Our good friends up at Chrysalis Ventures in Kentucky just locked up their 4th fund - a nice $163M warchest. If you are an Atlanta entrepreneur, and you don’t know Chrysalis - you need to, especially if you are in the healthcare, media, or business services sectors. These guys are big supporters of our efforts with StartupLounge.com and our Capital Connections events, and they are in Atlanta early and often looking for deals.

Cheers.

Lance wrote a nice bit on today’s Georgia Technology Summit. I agree with everything he said. I’ll pile on a bit more.  Pet peeve time.

I worked pretty diligently to follow the guidelines that TAG gave us for the Top 10 Innovative Company presentations. Pretty simple: “3 slides, 3 minutes. Any more than that and you will get the hook.” If you ever been to a big event like this, you know how hard it is for them to stay on schedule with so many speakers, presenters, exhibitors, breaks, etc. Everyone has to do their part, however small it may seem.

I was surprised, and a little taken back by how many of my fellow entrepreneurs ran roughshot over the rules. Some of the companies had what appeared to be a dozen slides, one guy tossed up a video, and some ran WAY over the limit (I swear one guy took 10 minutes). I know that Tino (TAG) didn’t seem all that thrilled about it either. Then again, these were supposed to be the same pitches that the judges saw during the audition … who knows.

I will say this, though. If you can’t pitch the essence of your company in 3 minutes to a room full of people (and obviously can’t follow simple instructions), that is a pretty clear indicator to me that you either have no advisors, some really iffy advisors, or you’re just toast.

Whenever I watch other people pitch, I also try to take notice of the crowd … what are they thinking? doing? gesturing? When people start breaking out the Blackberries that’s a pretty good indicator that you have a first-class ticket on the non-stop to nowhere. At that point, the applause is simply gratitude that you’re done. Trust me, you don’t want to be that guy (or gal).

The goal of the 3 minute pitch is not to raise money, and it certainly isn’t to provide due diligence - it is to get your message out there. Who are you ? What do you do? Why are you great? That’s it. Say enough to spark some interest out there - you want people seeking you out during the break, not praying for you to stop talking. That isn’t the time to amaze the crowd with your superior knowledge of dynamic link libraries.

Jeff Haynie (Appcelerator) had a nice pitch … nice, clean design … easy to read … got his message out there, and got the hell off the stage. You could tell he’s done this before. His pitch was reflective of a professional entrepreneur. Hopefully, TAG will post the videos soon - should be very instructional for some folks.

One suggestion for future events: It would probably be beneficial if TAG did a “bootcamp” pitch session for all entrepreneurs that are presenting at the Summit. Since we already do this coaching via our free PitchCamp sessions via StartupLounge, I’ll offer that up to TAG as a way to do it for free. We’re happy to help, and provide some sounding boards for you. Or, if you’re an entrepreneur who is getting ready to hit the pitch trail, stay tuned to StartupLounge.com for dates as we post them and come on your own - again, it’s free.

There’s no such thing as the “perfect pitch” (I’ll include every pitch I’ve ever done as well) - there is always room for improvement. But good lord … some of those pitches illustrated this fact: as hard as it is for companies to find capital in Atlanta, the entrepreneurial community has work to do to meet the money half way. Blocking and tackling …. the basics.

I will close with this, though - the TAG Summit definitely keeps getting better every year.  I remember past Summits with pretty thin crowds.  Much like building a company, it is an iterative process.   As Lance pointed out, Tino does a good job of listening to feedback from TAG members, and the event continues to evolve.

Cheers.

The next Angel Lounge meeting is coming up on Thursday, March 6th at 11:30-1pm.

The purpose of the Angel Lounge (a part of Startuplounge.com) is to create an unstructured environment for local angels to meet each other and learn from each other. Our goal is to stimulate investment in Atlanta startups while creating the next generation of Angel investors.This is our second monthly luncheon. Last month we had about 15 angels and everybody was excited about the opportunity to come together on a monthly basis and talk angel investing. We also took a small survey to determine what topics may be of interest to discuss.

This month’s topic is “How to develop your investment profile.” Some of us will share while others will just listen. Not all attendees have made investments. Some of the attendees are just investigating angel investing.

Please feel free to invite a guest or two. The more angel investors and potential investors the better. Just be sure to tell me how many will be coming.

If you are interested in attending, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with the right person. To attend, you must either be (A) an active angel investor here in Georgia, or (B) someone who is interested in becoming an angel investor (and has the means to do so).

Cheers.

