Chuck Westbrook

Thank you for taking the time to put together a thorough treatment of this topic. I’ve been poking around online and trying to get in the swing of things for a couple of months now, and this fills an important gap in what I’ve read and learned.

Hope to meet you at one of these events soon.
Jun 3rd, 2009 at 4:31 pm

[...] Read the rest here: Joining the VC Scene in Atlanta [...]
# #3 Greg Foster
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 9:02 pm

Dude – preach it, brutha. Awesome post. Seriously…
# #4 Angus McRae
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 9:23 pm

Michael – Great post. I can certainly recommend other service providers to become active in the Atlanta tech scene. I’ve found it to be very fulfilling – good people who are sincere in their desire to advance technology and commerce. The players are scary smart and will test your ability to keep up. If you are a fraud you will be found out quicker than you can say Twitter – so don’t bother. Bring value and you will be welcomed. Join in as you will be better for it…
# #5 Peter Rosen
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 10:24 pm

Michael, thank you.
# #6 Keith McGreggor
on Jun 3rd, 2009 at 11:23 pm

Spot on, wonderful. Thanks for posting this instant classic, Michael.
# #7 Andrew Lunde
on Jun 4th, 2009 at 12:07 am

Like David Nour always says. “Put in a few deposits before you consider taking a withdrawl. It’s just good networking karma.
# #8 Nelson Chu
on Jun 4th, 2009 at 3:43 am

VERY Nice post, Michael; you laid out all the issues very clearly and accurately. Thank you!
# #9 Evan Kramer
on Jun 4th, 2009 at 10:03 am

Great Post! After being on both sides – Investor, now Entrepeneur, this really hits home and can’t be more true. Angel Investors do need to understand that there is no “sure thing” or “quick home run” and you should not expect to ride on someones coat tails. People in this arena need to educate themselves and do their own due diligence and formulate their own conclusions.

You can’t be more right on the service side. Man, as an entrepeneur, I can’t tell you how many times I was solicited at TAG events for Legal, Financial, Recruiting, etc. services. Man, if I had funding sure…but then again if I had funding I’d probably use it to acquire customers first before those services anyway..

Thanks for putting this out there!
# #10 Lance Weatherby
on Jun 4th, 2009 at 5:30 pm

Service providers, listen to Michael. He has been walking the walk for as long as I have known him. While this is indeed a VERY nice post more importantly it is a VERY educational post.

I bet we get somewhere between 5 and 10 service provider types per week approach ATDC about getting involved in our community. More often then not they are expecting warm introductions to the decision makers of our member companies. I politely explain to them that it does not work that way. That they need to work hard to earn that first customer in the community and once they do that (and service them well) many more will follow.

You have laid out exactly what they need to do to get engaged and this article will become a resource to educate them.

As a small correction in fact Meet the VC is an ATDC program that Ashish Mistry and I created. It is now run by David Sung.
# #11 Linnea Geiss
on Jun 4th, 2009 at 7:04 pm

Great post, with lots of really good suggestions for getting involved with high quality organizations. Also a great reminder that a little help goes a long way in this community. Even those on the “inside” should be looking to provide support where possible….
# #12 cindycheatham
on Jun 4th, 2009 at 7:45 pm

Great post michael and you truly are a great asset to our tech entrpreneurial community. I echo entrpreneurs are all about customers and capital first and are quickest to thank atdc whenever we help them. Even the most well connected ceo knows the value of a strong warm intro. I would also correct that TAG is not the founder of Meet the VC but instead ATDC and that the dla venture pipeline events are also quite valuable (taking the place of the PWC money tree). Finally I add that there are other service providers that entrpreneurs value but as much for their passion and commitment to their clients (loss leader) as for their unique understanding of emerging growth cos. ATDC’s sponsor partners are the cream of the crop and for this reason we are happy for them to get unique opportunities to connect to our companies – HA&W is definitely premium in that group. Keep up the good stuff
# #13 Scott Burkett
on Jun 4th, 2009 at 8:31 pm

I agree with all that has been said, Mike – nicely done.

You also get bonus points for working in a “+2 Battle Axe of Frost” …

Cheers.
Scott
# #14 Unblakeable
on Jun 5th, 2009 at 6:42 am

Paul Freet correctly reminded me about StartupGauntlet and ATLLogos as important resources in the community, although StartupGauntlet is not generally open to people other than investors and entrepreneurs as far as I understand. However, the latter (www.atllogos.com) is a good place to learn about the community even from the outside.
# #15 Paul Freet
on Jun 5th, 2009 at 8:08 am

I agree with everything you’ve said Mike. Getting involved with the technology startup community is not a tactic, it’s not something you can do to quickly pick up a new client or two. Doesn’t work that way. Mike is right, it has to be part of a long term strategy. And you have to be sincere. Entrepreneurs and other members of the community can spot a phony a mile away.

Can I offer one more bit of advice? Create you own your startup. What better way to plug in than being an entrepreneur yourself? Building web services and mobile apps are so cheap and quick to build that it doesn’t take much (if any) capital. Email me if you want some pointers on how to start.
# #16 Ben Dyer
on Jun 6th, 2009 at 4:50 pm

Great synopsis of the VC scene, Mike, and much needed.

Entrepreneurs need also to realize that they are always “presenting.” Showing good leadership skills in any setting — church, charity, sports league, kids activities, car club, etc. will get you noticed. The people who come to know you as a result will be your most likely investors when you need to raise money. Those individuals may never surface in any formal angel group or even think of themselves that way, but they are collectively an invisible but potent force in getting young ventures off the ground.
# #17 Jeff Hilimire
on Jun 26th, 2009 at 9:08 pm

Just re-reading this post Mike, awesome, awesome advice and education on the startup scene in Atlanta (and really, startup scenes anywhere). I’ll keep recommending folks read this one.
# #18 Getting Involved in the Atlanta Tech Community « B2B Tech Entrepreneur – David Cummings
on Sep 7th, 2009 at 11:03 am

[...] a comment » Mike Blake has a great post from April of this year titled Joining the VC Scene in Atlanta. His insight and links are an invaluable resource for anyone looking to get involved in the Atlanta [...]
# #19 Hey, Technology Entrepreneur: Made It to the Concept Stage? — TechDrawl
on Sep 27th, 2009 at 7:03 pm

[...] do you need the most help? With so many people in the Atlanta community willing to help, it is important to decide where you need the most help. I’ve talked to many [...]