I wasn’t going to write anything about this but when I got stared down by the double Knox, I knew it was a sign.
In the first article, I found it interesting that VentureLab has launched 19 companies in 6 years. So I went looking on VentureLab’s site to find out who that was and they list 11 graduate companies raising $42 million. Huh? Then I saw the fine print - “as of May 2006″. What?!?! This goes back to my previous post about accessibility of information and promoting our own good successes. If I were a part of the 8 companies since May 2006, I’d be a little upset that I’m not getting some link love from VentureLab.
The second article was more disappointing. To the question “How long does it take you [Atlanta Technology Angels] to decide to invest?”, Knox Massey answers (emphasis is mine):
The quickest we made an investment was two weeks. More typical is two to three months from when we meet them. We’ve worked with companies that may not be ready for up to a year. We don’t want put somebody who is not ready in front of the group.
Holy cow. Maybe it’s been too long since I raised money (1999 and 2000-1), but that time frame sounds ridiculously long to me.
Sanjay Parekh's blog about fundraising in Atlanta - an especially good fight with Atlanta Technology Angels Wannabe VC/Never Entrepreneur/Dinosaur Gatekeeper Knox Massey in the comments.