Last week while I was vacationing Stephen Fleming alerted the world to a new article by Steve Blank entitled "One Hand Clapping – Entrepreneurship in Ann Arbor, Michigan." It's an article that Steve wrote about a few days he spent in the home town of the champions of the West.

I suspect that if some professor where to invite Mr. Blank to Georgia Tech he would have many of the same observations and the challenges would be the same and as equally apparent. Those challenges being the lack of venture capital (this includes angel funding) and the lack of a startup culture. I have never been to Ann Arbor but I suspect that Atlanta's startup culture is a bit stronger than that of Ann Arbor. Regardless Steve states that an influx of venture capital will solve the startup culture problem. Perhaps he is right. But the interesting thing (Steve says so himself) is this.

The interesting thing is that no one seems to own the problem. The University of Michigan tech transfer office has an incubator but 1) mixes software, hardware, med devices and life sciences deals in the same program, and 2) takes no ownership of figuring out how to get a risk capital ecosystem in place. Surprisingly, the same with the entrepreneuship center in the Business School. I would have thought they’d be leading the charge.

Cut University of Michigan and paste Georgia Tech and the paragraph holds true. The closest I have seen to anyone taking ownership is Venture Atlanta, with a hat tip to Morris Manning & Martin and DLA Piper for making an effort to get outside venture capital to invest in Atlanta startups.

But the really truly most interesting thing is that I believe the paragraph above is a prescription on what Georgia Tech and ATDC need to do to drive technology enterpreneurship in Atlanta and Georgia. Stop mixing software, hardware, medical devices, life sciences, and cleantech in the same program. Start taking ownership of figuring out how to get a strong risk capital ecosystem in place. Expand beyond helping entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. Be on a mission to create a strong innovation cluster.

We are so close. It is so obvious. It would be a shame if we did not make it happen.