Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Tim went out plopped down a reservation on a Tesla S. Tim and I had a few conversations about the deal as it was coming together. It's a good deal. My advice, which was the same advice I gave team Twitpay, was to take it. Tim's not going to retire anytime soon but he can pretty much do whatever he wants. Right now that includes focusing on his design business, Ignition Alley (the co-working space he spearheaded) and early stage angel investing.
As the organizer of Atlanta Startup Weekend I have been involved with a few companies that emerge from the event. And as they move forward there is always an issue. An issue of equity holders and complexity of the cap table.
This issue has been a subject of conversations within both Skribit and Twitpay. Investors don't like the look of the cap table of Startup Weekend companies. Too many founders. Too much complexity. To an investor it is a bit of a mess. Something to be avoided. But how to do so?
The big news a few weeks back was that Twitpay was acquired for $100,000. Or more specifically, "the investors acquired Twitpay’s assets for $100,000 and plan to plow
an additional $1 million in product development and marketing."
Now I have done quite a few asset acquisitions in my time. Well over a hundred. The beauty of such transactions is that you get to buy the things that you believe to have value while leaving the liabilities and things that you don't believe have much value behind. While the co-founder participants in Startup Weekend may not like it, the fact of the matter is that over a year or so into a company they really don't add a lot of value while adding a lot of complexity to the company. As an investor an asset acquisition is an smart way to clean that up.
If other Startup Weekend companies garner angel funding in the future you may see transactions take the same form as the Twitpay deal.
My little stream of consciousness write ups that I threw together about the companies presenting at Startup Riot sure did result in a few comments and personal emails. Here's the deal. I have seen thousands of startups since I entered the tech world. Literally. And after a while you start developing a bit of a rapid cognition sense.
And here's the real deal. Four of the six early stage technology companies that I have invested in have provided positive returns (two are still in play). So when it gets to be real serious check writing time I am doing something right (while perhaps being too conservative). With that said, I have been wrong more often than I care to admit about startups that I thought for sure would be a success not making it very far. But I have never ever seen a startup that I thought was troubled from the beginning be a success without making a major pivot to address a core issue with their business.
So I am not very often wrong about something being wrong. There are lots of people like me in the world. If they "don't get it" as an entrepreneur you have either not appropriately communicated what you are doing or have a flaw in your business that you need to correct.
Twitpay has been acquired by an investment group led by Ashish Bahl. Ashish, a financial services industry veteran, understands the power of the Twitpay concept.
Twitpay will be honing in on the RT2Give portion of its Retweet Suite. RT2Give is Twitpay's proprietary fund raising
solution for non-profit organizations. RT2Give enables non-profits to leverage social networking to drive donations. I can envision the company becoming a standalone payment processor in order to simplify the RT2Give process.
Twitpay was founded at Atlanta Startup Weekend in 2008. I was on that team and have been an advisor and shareholder of the company since then. It is great to see Michael Ivey and Don Brown moving forward with capital and experienced payments professionals who can help make the company a success.
Live commentary on the third and final hour of pitches at Startup Riot. Fourteen companies to go.
eWide Networks
Online
local reference to help students get a more balanced college experience
and propel themselves into a career they're passionate about is what
they say in the brochure. What the first slide says is "events
calendar." Easy to create, organize, integrate, and share. I don't
get why it is different than Gcal. Freemium model.
Kabbage
Provides
established online sellers access to capital they can use to grow their
business when they list products for sale. Big market. Great simple
explanation of a difficult to grasp concept. Use deep data to loan.
Raised $1.4 million. Launching in 60 days. Strong presentation style.
Chatfe
A vocal social network. Currently in private beta. Remember what David Skok said about identifying blocks to people adopting your service? It applies here.
