuse in its efforts (and those two go hand in hand when there isn't a coordinated strategy) the effort required to figure out where to go, when, why, and for whom can become quite a distraction rather than an asset.

With a coordinated strategy that acknowledges the important cause-effect relationships in building a vibrant startup community AND effective communication aimed at a broader population of people, it might be possible to turn that on its head so that instead of the events and the community being a collective timesink to be navigated in the hopes of gathering up the good bits, it could be a real boon to all types of people at every different stage of interest and ability who want to benefit from the value and support a community can provide.

Of course, that's just my opinion as a relative outsider and pretty much a nobody as far as my entrepreneurial resume is concerned, but it's my $.02 nonetheless.

I haven't done any of these events, because I'm quite busy with my own company (and family). As a result, most people think I'm dead.

One thing we need to find a way to do, is to attract successful entrepreneurs to give back to the first time entrepreneurs and get more of them to come to these events. People like Nick Owen.

Nick Own is dead.

Great post Lance!

R.I.P. Nick Owen. I didn't know. He must have set up auto-tweet before he went. (@wikidsystems)

I agree that we need more engagement and fewer events but the current state of affairs is merely a reflection of the fragmentation of the Atlanta technology community.

I've been to a lot of these functions and recently quit going because it is a social-circular discussion.

I'd like to see the experts (atdc folks, lawyers, coaches, angels, vc's) at these events be challenged by organizers to walk up to five start-up people they don't know and simply say: What one thing could I do to help you? or, What one person would you like to meet? rather than the standard, What did Sig say?

Well damn. @Lance forced me to startup blogging again.

http://mikeschinkel.com/blog/force-of-harm/

Great post! I am very happy to see the the Atlanta startup community coming together, sharing ideas and goals. BUT, I feel like there are two things we need to improve on as a community (including me):

1.) we need to start supporting early startup technology. Thats one reason why startups are so successful in Silicon and thats why they call Silicon an "incubator" for technology startups.

2.) I love the ATL people- I am one of them! BUT, we need to open up a bit more...I feel like people are too "to themselves here." Even at the events, people usually crowd around others they already know. One thing i loved about the Valley was that people walked up to you, to see what you were all about (no matter who they are or how great they are.)

Regards

@omarjead

It's true. I am dead. Dead to you both.

Lance,
Definitely something to think about. But I think we all need to evaluate which events are relevant. One of the things about so many events is that they all have an audience which I think reflects on the startup community. We just need to determine which events serve our own individual purpose and help to build a community around those.
The other aspect is that many of these events benefitted from the increased awareness of a broader audience (i.e., Startup Weekend, Product Camp, WordCamp, etc.)
Marna

First, in the spirit of full disclosure -- I am the organizer of Startup Drinks, one of the above-mentioned "too many" events.

I fully agree that we need a core. I applaud, for instance, Mike Schinkel's efforts at Startup Atlanta. Some coordination will increase the value of all events, cohesion makes us stronger as a community, and fragmentation or infighting doesn't help anyone.

I'm not so sure I agree that we don't need any more events. I certainly don't agree that we need fewer. In my experience, most of these events serve somewhat different needs and audiences. As long as they're not all the same, more events gives me more choices and that makes it more likely that my own (admittedly idiosyncratic) needs are being met.

Anyway, I don't know anyone who goes to all of these events; why would you? Lance says he likes "vibrancy", and vibrancy is born of abundance, variety and diversity.

True, we could probably be clearer about how the events differ from each other, and sometimes they may overlap a bit too much. But I see no need for someone to "coordinate" that for us. Just don't go to the events you don't like or don't need, and tell your friends to do the same. In the end, the market will take care of it.

Richard

Richard:

Thanks for the comment. I believe you along with everyone else is well intentioned and applaud the effort it takes to make these types of things happen. I also think it interesting that the vast, vast majority of entrepreneurs tend to agree that there are too many events.

But here is a sample of what I think we need. Atlanta is hosting its Entrepreneurs Showcase this year on May 24. We are expecting at least 700 folks. How about we team up and have a special version of Startup Drinks in the Tech Square area that evening?

For the record...

We view Awsome (Atlanta Cloud Computing) as more of a technology meetup organization, more in line with ALTRUG, PYALT, etc...