In actuality, not a lot. But, apparently we both believe that the keyboard will eventually become deprecated in favor of more natural inputs.

Over the past 30 years, computers have changed dramatically in terms of processing power, graphics capability, and storage capacity. However, the one thing that hasn’t fundamentally changed is how we interact with the computer. We are still tethered via keyboards, mice, joysticks, and gamepads. Even the Nintendo Wii, as cool as it is, has you tethered to the experience through a wireless controller.

We’re doing our best to change that at PlayMotion, and in some cases, on a grand scale. Some of our experiences have hundreds, even thousands of simultaneous people collaborating together using natural gestures. We believe that the human body is the ultimate input device. Simply put, the human body is capable of performing movements and gestures that cannot be replicated by a traditional input device.

Gates sees diminished role for keyboards

PITTSBURGH - People will increasingly interact with computers using speech or touch screens rather than keyboards, Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said.

“It’s one of the big bets we’re making,” he said during the final stop of a farewell tour before he withdraws from the company’s daily operations in July.

In five years, Microsoft expects more Internet searches to be done through speech than through typing on a keyboard, Gates told about 1,200 students and faculty members Thursday at Carnegie Mellon University.

Gates also said the software that is proliferating in various branches of science, including biology and astronomy must become even more advanced.

“They’re dealing with so much information that … the need for machine learning to figure out what’s going on with that data is absolutely essential,” he said.

Microsoft is trying to establish ties not only with university computer science departments but also with reseachers in other scientific areas “to help us understand where new inventions are necessary,” Gates said.

Gates plans to retire as Microsoft’s chief software architect in July and focus on philanthropy.

Hey Bill, it’s one of the big bets we’re making as well, although I don’t think the next point on the curve is as simple as speech recognition and touch screens. It is probably a complex mix of things, including natural, untethered gesture recognition, one of our areas of interest. Let’s face it - touch screens and speech recognition have been around a long time - granted, the technologies are much better now, but I can still type faster than I can dictate (then type to correct). However, consumers are adopting touch technology now en masse (e.g. the iPhone), as well as speech recognition (e.g. voice dialing capabilities on cell devices, Microsoft’s Sync technology for cars, etc.) But we have already come to expect those technologies … we’ve seen them mature over the years.

In my opinion, the next exciting point on the curve is the nexus of computer vision, gesture recognition and visual immersion. I’ll post some more thoughts on this soon …

Cheers.

Regarding Mike’s presentation at the upcoming TAG/ATDC Entrepreneur meeting - the correct date is March 6th, not the 5th!

Cheers.

It was just announced that ChoicePoint was acquired for $4.1B by Reed Elsevier, a London-based publisher and information provider.  The good news, is that it appears the company will remain here. This is an aggressive move by Elsevier, best known for LexisNexis.  They effectively just “bought” a new industry for themselves.

Alpharetta, Ga. — Reed Elsevier, a London-based publisher and information provider, has agreed to pay $5 billion in cash to acquire ChoicePoint, an Alpharetta-based provider of technology and information-based risk mitigation products. The deal values ChoicePoint at about $50 per share. Alpharetta will remain the location of ChoicePoint’s headquarters, according to the announcement on Thursday. ChoicePoint was founded in 1997 in a spin-off from Equifax, the credit bureau. The company’s annual revenue grew from about $400 million to approximately $1 billion since then. ChoicePoint provides businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations with technology, software, information and marketing services to help manage economic and physical risks as well as identify business opportunities.
http://www.ChoiceTrust.com

Hopefully, some of these new soon-to-be millionaires will get back into the early-stage game here in Atlanta and help fuel things … we’ll see.

Cheers.

My good friend and StartupLounge.com co-conspirator, Mike Blake, is going to be presenting a very “unique” presentation at the upcoming TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs gathering on March 5th. Sadly, I will be out of town, and won’t be able to attend, but trust me, you will want to attend this one. Mike has put together perhaps one of the most compelling and thought-provoking presentations I’ve seen in a long time.

Please join us for TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs “The South Shall Raise Again: Raising Early Stage Capital in Georgia and the Southeast” with Michael Blake, CFA and managing director of Adams Capital, Inc. This session will focus on the challenges early stage companies in the SE are facing in respect to raising capital. Mr. Blake will also convey success stories and address his thoughts on best practices. Finally, he will forecast the fund availability outlook going forward, and discuss what GA needs to do to be competitive with the SE and the most successful parts of the USA.