The Plan Is
Web app that makes it easy to but together a what-if based plan
based on deadlines. Cool idea. Good presentation. Not sure if there
is a company here but I am not the target. If you are the beta is
available at theplanis.com/sur
Abundant Closet
An online virtual closet and automated personal stylist. Again not
in the the target. Company is a CapVenture grad and the presentation
reflects that experience. Raised $300k, want to close an additional $900k. Will need revenue in these parts to do so.
itsFound.org
A simple, secure free lost and found tool. A Startup Weekend company. Need some marketing help. ImHonest seems a lot more straight forward.
Savont
An online financial that allows users to create ROSCAs. Nice
opening. Great opening. Nice clean slides. I don't know what a ROSCA
is. Do you?
Uvester.com
Web app to manage real estate communications, documents, and data. It may be those real estate types to move away from their fax machines. Great presentation.
GetUnbored
Start by not reading your presentation. It is a city and group guide that gives users picture based suggestions instead of text. Big name partners such as Citysearch and Ticketmaster. Complex business and revenue model.
TooMah
Interviewing made easy for companies that do have volume hiring. Places like call centers. I know this company and like it a lot. Good concept, sound business model. Looking to expand customer base and an investment with the amount unstated.
Medivity
GI instrumentation with a focus in the minimally invasive market. Device is in final prototype. Want to sell or license to a larger company, the only company thus far to mention exit strategy.
DoLeaf
An online marketplace where people can find and buy plants from independent garden center. It's Etsy for plants. Revenue model is a percentage commission on each sale made. I coach the company.
Softmaxx
Creates software for cellular machine to machine modems and smart devices focusing on robust connectivity, remote management, and scalability. Out of Raleigh.
MakeSmallTalk
Concise entertaining articles to help create social conversations. Not sure of the state of the company, the team or the market.
That's a wrap. Now we are going to vote for winners.
Craft ice cream for restaurants, hotels, and caterers. They want to be the Ben & Jerry's for hotels. Not looking for investment, have ten customers and are profitable. Nice pictures. I just ate and am getting hungry. Will be looking at follow investment in a year. Do not get the tech play here.
Marketing automation that detects and tracks prospects. Love the energy. Met the team before. Like what they are doing. Business SaaS model. Have customers. You might be hearing more about this one.
Next generation message board software. Shotput Ventures company. ATDC is using the software. Works well. SaaS model. Looking for $150k seed round. I have been coaching them a bit during my day job.
Helps team members make and keep commitments within email. Have filed for a patent. Have paying customers and $1 million in funding. The founder and former CEO of EDGAR Online just joined as CEO. Winner.
A real-time receipt management mobile to SaaS solution for small to mid-size businesses. Nice opening. Founder Jen Bonnett was eTour CTO and founder of StartupChicks. Freemium model. Getting ready to go to alpha. Company was started at Atlanta Startup Weekend.
An Internet based platform where users can get quotes, compare, and purchase individual health insurance plans. They make commissions when a consumer purchases a plan. "This isn't the valley. Get a customer." Looking for talent to help move things forward. I have been working a bit with the company.
Patent pending (eight of them) technology to convert coal into synfuels. Seeking $1 million for pilot. Making a gasifier. Claims 10x cost reduction. Nice serious presentation. Until he said "shit" right in the middle of it.
A social web utility that helps college students discover and share all of the events and specials happening in their city. Good energetic presentation style. Cool name. Reminds me of Hapnin. Facebook is waning? I don't think so. Sales heavy advertising model may be a challenge. Looking for investors to expand.
Visual accessory tool for computers that works like an overhead projector. Big market, not sure what they are doing or how they fit in. Do not have a revenue model just yet. Selling product online. Self funded to date. Sounds like a two person team. Advice to all: drop the dot com.
Makes it easy for people to find and share the best blogs and blogosphere trends. Good use of humor to poke fun at self. Have a paid iPhone app. It is my understanding they have sold quite a few of them. Launching an API. Three person team. I have been working with them a bit for a while. Like it.
Digital signage company. Big, fragmented market. I have played in that sandbox. Tough. Good presentation. Looking for a CEO and $250k. Product in test phase.
Helps organizations save time by making meetings more effective and providing visibility into meeting effectiveness. In beta. SaaS model. Coached founder in CapVenture. Nice pivot from the concept he had then.