We focus less on startup discussions and more around the technology that helps startups, SMB's, and enterprises. Our attendee’s span from large enterprises like CDC and Mckesson to medium to large size companies like Silverpop and as small as one-man startups.

On a higher level I think Atlanta should galvanize it's energy into a common event/goal (something like SXWS). However, as long as ATDC graciously affords us to use its facilities, we over at Awsome will continue to concentrate on "Cloud" technology. When you guys figure out how to solve the aforementioned event issue please ping us and we will be there with bells on...

John Willis
VP of Services
Opscode, Inc
a.k.a as the Atlanta Cloud Dude…..

We talk about this a lot in the TechDrawl cave, the ever-increasing number of startup events in Atlanta. We kind of wince with each new launch because we are all competing for the same limited local sponsor dollars. The Fortune 500 and state government here has not stepped up to help our efforts to showcase technology from the South, so TechDrawl invests much time courting sponsors, time that could be better spent lobbying the state capitol and Turner, Coke, UPS for goodwill sponsorship.

TechDrawl launched a year ago to showcase technology startups and early stage private companies, entrepreneurs and innovation in the U.S. Census South, from D.C. to Texas, to attract publicity and investment capital to the region. I personally have been surprised at the factions and political infighting in the startup community that only hinders our mission to coalesce the voice of a region.

We talk about the open source, collaborative mentality in Silicon Valley which fosters entrepreneurship there, yet folks here boycott blogs of their competitors and don't collaborate toward a common goal.

Before you start another monthly group, how about using Skribit and asking the customer if there is a demand for your new Meetup before you launch it and dilute the sponsor pool? Think regionally. Collaborate to get on the national radar. Syndicate your programs to TechDrawl. (And we don't have the money to do your AV production. That's not what we do).

A final thought: Startup Drinks I love because it is the only event without an agenda where I can actually network for more than 10 minutes with our community. Thanks, Richard!

Celia Dyer gets points for hitting the nail on the head: this is really about access to SPONSOR dollars

1. Celia, thanks for the kind words! (And Startup Drinks takes no sponsor money.) Your next drink at Startup Drinks is on me.

2. Lance, you're on -- I'd love to. Got to find a big venue, though. I'll email you.

Richard

Nick,
I saw one of your chickens in the street stopping traffic again. Thought you'd want to know.

@Celia - I'd love to know what factions and political infighting there is so I can do my best to avoid it. For the most part I see people who earnestly trying to work with others.

A quick review of statistics published by the Brookings Institution in 2005 tells a clear story of the need for Metropolitan Atlanta to cultivate a thriving startup culture. For innovation measures, our region had 78.4% of U.S. average for patents per 100,000 people and 79.1% of U.S. average for venture funding per capita. However, on the human capital side we had 126.2% and 116.1% of U.S. average for share of adults with bachelor's and graduate degrees, respectively.

This means that while we have a very attractive talent pool, our level of innovation doesn't reflect the region’s full potential for economic development. It’s vital that we collectively focus our energy on improving our levels of innovation. Support for startups is a measurable way to improve this ratio.

I think the number of events and organizations that coach, advocate for, and/or give exposure to startups is an encouraging step in this direction. They represent innovation in the support system that seeks to make the Atlanta region one of the best areas worldwide to launch a startup. And it’s innovation building on the assets we have that will drive prosperity in the region.

Jenny Trautman
Economic Development Director
Startup Atlanta

Seriously? Too many events? Can someone please explain the real problem?

This is a high class problem that Nashville, for example, would love to have.

One more time on that link to the Brookings report...
Blueprint for American Prosperity
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Projects/blueprint/metrosbp/Atlantabp.pdf

Paul, I believe I can sum up the problem in one word. Diffusion: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion

@Lance another way to look at it is that the number of events is evidence of the Atlanta startup ecosystem evolving in a very positive direction. Don't feel obligated to attend everything and just allow it to happen. If you do I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the future results.

It's much like the scab that itches; that it does indicates the wound is healing and the fact with we have all this activity presages the next phase in which the individuals who comprise the community will begin to focus on execution.

Lance, I love your passion and intent here but I see the number of growing events as a sign of an emerging vibrancy in Atlanta's startup community.

