Southeast VC

Number of Active Blogs on the Decline?

I have noticed a drop off over the last few months of some VCs keeping up their blog. You may notice that my list on the left hand side shrunk this week as I removed some of them that haven't been updated since last year. There are still some others that haven't been updated since January, but I have faith they will be updated soon and the content is good so I'll keep them up. :)

But it raises an interesting point - has anyone seen a recent stat out there which points to number of blogs vs. number of active users?

I looked at Blogcount.com, but even that is outdated! I read an old stat that said that the number of active blogs is around 55%, but I am not sure how "active" was defined. Looking at LiveJournal's stats, 13% of users are considered active within the last 30 days.

I wonder if the gap is widening? My guess is yes.

Don't Let Raising Capital Paralyze Your Company

Okay, I don't understand something.

Some CEOs of seed and early stage companies say that their technology is developed, but the reason they are at $0 sales is because they have been unable to raise money for sales and marketing. That statement doesn't even make sense as I type it.

Here is the way I look at it: If you have time to call me, you have time to call prospects/close deals.

I feel that a lot of potentially great companies get paralyzed raising capital. And some get caught in the trap that they need capital to hire that "VP of Sales." Wrong answer. That great VP of Sales is a luxury sometimes for an early stage company. In my opinion the CEO should be pounding the phone to sell the product - at least at this early stage.

And focusing on partners to resell the product is important, but shouldn't be the sole focus. Get some wins under your belt. Prove that customers need it. Generate some testimonials. That will buy you credibility when you go out and sign partners. More importantly, it gets some revenue.

Capital Call - Good Exposure for Northern VA Companies

If you are up in the Northern VA area and looking to raise capital, Capital Call is a good to get plugged into. We always try to attend and it is usually packed solely with VCs - maybe 75+ people in the room listening to presentations. All the top firms in the market were represented. And unlike some other events that may focus just on early stage companies, this one had a nice blend.

Plus, a lot of the VCs stuck around afterwards to chat informally with the companies that presented.

VCIC at Georgia Tech

I was in Atlanta most of this past week and flew back late last night. I went down there with David Jones from SCV as we look to get more plugged into that market. We met with some companies and we both volunteered as a judge the second half on Friday and all day yesterday for the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC). This was the southeast regional competition hosted by Georgia Tech.

This is the third time I have helped with the VCIC and I am really impressed with the program. It was started by UNC and allows MBAs from top colleges throughout the US to compete in analyzing real companies and showcase their findings to a panel of VCs demonstrating their knowledge of venture capital.

To start, each group of students is given the business plans of five companies actually looking for funding. The teams study each plan. The next day the teams listen to the CEO of each company present (10 min presentation) and then each team has their own private Q+A with the management team. That same night each group huddles and decides which 1 company they would fund and they come up with a mock term sheet. They present their term sheet and their reasoning to the VC panel (which we were part of). We then peppered them with questions to make sure we understood their thought process. Afterwards, the VC panel privately voted for the best 2 teams which move on to the finals.

So, although there is a HUGE time crunch, this is the closest thing I have seen to the real world - except for the cash too! :)

The outcome for everyone involved is tremendous. It works really well for the companies - they get immediate exposure to a bunch of real VCs that hear the pitch, listen to their presentation and network with them. In the past, this program has actually led to some of the companies presenting to get funding. And from my standpoint, I really enjoy volunteering and helping the MBAs (who could be future VCs) learn more about the industry.

It is also interesting seeing how the teams analyzed each deal. Some had more of a textbook approach and relied more on the numbers (with DCF model for pre-revenue company which baffled me). However, the teams that were selected to move on to the finals (not surprisingly) had a more balanced approach looking at the financial model, but focused more importantly on the market, entrepreneurs involved and product/technology.

If you have a company looking for funding or are a VC, I strongly recommend getting involved in this program.

Oh, and the winners moving onto the finals? Duke and NYU. Congratulations to them both!