Well, the big day is tomorrow (or technically today, since it’s after midnight.) The first ever StartupLounge.com Capital Connections event will be in full swing tomorrow night.
We sent out 30 emails to our friends, and quite honestly, we thought we’d have 30 or 40 fast-growth entrepreneurs and a handful of angels hanging out in a bar somewhere. Now we’re pushing 200 people. There are over 35 investors slated to attend, ranging from individual angels to a $1B fund and everything in between. We moved the venue due to demand, then filled up the second venue. We finally stopped accepting applications - we had no choice. This thing has morphed into something that far exceeds our wildest expectations. Our next event (in the fall) could very easily have 300 people in attendance.
Am I nervous? I suppose a little. I’m no event planner, that’s for damn sure. But I’m of the belief that if you put ideas and capital in the same room, lock the door, and let nature take its course, only good things can come out of that. Of course, the hors d’oeuvres and fully stocked bar will help … 
Hopefully it won’t be a complete goat rodeo.
Today we made 200 phone calls. We called every single person that had RSVP’d in order to make sure they received the email on the change of venue (we wanted to make absolutely certain that everyone was aware of it.) The comments we received during those calls were amazing. People are not only excited about the event, but they are very gracious for it, and that makes us feel very good indeed. And I’m not just talking about the lowly entrepreneur here - the investor comments ran along the same lines (especially so among the angel community.)
There is some serious pent-up demand out there.
I want to serve up some props.
The “Atlanta venture community” (an oxymoron to many here, including some local investors) really responded to this event. Most of the local players will be there (Noro-Moseley, Imlay/Sig Mosley, Kinetic, EGL, Croft-Bender, Atlanta Technology Angels, Smith-Hoffman Capital, the UPS Strategic Venture Fund, VentureLab, etc.) and I’m very pleased about that. I don’t expect them to start dramatically swinging back to the early stage come Thursday morning, but the pulse is there. I give them props for realizing that there is a new movement happening around them. They know they need to become more immersed in the community, and I hope our quarterly event can be a catalyst to help with that moving forward.
I also have to give mad props to North Carolina. First off, they are totally kicking Georgia’s ass in venture investments. Second, at one point there were more NC funds slated to attend our event than GA funds (although it is more balanced now.) There are some lean, mean, hungry funds coming out of NC, folks.
I should also thank the many folks that pitched in to help pull this event together.
Some gave cash, some their time, and some just helped to spread the word, but everyone is chasing the same dream here, and that is to bring Atlanta back. We’re going to do it, hell or high water.
See everyone tonight!
Cheers.
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