I tend to have a neighborhood bar/restaurant that I visit all too frequently...at the same time there are a huge number of new restaurants popping up all over the city. I will on occasion check out a new spot for a little variety...it can be a great experience, in fact I found what I consider my new favorite spot just recently. At the same time, I don't feel like I have to go to every new restaurant opening up in town or even all the existing restaurants...certain ones may be more in line with what I'm looking for due to location, food genre, atmosphere, etc. Over the course of time the restaurant scene grows and evolves. Some restaurants may change their menus and adapt to what the market is seeking, others will inevitably go out of business. You would not want to cut off that evolution by saying, OK, we need to ensure critical mass in the restaurant community so no more new restaurants can open. We're going to have one giant Chinese Restaurant and one Italian, etc. to ensure that they all survive. Imagine over time what could happen to that one Italian restaurant from a quality and "innovation" standpoint if there are no others in town that customers can choose when they are hunkering for a little lobster ravioli. Maybe I don't want to go to a mega restaurant to feel like I'm on a cruise ship, but I'd rather dine in a very intimate setting. If an existing restaurant argues that new competing spots are hurting their business...are they making the argument from the community's viewpoint or from their own bottom line?

Maybe the analogy is not spot on...but ultimately the "market" will decide what works and what is sustainable. Similarly to the restaurant scene, entrepreneurs and folks in the startup community will pick and choose events based on a variety of criteria that are best for them. It's not healthy in any market for a small group of individuals or organizations to "claim ownership" of the entrepreneurial community.

There is a huge benefit in face to face networking that just doesn't happen via blog, email or twitter. Bumping into one potential early client, strategic partner or investor can literally be the difference between a startup making it or not. You can only meet so many people at an event in a given time frame...so even if you took all the monthly events and put them into one ginormous (actual word!) 12,000 person event on the first Tuesday of every month...there's a finite number of people you can meet within a given time frame. In fact, you can argue that the larger the event - the more likely people are going to see people they already know and will migrate that way.... versus a smaller more intimate event where people are forced to interact with new folks.

I did a check on a random Thursday night for events on just one entrepreneurial calendar for Silicon Valley. This calendar was not meant to be a thorough source of all entrepreneurial activity but there were 7 startup oriented events on that random night. In reality, across the greater Silicon Valley, there were probably at least twice that number of events going on if not 3x. I don't feel that anyone in Silicon Valley would argue that the startup community there would thrive more with less events. More events are inevitable with more startups. It’s a great sign of a growing community.

To your point, entrepreneurs are already facing 80 hour weeks and need to use their time efficiently, no doubt. That said, it's easy to fall into the trap of our digital world - with our mega inbox, tweets, blogs to update, texts and voice mails. While hard work is a key ingredient - great entrepreneurs create success not so much for the size of their inbox or how much code they can crank out per hour but based on their domain knowledge and their industry connections.

The Google founders claim their biggest early success point happened through a run in with angel investor Andy Bechtolsheim on the porch of a Stanford faculty member's home in Palo Alto. They gave him a quick demo on the spot and according to the Google guys..."He had to run off somewhere, so he said, instead of us discussing all the details, why don’t I just write you a check? It was made out to Google Inc. and was for $100,000.” (They had to put in a drawer for a couple of weeks until they actually formed the company). No critical mass here, just the power of the rolodex and networking.

So while you shouldn't feel like you have to gorge at every buffet in town, hopefully you can discover that one great dish in that new restaurant just around the corner.

Disclaimer: While I have some exposure to your community, I am mostly an outsider.

I do alot of work with tech and I network quite a bit. I see postings and meetups and tweetups listed and all that stuff and as someone who works with tech frequently but is not involved with tech directly, its very difficult for me to see the difference.

More events should mean more differentiation but still around a central theme of advancing the best ideas and companies and moving them forward and getting them funded.

One last thing, I know there's a zillion social media experts now and all but if someone is organizing an event whose main purposes is to introduce the entrepreneurs to sources of funding, then please invite me. I work on the funding side. Thanks.

Stu
@StuFinancesTech

In Silicon Valley successful entrepreneurs start company after company, and so up and comers look up to them and do the same.

