| Posted Wednesday, July 1, 2009 by Melissa Zbeeb |
Categories: Web/Tech |
While you won't find 'ATDC' on Twitter, we're all there! We believe people follow people. And our people tweet about ATDC, entrepreneurial news, technology-related updates, angel funding and venture capital, tech community events and happenings, and,
admittedly, some personal stuff. People are far more interesting than logos, don't you think? If you agree, follow us:
| Posted Tuesday, June 30, 2009 |
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ATDC member company PlayOn Sports presents live coverage of Atlanta's own Centergy parking deck collapse cleanup.
At approximately 12:30pm Monday afternoon portions the parking deck attached to the building that houses the ATDC collapsed. Emergency crews have been working nonstop to shore up the garage and search for casualties. Search efforts have found no evidence of victims.
ATDC will remain open during the rescue and recovery operations. The Centergy parking deck will stay closed until further notice. All visitors to ATDC should park at the Georgia Tech hotel on Spring Street. Directions to the hotel parking deck can be found here.
Please join us in welcoming Urban Planet Mobile to ATDC Savannah. Urban Planet Mobile provides education and information products created specifically for delivery via mobile phones. The initial product is “Urban English” with over 600 text and audio English language learning lessons in ten different languages, as well as daily vocabulary word builder programs for TOEFL, SAT, GRE, and specialized terminology such as nursing, medical, and pharmaceutical.
Urban Planet Mobile is primarily targeting Asia-Pacific, Middle East and South America markets which could generate well over 500 million users. Distribution contracts are currently in the works with carriers and content providers in these markets.
We are pleased to have Urban Planet Mobile to be part of ATDC and look forward to working with them.
Entrepreneurs, if you sell your company tomorrow, do you know how much you would make? Do you know how much your investors make? How about your employees? Better yet, you're raising a round of funding and you just received a new term sheet. How does this change everything?
The Liquidity Event Proceeds Calculator ("LEPC") was developed as a
joint project between the Atlanta Technology Development Center (ATDC)
and Siavage Law Group, LLC with assistance from Atlanta investment
bankers Croft and Bender, LLC. The LEPC provides users with a
comprehensive understanding of the effect of their particular venture
capital deal terms. It allows the user to input valuation, option pool
size, amount of investment, and amount and timing of the liquidity
event in order to customize various scenarios to the company's unique
financing circumstances. The LEPC projects the proceeds to be derived
by common holders, preferred holders and option holders in liquidity
events at varying valuations and varying time periods. The assumptions
are listed on the first page and the tool proceeds through three
pro-forma rounds of funding, A, B and C. In order to gain a working
understanding of the tool, we recommend that users review the
spreadsheets as written first before they modify the assumptions to
suit their needs. Each of the rounds has a pro-forma liquidity event at
increasing dollar values that can be modified by the user.
Successful entrepreneurs think differently. They are better at recognizing and dealing with what they don't know. They proactively identify business risks and uncertainties and mitigate them.
This is a process that can be learned. Join us at the next TAG/ATDC Entrepreneur's event to learn how.
The session will be led by Marty Gupt, Managing Director of CAP Consulting Group. CAP Consulting helps entrepreneurs become big companies and helps big companies become more entrepreneurial. Prior to this, Marty was Vice President and General Manager of TeraText Solutions, a division of SAIC. He has over 20 years of experience with Pricewaterhouse Coopers, BellSouth, AT&T and Xerox, and has extensive experience in developing new products and businesses. Marty has an MBA from the University of Rochester and a BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Buffalo.
Please join us in welcoming Preparis to ATDC.
Preparis has developed the first subscription-based workforce preparedness platform designed to protect businesses and their employees from terrorism, natural disasters, pandemics, workplace violence, and other 21st century threats. They recently launched their ACTION Platform. It is a turnkey SaaS solution that delivers online analytics, certifications, training, information, and notifications, information and response instructions to over 200 potential threats. Accessible via a company’s intranet, the Internet and mobile devices worldwide, the ACTION Platform enables global executives, management teams, and all employees to make it through crisis events at a moment’s notice.
Preparis has an interesting back story. The company emerged out of CEO Armistead Whitney's experience in New York City on September 11.
We are pleased to have Preparis to be part of ATDC and look forward to working with them.
| Posted Thursday, June 18, 2009 David Sung |
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Following up to my previous blog on Shotput Ventures, SPV just announced their first Demo Day. Eight early stage companies get to show off the fruits of their labor. It's an invite only event for angel investors, VCs and tech execs. Email to info@shotputventures.com if you'd like to attend.
Look forward to seeing you there.
When venture capitalists or angels are considering investing in a company, they ask many questions. Their questions usually are focused around understanding the four basic risk startups face.
- Management Risk: Investors are trying to understand if you and your team are the right people for this opportunity. Key questions:
- Do you have deep experience in the industry you are entering?
- Do you have previous startup experience?
- Will you listen to advice from your board?
- Technology/Product Risk: Investors are looking to see if you have a good product that will give your company a competitive advantage. Key questions:
- Is there any intellectual property around the technology, such as patents?
- Is it difficult for your competition to replicate your product?
- Does the technology actually work? Is it defensible?
- Market Risk: Investors want to know if you are attacking a lucrative market and have a good go-to-market strategy. Key questions:
- How big is the market?
- Is the market growing?
- Are you solving a major pain in the market?
- Is your go-to-market strategy reasonable?
- Funding Risk: Investors need to believe you can execute your plan with the amount you are raising. Key questions:
- Is this too much or too little of a raise?
- Is your use of funds strategy realistic?
- How long is your runway?
- Will you have to raise another round in the near future?
Before you hit the fund raising trail, ask your self these (and other) tough questions. If you don't have good answers, find things you can do to mitigate concerns investors will have. Anything you can do to reduce these risks will increase your chances of successfully raising capital.
| Posted Tuesday, June 16, 2009 David Sung |
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This is a call to all who plan on applying for CapVenture. Submit your application by this Fri 6/19. There's a $50 discount to those who are accepted to the program. Final application deadline is Weds 7/15.
As a reminder, ATDC, along with our partner TAG, are accepting applications for the 2009 CapVenture Program.
CapVenture
is a unique program that educates and equips CEOs and executives of
early-stage companies for smarter and more productive capitalization of
their businesses. Now in its 3rd year, CapVenture has been incredibly
successful; past
participants include Centrafuse, Global Crypto Systems, Purewire, and
Solo-Health.
Technology companies that are selected for this year's CapVenture will be guided
through extensive workshops on fund raising preparation, an elevator
pitch exercise and review, executive summary review, investor
communications and practice investor pitches. Participants will also
receive weekly mentoring from Atlanta investors and entrepreneurs.
CapVenture’s series of presentations and workshops prepare executives
for the opportunity to meet angel and venture investors and culminates
with an Investor Forum and Celebration. After the final event, the
top-rated CapVenture companies will also have an opportunity to present
at the 2nd annual Venture Atlanta conference in October.
