The Entrepreneurs Foundation of the Southeast, Inc. (EFSE) is a nonprofit organization comprised of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, investment bankers, accountants, attorneys, bankers, consultants, corporate leaders and public relations and marketing firms who have come together to encourage entrepreneurs and their companies to support community needs.

The mission of EFSE is to continuously improve the quality of our communities by applying the energy, innovation, resources and wealth of entrepreneurial companies and their employees to support community needs. EFSE addresses the two resource constraints that early-stage companies face when evaluating their community involvement plans: lack of cash and lack of time. We are creating the critical link between entrepreneurial companies and their communities by providing innovative volunteer and fund raising programs.

// EFSE : About Us

Angel Investor Best Practices

I came across this 200-page document today which is a very detailed manual of best practices complete with a glossary written by and for angel investors. It's not only great reading for those who are new to angel investing, but it's must read for any entrepreneur looking to raise angel money. Why? Well it's always helpful to put yourself in other's shoes to see what they're trying to achieve and when it comes to angels, there's no better way to get into their shoes than to read this.

Altgate: Angel Investor Best Practices

Raising money is the second hardest part of starting a startup. The hardest part is making something people want: most startups that die, die because they didn't do that. But the second biggest cause of death is probably the difficulty of raising money. Fundraising is brutal.

One reason it's so brutal is simply the brutality of markets. People who've spent most of their lives in schools or big companies may not have been exposed to that. Professors and bosses usually feel some sense of responsibility toward you; if you make a valiant effort and fail, they'll cut you a break. Markets are less forgiving. Customers don't care how hard you worked, only whether you solved their problems.null

A Fundraising Survival Guide

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.

Angels and Fund Raising In Atlanta - Bilgistic.com

I've been a partner in several venture funds and am or have have been an investor (LP) in around 25 VC funds since 1995. I reach the same conclusion as Fred on slightly different data - every successful venture fund that I've been a part of in any way has had at least one deal that effectively returned the fund (I'm changing the assertion a little as I'm including the funds where there were several deals that each returned at least 75% of the fund.)

In 100% of the cases where there wasn't at least a deal that returned 75% of the fund, the fund was a loser. I can't think of case that I've been involved in or seen the data from a situation where this hasn't been true (I'm sure this is at least one case, but my assertion would be that it's an outlier.) nullnullnull

Ask The VC: How Many Deals Should Be Needed To Return A VC Fund?

Partnering with entrepreneurs to turn visionary ideas into high-growth, sustainable businesses through long-term investing and value creation.

Inflexion Fund, L.P., managed by Inflexion Partners, is a seed and early-stage venture capital fund organized with an emphasis on company building and harnessing regional, national, and international resources of the fund’s managers and strategic partners. Inflexion is the first and only Florida fund leveraging a network venture capital model involving some of the largest institutional investors in the country.

Florida is a national venture treasure in that ideas, technology and entrepreneurs are plentiful but sophisticated venture capital is in short supply. Inflexion Fund was created to harness this untapped potential by investing locally and building companies on a national scale.

Passionate entrepreneurs and experienced startup management are encouraged to learn more about Inflexion Fund, Florida’s first national venture fund with local offices, by reviewing this site, submitting a business plan or sharing a resume. null

Florida Venture Capital – Startup VC – Inflexion Fund is Florida’s Venture Fund

Atlanta Startup Dinner

Join other interested parties to discuss business, startups, technology, or whatever else comes up. The point of dinner is to make connections and friends and is not a venue to do sales, lead generation, job or client seeking, or fund raising.

Atlanta Startup Dinner

The fact that, under the gold standard, the value of each currency was fixed in terms of gold implied that the rate of exchange between any two currencies within the gold standard system was likewise fixed. As with any system of fixed exchange rates, the gold standard was subject to speculative attack if investors doubted the ability of a country to maintain the value of its currency at the legally specified parity. In September 1931, following a period of financial upheaval in Europe that created concerns about British investments on the Continent, speculators attacked the British pound, presenting pounds to the Bank of England and demanding gold in return. Faced with the heavy demands of speculators for gold and a widespread loss of confidence in the pound, the Bank of England quickly depleted its gold reserves. Unable to continue supporting the pound at its official value, Great Britain was forced to leave the gold standard, allowing the pound to float freely, its value determined by market forces.

With the collapse of the pound, speculators turned their attention to the U.S. dollar, which (given the economic difficulties the United States was experiencing in the fall of 1931) looked to many to be the next currency in line for devaluation. Central banks as well as private investors converted a substantial quantity of dollar assets to gold in September and October of 1931, reducing the Federal Reserve's gold reserves. The speculative attack on the dollar also helped to create a panic in the U.S. banking system. Fearing imminent devaluation of the dollar, many foreign and domestic depositors withdrew their funds from U.S. banks in order to convert them into gold or other assets. The worsening economic situation also made depositors increasingly distrustful of banks as a place to keep their savings. During this period, deposit insurance was virtually nonexistent, so that the failure of a bank might cause depositors to lose all or most of their savings. Thus, depositors who feared that a bank might fail rushed to withdraw their funds. Banking panics, if severe enough, could become self-confirming prophecies. During the 1930s, thousands of U.S. banks experienced runs by depositors and subsequently failed.

FRB: Speech, Bernanke--Money, Gold, and the Great Depression --March 2, 2004

The crossroads — a place where two roads cross at or about at right angles, otherwise known as “the forks of the road” — is a metaphor used in religious and folkloric belief all around the world. From the legend of the delta blues guitarist Tommy Johnson (no, not Robert Johnson, as some believe), who sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads, in exchange for other-worldly guitar playing skills, to the ancient Mayans to Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken”, the concept of the crossroads has been used to depict a “deciding moment” or “turning point” in life.

I think we’ve arrived at the crossroads in Atlanta, as it pertains to the early-stage venture scene. This is probably going to be a long post, so be forewarned.

The Appcelerator “Thing”

Unless you have been under a rock for the past few weeks, you are no doubt aware of the whole Appcelerator “thing”. Short version: Jeff Haynie founded the company, reached the $1M revenue mark, and poked around for venture capital funding here. He ended up heading west to Silicon Valley, pitched his deal there, and accepted a term sheet from some Valley VCs. Of course, as most VCs like to have the founders within “strangling distance”, the company is relocating corporate operations to Mountain View as part of the deal.

Scott Burkett’s Pothole on the Infobahn » Standing at the Crossroads in the ATL

Bait and switch

I feel badly for the airline industry. They are caught in a never-ending price war due to online websites and their own commodification. Pick the cheapest flight to get from here to there...

The natural short-term solution is bait and switch. Advertise the lowest price you can imagine and then require add on fees so you can actually make a profit.nullnullnull

Seth's Blog: Bait and switch