A simple web based email system for use by seniors and their caregivers. Named after the founders grandfather. Product in use. Good press coverage. Bootstrapped. Looking for intros into assisted living facilities.
A social study network for students. CEO Phil Hill has past success. Good team of developers working on a concept that was developed at Emory and Georgia Tech. National Science Foundation and Georgia Resource Alliance funded. Have commitments with partners that have access to 350k students. Going to charge students via SaaS. One of the best of the day.
Today is Startup Riot.
Startup Riot is a is pitch event where technology startups present
their companies for three minutes using four slides. This year it
moved to the opulent and spacious Egyptian
Ballroom at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.
The Fox is an Atlanta institution and the move there is representative
of how the event has grown in stature. Startup Riot was on NPR this
morning and Robert Scoble of Scobleizer fame flew into town for the event.
This is the third year of the event and it continues to grow.
An event driven digital receipt system. Good use of props. Like
electronic receipt concept. Have customers and revenue. Have unique
technoloigy. Did not mention team. While wanting money did not make a
specific ask.
Provides admin tools and a customer player to distribute combinations of media in one syncronized assemblage. Led by Ben Dyer. Don't totally understand the problem.
Manufacture phototherapy machines and accessories for the treatment of skin disorders. Reading slides is a major issue. No passion. FDA approved. Seeking unstated amount for marketing. Not my area of expertise so I can not comment on market need.
Helps non-profits and urban planners communicate more effectively online. Great presence. Not sure if there is a real problem or market but what do I know. Raising unstated amount of funds. Product not complete.
Bookkeeping app for small business owner or free lancer. Targeting QuickBooks. He is right, they suck. Good use of humor. "We suck the least." Nice clean looking app. Been around three years. Good third party integration. I am going to try the product. Want money to "topple the evil QuickBooks."
Allows wine bloggers to gracefully offers to sample wines, attend industry events, and offer product giveaways. Good presentation skills and storytelling. Sitting next to two wine guys. They don't think there is a problem.
A centralized real estate marketing service. They sell virtual tours and to newspapers in third tier markets that need an online real estate presence. They have complete product, customers, and revenue. I think he said profitable. Woot!
Uses needle free continuous, non-invasive technology to give diabetics an alternative to invasive glucose testing. Seems like a real problem. Have patents. Not sure how large the market might be. Over a year away from launch. Need investors to do that.
The place where online video producers and fans alike can design, purchase, and sell merchandise based off their favorite online videos. Have launched. 100,000 unique visitors. Cash flow positive. We make "kiss ass merchandise." Rock on.
On online marketplace where you can connect live with top experts and instructors in interactive one on one and group classes. "A world of experts in the palm of your hands." Did not explain the business. I coached Sidney. I need to do better.
Developer of iPhone and ITouch apps. Created oBo Agent a fee based service connecting writers to agents and publishers. Raised $250k. Founder created "Trading Space." Did not explain business.
Helps people make new business or social connections both online and off. Recently relocated to Atlanta. Not seeking funding. Interesting play. Merging social with dating. Big market that they might be able to carve out a niche.
Crowdsourcing music discovery by sorting the catalogs of every artist of all time based on the opinions of thost that know them best. Great passion. Releasing product next week. Have revenue via affiliate marketing. Looking to raise $250k. Busy space.
A marketplace aiming to make vacation rentals a more reliable alternative to hotels by offering online bookings, reviews, and more. Nice slides. Big market. Even busier space than music. With a few big established players. I don't understand how they standout.
Brings analytics to career management. Nice presentation manner. Good slides. Interesting concept. Have filed a patent. Need to get some customer validation. Currently collecting input from the same for development of alpha.
A fresh approach to social media analytics. A Shotput Ventures company. They raised a follow on round. Adam has good presentation skills. Opening beta today. Could have explained business model better.
By definition to be a CEO a couple of things have to be in place. One, there has to be management present, or at the very least employees. Two, there needs to be a formal organization. Three, there has to be a board. If you don't possess these characteristics don't call yourself CEO. Be a founder.
