Russell Jurney suggested yesterday via Skribit that I write an article about "ATDC Sponsored Coworking Space" and it was quickly voted up as a popular topic. So I gotta say something.
But before I do I need to point out something else. This is my personal blog. As it clearly states in the disclaimer in the lower right, the opinions expressed here are mine, not those of my employer. You want the official ATDC word venture over to PeachSeedz. Everything I say here does adhere to my personal values, which can be summed up in two words. Be good.
So with that out of the way, here goes.
ATDC has long been internally discussing offering something like coworking space. The drivers of this have been finding room for entrepreneurs when they are in the early stages of concept development as well as ventures that are not quite ATDC ready but need space. Lay on top of this that ATDC embraces the social and collaborative aspects of the coworking process and is a non-profit focused on community it may be in a good position to foster coworking in Atlanta. With a healthy mix of companies prepping to move beyond the physical confines of ATDC in the fall and some room opening up it seems like it may be time for action.
So with all this in mind I recently entrusted ATDC trusty graduate assistant and aspiring entrepreneur Blake Perdue to undertake a project to investigate the prospects of bringing coworking to ATDC. He is in the early stages of this endeavor and I expect a recommendation from him some time next month on how ATDC may be able to play. While I am going to make a few predictions on what may fall out of this, I am not going to predict if this is something that ATDC is going to do. Beyond me. If it does happen I anticipate the following will be part of a plan.
As a state funded not for profit entity ATDC is not in a position to offer free space for coworking. If you need to know why just do a quick search on the Georgia state budget crisis. ATDC may be able to offer space at the same rates as those companies that are in the incubator program. This pricing is heavily subsidized. If ATDC were to set aside 1,500 square feet for a coworking type program we could offer space to about 15 FTEs at a cost that is typical of other coworking setups. From what I know at the moment that runs from $240 to $400 a month per person. If more is needed then I would encourage the community to seek additional sponsorship.
ATDC will remain true to its roots of helping Georgia technology entrepreneurs. Whatever happens will be focused on helping startups, not the broader work-at-home professional and independent contractor class that coworking targets.
Like the ATDC incubator program I would guess that it would limit the time that an individual could participate in the coworking program to rotate the participants and offer more opportunity to a broader group.
The facility would only be available during normal office hours and participants would need to arrange for their own public transportation or parking.
That's it. Again this is something ATDC has under study. If you are interested in helping to make this a reality I encourage you to reach out and work with Blake on a plan that will work for all.
And if you need some space before we get this all figured out I encourage you to make use of the Entrepreneurs Resource Center. It is on the first floor of Centergy. Can accommodate about 10 people. And it's free.
And if you care to discuss here, please do. Just be good.
A long, long time ago in a place not so far away, Catalyst Magazine used to have a series where they would interview a prominent Atlanta technology person. One of the questions they routinely asked was “What’s the best seat in Atlanta?” The most excellent answer ever award goes to Kathy Harris of Noro Moseley who replied, “The bar at Taqueria del Sol.”
With all due respect to the West Side Margarita, I gotta tell you, the seat that I have at ATDC right now is pretty hard to beat.
First of all it literally looks out over Tech Square. But more importantly, I get to interact with some amazing entrepreneurs, good angels and VCs, savvy technologists, and smart academics. Every day is at least one new startup case study. Every day I learn something. Every day I see a new concept. Every few weeks or so I see a great concept. About once a quarter I find something great that I know I could make go. It really is an ideal sentry position. The master plan to achieve my goal of founding and leading a successful technology company is working.
Today is my one-year anniversary at ATDC. In addition to spending lots of time with applicant and member companies, I have been focusing on opening up the ATDC and making it both more accessible and more meaningful to a larger number of entrepreneurs. The biggest visible manifestations of this effort can be seem in the new programs ATDC is undertaking. Over the course of the past year we have surveyed entrepreneurs to see how ATDC can better assist them, launched PeachSeedz, hosted BarCamp, reached out to TechJournal South to bring DeckParty to Atlanta, and been the driver behind Startup Weekend heading this way. While there is always an opportunity for improvement, the general feedback is that we are heading in the right direction.
When I joined ATDC I made a two-year commitment to Tony and the ATDC team. One of those years is behind me now and it has been a successful one. Over the course of the next year, with the help of my teammates, you will continue to see more of the same.
But I am also going to start putting my master plan into higher gear.
I started a bit of chatter that lead
to a bit more
in these parts for the need for a Y Combinator in Atlanta. It dawned on me that lots of the
FoG faithful may have no idea what this means. On their web site it explains that Y Combinator
"is a new kind of venture firm specializing in funding early stage
startups. We help startups through what is for many the hardest step, from idea
to company."
So what exactly does Y Combinator do?
1. Focuses on Web apps: Y Combinator focuses on software and Web
services. Most of the companies that I have heard coming out of there are
Web apps. Regardless they focus.
2. Has an application process: Y Combinator has two application
processes. One in the spring for a Boston summer session and one in the fall for a winter bay area session. The app
is a straightforward web form. They do not ask for business plans. The
most promising applicants are asked to travel to one of the above places to
make a presentation. $500/person in travel expenses is reimbursed. The
app process is about three weeks long.
3. Requires relocation: Astute readers will gather from the
above that the program requires relocation.
4. Seed investments: Y Combinator typically invests $5,000 plus
$5,000 for each founder. A startup of 2 would get $15,000. This is
an equity investment of between 1% and 10% of the company. Typical is
6%. If I am doing my VC math right that is $235,000 pre. Not bad
for an idea.
5. Offers no space. Y Combinator is not an incubator and claims
that the startup can do anything it wants with the money it receives.
However, Y Combinator does strongly encourage companies to work out of wherever
they find to live. It seems that lots of them end up renting in the same
place so they have what Paul Graham refers to as an exobator.
6. Short programming. The Y Combinator program lasts about 10
weeks. There are weekly dinners on Tuesdays and open houses at Y
Combinator on Wednesdays for entrepreneurs that want to show off their stuff or
talk strategy.
7. Product orientation. Y Combinator wants their companies to
create a demo of their product. The demo focuses on a problem the company
is trying to solve and shows how the product solves it.
8. Not business plans. Y Combinator does not care too much about
the business plan. In the app process or while in the program. They
rightly think that it is too early to have a solid business plan that is not
going to change.
9. An investor day. The program ends on Angel Day when Y
Combinator invites all the angel investors it knows to come in and see the demo
presentation. I hear tell that Paul Graham knows lots of angels.
10. Success. At his talk at Startup
School, Paul said Y Combinator had invested in 8 startups and 4 succeeded.
Batting 50% thus far for early stage ain't bad. They expect this figure
to settle in the 25% range.
So there you have it. So the question then becomes would it be
possible to replicate this activity in Atlanta?
That is the subject of a bit of research and a future post.
Monica Doss of CED came down to Georgia last week to speak at the TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs society.
I had two big takeaways from her presentation.
One is that they have the same seed funding issue in the RTP that seems to exist in Atlanta. I think we might have more bubbling here to solve the problem.
Two is that in addition to CED's official mission to promote high growth, high impact entrepreneurial companies they had a secret mission. That mission was to move the entrepreneurial sub-culture into the main culture.
Good secret mission to work on in the ATL.
And BTW, moving beyond the presentation about 25 folks stuck around for the entrepreneurs’ P2P roundtable. Good stuff if you are a technology entrepreneur.
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.
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