The event details are as follows:

• Organization: Technology Association of Georgia
• Event Name: TAG/ATDC Entrepreneurs “South Shall Raise Again: Raising Early Stage Capital in Georgia and the Southeast”
• Date: March 5, 2008, 7:30am to 9:00am
• Entrepreneurs Only Roundtable:* 9:15am to 10:00am
• You MUST attend the presentation in order to attend the Roundtable*
• Location: Centergy One Building
• 75 5th Street NW Atlanta, GA 30308
• http://www.tagonline.org

Cheers.

One of the really fun things about being involved in the early-stage scene here in Atlanta is that I get to network and meet with a lot of people who share the common vision of fostering a better startup ecosystem for our community. Included in this are representatives from various chambers of commerce, academic institutions, and governmental agencies. It seems that a common thread among many of these groups is that they all get excited about the prospects of launching an “incubator” in their respective geographies.

Unfortunately, many of these well-intentioned endeavors never get off the ground, or they take forever to gain traction. Why? Bureaucracy. While they all see the benefit from an economic stimulation perspective, they lose sight of what is really important - traction. Let’s face it - they are going to try and encourage tenant entrepreneurs to gain “traction” - ostensibly so they can graduate from the incubator, and become a viable force in the local economy.

It’s time they drink their own medicine. Stop wasting time with steering committees, breakout groups, and herding cats - start executing.

I recently met with one of the local Chambers of Commerce - one in a very affluent part of the city. They are very excited about launching an early-stage incubator, but for a year now, they’ve been “talking” about it.

Here is my three step plan for anyone who wants to launch something like this:

1. Forget about “incubators” - think “accelerator”

Incubators imply infrastructure. Not needed. Acceleration implies movement - traction. Much more salient. Forget about creating a building and charging rent from an early-stage company. You will automatically rule out 90% of the ideas that will eventually become viable players in the economy. By its very nature - if a company can already afford to pay your rent, they shouldn’t even need you. They already have traction.

2. Find a kid with a good idea

Imagine that. Jimmy is building a new software company from the ground up. Latch onto him. I was a judge last week for the Georgia Tech Business Plan Competition. Lots of fun. One company in particular actually said in their business plan that they were considering a move to Silicon Valley. Not if I can help it. Grab them before they get desperate.

3. If need be, Give him a place to hang his hat

Got a spare cube laying around? Stick Jimmy in it. Let him use your small conference room. Give him Wi-fi access. Whatever. Just do it. Just don’t charge him. Do it because you give a flip.

4. Help him.

Leverage your network and other resources to help Jimmy on a practical level. If he has a marketing question, set up a coffee with Bill, your longtime college buddy who now runs marketing for a hot tech company. Help Jimmy build his own network. Mentor him. That’s what it is all about. The next thing you know, Jimmy is an ambassador for the cause, and contributing to others.

Yes, Virginia - it’s just that simple.

Forget the bureaucracy. Find a kid with a good idea, stick him in your office, and help him. Acceleration. Good things happen.

On that note, stay tuned for an announcement about the cloud, our (StartupLounge.com’s) new model for early-stage acceleration here in Atlanta.

Cheers.

I spent the day today down at Georgia Tech serving as a judge in the semi-final round of their annual business plan competition. It was a ton of fun, and I thought I’d drop a post here with a wrap-up, along with some more random thoughts on business plans, business plan competitions, etc.

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If you are serious about pushing change here in Atlanta/Georgia around early-stage investing, I would encourage you to read this and do your part to help!

The House Retirement committee will take a vote on SB 80, the bill to allow the employee retirement system to invest in certain types of alternate investments. Please email the members of the committee encouraging them to support this bill. Most effective would be a short email stating that this bill will put Georgia in step with the 49 other states on this issue and that it will be positive for economic development and job creation in Georgia.

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Wow, what a rush. We had a great time the other night at our latest StartupLounge.com Capital Connections event.  It is absolutely amazing how the community has embraced this grassroots movement. We had 250-300 entrepreneurs and investors there at the peak of things. I’m still waiting to get the pics from the photographer, and as soon as I do, we’ll get a full recap posted.

Thanks to everyone who helps to make this a great event for early-stagers in the Southeast!

Cheers.

We just closed off registrations for our upcoming February 6th, 2008 installment of the StartupLounge.com Capital Connections event. Looks like we’re set for another fantastic event with a full slate of 200+ people.

As part of our new platform (which is still under development), we’re tracking lots of different metrics about our events. Here are a few interesting numbers:

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