One of the more rational voices during the recent chatter about startup events was Michael Blake. He asked the rather simple question "are there specific events that you think have outlived their
usefulness?" and threatened to throw me under the bus in retaliation if I mentioned StarupLounge. I am sure there are lots of buses I could throw myself under. Not going to do that.
When I was with my first startup I never attended events unless I was speaking or it was a business development activity. That, along with extensive travel left me not well networked. Not a good place to be. I got a bit connected and then involved with another startup. I committed to not letting my network wither. Toward that end, though the demands of rapidly growing a company made it difficult, I made it a professional development goal to go to about two events per month. If I were an earlier stage entrepreneur, although I might have the time to attend many more events, I would follow the same general rule. Target two per month, sometimes do more, sometimes do less. And this is how I might spend that time.
Attend the annual Startup Riot. Nice big event. Good networking. Opportunity to see lots of early stage startups present. Watching others present and listening to the crowd feedback is a great learning opportunity. If I were actually presenting at the Riot I would go to Startup Gauntlet to get open and honest feedback on my pitch.
I would attend StartupLounge. Again, nice big event. Great networking. Build relationships with some folks that might be able to help you down the line. Go to PitchCamp to prepare. It's a quarterly event. As long as you are making significant strides in moving your business forward go every other quarter.
Go to the GRA/TAG Business Launch Competition finals. It will give you a view as to what people believe to be better seed stage companies. If you think you are ready or need a forcing event, apply. It will make you get some stuff done and you may get a mentor.
Startup Weekend. If you have never been in a startup before this is a nice little proxy for what it is like. We seem to do a pretty good job of launching companies like InstantLoop, Twitpay, and Skribit.
ATDC Showcase. This annual event is getting bigger and better every year.
Atlanta CEO Council. This is where the big dogs play. Meets six times a year. Need $1 million in capital raised or $5 million in revenue to get in the door.
Throw in ad-hoc and niche happenings in your area of interest and you are done. That would be my approach.
Now I have three questions for you entrepreneurs and startups. You are the customers of all this activity. I believe that event organizers would all welcome candid feedback. What specific events are helping to move you forward? What specific events do you think have outlived their
usefulness? Or put another way, if an entrepreneur came to you and asked for your advice about what events they should attend, what would you tell them?
I can't tell you how ironic it was when someone create secretcabal on Twitter. Ironic because there was one. Some time ago the good folks at Noro-Moseley Partners had invited me to a dinner meeting at White Space Gallery. The purpose of the dinner was an open discussion of what's happening in the Atlanta startup community. There was a request not to mention it online, which I respected. As did everyone else. Intriguing.
So last night the entire Noro team assembled along with about 16 people from the tech community. We broke out via dinner tables and Mike Elliott and Alan Taetle opened the proceedings with an overview of Noro. Essentially the firm focuses in a geographic area from Virginia to Texas. They talked a bit about their investing criteria. Noro plans to make about 20 investments across the region from Fund VI. Since that fund closed in 2007 they have made 13 investments. Not a bad pace.
Mike also spoke about the contraction of venture firms both locally and nationally. There is tremendous pressure on the entire venture industry to deliver returns to limited partners. Funding devoted to venture could shrink by another 40% in the future. VCs, including Noro, are fighting for survival.
On to the meat of the matter. All those assembled had two menus. One with food and wine pairings. And a second topic menu.
What's the state of the early stage and growth startup community?
What is the best way for all those assembled to work together?
What are Atlanta's strengths?
What needs to change to foster a stronger community?
There was some great discussion. I was fortunate to sit at Mike's table. I did not know him well before. He is smart and engaging. The table and the assembled group reached some interesting conclusions. Personally my biggest conclusion is this. It's great to see the Noro team creating conversation and showing community leadership.
The opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone (with the exception of comments by others of course). They do not represent the opinion or position of any other person on entity. All postings adhere to my personal values.
2