In Atlanta successful entrepreneurs become comfortable for life, and instead of starting companies they start events. And so up and comers look up to them and do the same.

Eric, the difference is there are no investors or faculty members or corporate wonks that are as generous with their money or connections as those in the valley. All the rest becomes moot, or a revenue scheme in the case of those chasing sponsorships.

What Atlanta really needs is an event incubator - an event, or series of events around making events more productive. I hear a lot of talk about a bubble, well let me say point blank: There isn't an event bubble. In a post-Sig Atlanta, the economic model has changed. Startup events are valuable without startups. The proof for this is so obvious it is left as an exercise for the reader, but the clear way to really profit in this system is to square it - and start spawning events from events.

If you accept the premise that the various organizations and events are, to varying degrees, productive in building community, then you have to give it time. 3 years is not enough time to build "community" It takes a generation.

I'll cop to this - StartupLounge for me *is* my entrepreneurial venture. As much as I cheerlead the startup sector here in Atlanta, the reality is that SL is the most truly entrepreneurial thing I've done. Scott on the other hand is, of course, the real deal - a true serial entrepreneur.

As such, I believe that all of our organizations are subject to market forces (attendance, sponsorship dollars) and the market will ultimately tell us which organizations are needed and which ones can fall by the wayside.

The market does take time to send those signals. For example, back in 1999 my wife lamented how hard it was to find organic produce when "so many people wanted it" - and the government should compel stores to carry a minimum amount of organic foods. I assured her that if in fact "so many people" did want it, and she wasn't just a tree-hugging, anti-corporate, niche market kook, the market would respond over time. One walk through a Kroger or Publix will tell you how that is turning out.

If you're one of those companies that doesn't need us and is too busy executing - that's great. Your big exits will help everyone else. If you already know what you're doing and can get the contacts you need on your own, you don't need us and our events aren't really aimed at helping those with the wherewithal to help themselves. they are about helping that next tier of entrepreneurs that might be successful with a little friendly support but almost certainly won't be helpful without it. My observation is that there are many such companies out there. Our (collective) work is not yet done.

-- mike

Darn, a rational voice.

Keith made an excellent point on backnoise that I don't want to see lost. He said that our community has created a set of super-connectors (perhaps through having so many events? though certainly through organizations like the central-driving-force-hubs of GT, Emory, and ATDC). I agree, and see those people as particularly valuable in what is still obviously, based on this discussion alone, a fragmented if enthusiastic community that some are even calling cliquish. Maybe that's the beginning of an opportunity for deeper engagement and efficacy across our community. With that noted, though, should we try to identify those people and make sure they attend all events to continue the feelings of inclusion they inspire? No, but they will go the events that they perceive to matter, thus (IMHO) allowing the market effect to have its way insofar as their attendance at events.

With all the talent in Atlanta I agree, as an optimist, that these events are evidence of rich vibrancy and (again) enthusiasm in our evolving community. Certainly it's my hopeful opinion that the work I do with organizations I'm involved in (StartupChicks in particular) has value, though it IS tough to decide beyond your own events which are the most valuable to attend. I generally look to those I respect in our community (including both Lance and Mike Schinkel, along with many others, btw) as good barometers of events that have value. Our attendee "market" will also (beyond following connectors to events) sort out valuable events from those that are not, but it's going to take some time, and we're still very early on in that evolution.

I also agree, though, that some of the events aren't exactly necessary (including another of mine, AtlantaHelps) but I do believe the general idea when they were started was to bring those outside the clique in via working on shared needs (in my case, the desire to give back with like minded folks). As such, I'm scaling AtlantaHelps back (for multiple reasons, but at least partially because it didn't have the draw I hoped for, which is totally my fault for not pushing it harder, which is fodder for some other post), but still staying as involved as I can with StartupChicks, which has had a bigger impact on the community. And that's how I'm personally sorting through the cacophony of events and trying to up engagement and be effective. I think we're all going to have to make those decisions when confronted with so many opportunities to network and learn.

All that said: Lance, please keep stirring the pot. Obviously we need to have these "conversations"!

People are capable of doing good, but groups are driven by predatory self-interest.

Reinhold Niebuhr

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

Margaret Mead