Southeast VC

Triangle Business Journal Highlights Local Blogs

The TBJ did a nice story this past Friday on local blogs in RTP. Good mention of this one.

20 More Companies Selected for Venture 2005

As an update, 20 additional companies were recently selected to present at Venture 2005 bringing the total number to 33.

Square One to Launch in RTP

According to a report that originally came out on Friday, it looks like we may have a new bank headquartered here in Research Triangle Park modeled after SVB.

In fact, the organizers that are trying to launch 'Square One' are for the most part all former senior level execs from Imperial Bank and SVB.

Fundraising? General Comments from Recent Meetings

After some recent meetings with entrepreneurs looking for capital, a few common things surfaced from those conversations and I thought it would make sense to share it here.

1. We are incredibly interested in helping build long term sustainable companies and more importantly, we have the patience it takes to get there. When you're meeting with a VC, prove to them that you have something special and this is a big idea that a solid company can be built on. I would not suggest making your first pitch to a VC and say 'we plan to develop our product and will flip the company in 12 months and we're going to make everyone 10x.' It would be great if everything was that easy and it is important to think big, but realize the probability of a quick exit is incredibly low. VCs want to hear some substance. In fact, often when I am meeting with a company, I am not as interested in the exit strategy. I am more interested in hearing the company's growth plan and how they plan to get there. My thought is that if the company is able to execute, the exit strategy will take care of itself later.
2. When you are starting to build a company and you are seeking seed capital, investors probably won't let your salary come close to what it was working for the Fortune 500 company you just left. This is part of the risk you will need to take with an early stage company. The hope is that you will have a lot more upside though with your ownership in the company.
3. If you decide to raise money from angels or angel groups, I would suggest surrounding yourself with the best people you can find. I can't stress that enough. You're building a medical device company? Find smart experts that know that space better than you. Or, if you can't find people that understand your space, make sure you focus on surrounding yourself with just really smart business people. Find someone that has been in your shoes before and emerged as a winner. The key is to get them really involved - not just with their money, but as active advisors. And if it takes a lower valuation to attract a smarter set of investors, do it. The hope will be that they will make such a meaningful impact on your business that it will be worth that small sacrifice early on to potentially create a bigger opportunity for you later.

Ask Jeeves Acquiring Bloglines, More Acquisitions to Follow

Ask Jeeves may announce today that it is buying Bloglines according to a CNet article yesterday. This follows Google's acquisition of Pyra Labs and Microsoft's launch of MSN Spaces.

With the number of blogs 8 times bigger than what is was only in June 2003 and a new blog being created in something like every 7 seconds, I expect more consolidation to follow.

Icagen and the IPO Window

Led by JP Morgan and UBS Warburg, Icagen went public yesterday at $8. It was the first IPO in RTP since the fall of 2002 - so this is pretty symbolic for the area.

Even though the market is down right now, the IPO window seems pretty open. According to Thomson Financial, 8 companies went public in January raising about $1.9 million. That is pretty close to the levels in 2000.

So, is this the beginning of a series of IPOs in RTP? Larry Robbins thinks so.  He was quoted in the paper this morning saying another 5 local companies could go public this year. That number seems a little high, but looking around, I think he is close.

Microsoft Employees Hiding their iPods

About 80% of Microsoft's employees have a music player and 80% of the employees that have one, use an iPod. According to the story at Wired today that means they have 16,000 iPod users!

It has gotten to the point where some Microsoft executives are now sending out memos to employees frowning its use.

Reminds me of my days at a company I used to work for. That was when everyone thought it was ridiculous to use Microsoft Office - even though it was clearly superior and easier to use.