Southeast VC

Triangle Startup Factory Re-Launched

The RTP area got another boost with last night's announcement that Triangle Startup Factory will be re-launched. The North Carolina-based accelerator will be run by Chris Heivly and Dave Neal.

Chris is a good friend, is very passionate about startups running both Triangle Tech Talk and Big Top. He is also no stranger to the accelerator model being the former Director of LaunchBox Digital here in North Carolina.

Startups get 50k once accepted into the program and $20K-$150K as a convertible note once they complete it.

The first session will begin this March and interested entrepreneurs should email them  app@trianglestartupfactory.com.

I think its great to see another funding option for entrepreneurs and thanks to Chris and Dave for putting in the work to make this happen.

Entrepreneurial Resources

We've been handing out our list of Entreprneurial Resources during our Entrepreneur's Breakfasts that we've hosted at our office.

But I am including it here -> Download SCV Entrepreneurial Resources - Jan 2012.

It lists out regional events, funding sources and news sites to keep an eye on.

I hope it helps.

Venture Outlook 2012

My partner David Jones and I launched Entrepreneur's Series earlier this year and based on its initial success, we ended up hosting 7 events throughout the year.

Topics and speakers varied. We brought in some of the region's most successful entrepreneurs to share their success stories, we had VCs fly in from all over the country and heard from bankers and analysts. We covered topics like SaaS, Heath IT, bootstrapping and M&A/IPOs.

Based on the feedback from our regular survey, attendees are getting a lot out of Entrepreneur's Series. But I have to say that we're having fun hosting them as well.

Our intial event was back in February and titled Venture Outlook 2011. That was a big hit. So, its appropriate that for the next one we host in 2012 goes back to that and we got really creative and titled it Venture Outlook 2012.:)

Panelists include Matt Fates from Ascent Venture Partners, Pat Kerins from NEA, Scott Kupor from Andreessen Horowitz and Dan Marriott from Stripes Group. We've known all these guys for years so we know the panel will be awesome.

You can learn more and register here. If you haven't been to Entrepreneur's Series before, we hope you come out and join us. We think it is a good opportunity to hear from great speakers and network with both the panelists and your peers.

If you can't make it, but want to be added to our email list for future events, go here.

Build a Software Company Without Capital. These Guys Will Tell You How

Good article in today's News & Observer titled Good Time to Start a Software Company. I enjoyed participating. With all the celebration by the press and blogs around companies that raise piles of cash, its great to see attention on those that are successful and creatively found ways to start and build a thriving business without outside capital. 

To talk more and expand on this column, we asked David Ranii, Business Reporter at the News & Observer to come moderate the next Entrepreneur's Series on Monday morning December 12. One of the goals is we have in hosting is that we hope this will offer inspiration and tips for other entrepreneurs.

Panelists include: Joe Colopy, CEO at Bronto; Kent Hudson, CEO at SchoolDude; Jesse Lipson, CEO at ShareFile (just sold to Citrix) and Troy McConnell, CEO at Clever On Demand.

If you haven't joined us for our Entrepreneur's Series before, come out. They are informal and we save a lot of time for Q&A and networking.

Monster Week in the Triangle

Next week is one of the most packed weeks I have seen for the entrepreneurial and tech community in the Triangle. And I'm really looking forward to it. I know there is more going on than this, but here are some of the highlights & events I'll be at:

Internet Summit - held again downtown Raleigh. SCV is a founding sponsor. The conference launched a few years ago with about 800 people. Every year it gets bigger. This year join 2,000 people. Awesome lineup of speakers. Includes a demo room and fast pitch sessions with VCs. Use SCV50 and save $50, but buy your ticket asap. Almost sold out.

Triangle Entrepreneurship Week - Events all throughout the week highlighting the entrepreneurial community. Includdes a bunch of opportunities to pitch VCs and regional angel groups. My partner David Jones is part of this one.

TiE - Current & Emerging Trends in Entrepreneurial Funding, Nov 17. I'm on a panel with a bunch of other out of state VCs.

PWC MoneyTree Breakfast. PricewaterhouseCoopers hosts this breakfast once a quarter and they review the past quarter's venture activity and discuss trends. Exclusively for tech and life science entrepreneurs and the venture community. Its next Thursday morning and I'm on the panel. Email  laura.troy@us.pwc.com to register and for details.

What am I missing? Leave comments below.

ShareFile Acquired by Citrix

Congrats to Jesse Lipson and the ShareFile team on the acquisition by Citrix.

We're a customer and a huge fan of both the product and the team at ShareFile. Jesse and the team built one of the fastest growing software companies in the US right here in Raleigh. They deserve a lot of credit and did it all without VC. 

You can read more about the acquisition here, here and here.

Startup Happy Hour

Big thanks to Zack Mansfield and sponsors HPG, Windstream and Smith Anderson for putting together Startup Happy Hour last night in Raleigh.

If you haven't been to Lonerider Brewing Company before, you need to check it out too. The venue is a cool setting, worked really well and accomodated the ~200 people that attended.

For me, it was a good opportunity to re-connect with a lot of people and meet some new entrepreneurs too. I've had a lot of follow up calls and emails today from it. It was a good mix of people - entrepreneurs and service providers. I like the casual conversations that occur in that kind of setting.

Add this one to your list of must attend events here. Fingers crossed that Zack will do it again soon.

Business Advice - Try Listening and Hiring Smart

Good recap of our SaaS event earlier this week. Lots of new faces. Thanks to everyone for coming out. And special thanks to Rick Smith at WRAL Tech Wire for putting the recap together.

Entrepreneur's Series - SaaS

Our next Entrepreneur's Series is on September 19 in Raleigh. We're focusing the conversation this time on SaaS (software as a service). To do that, we have Laura Lederman coming from William Blair to talk about top industry trends and then two panels afterwards - one of regional SaaS companies and the other of venture capitalists. We have some great names lined up and as always, we save time for Q&A and lots of networking.

You can read more about our event here, here and here. And for more details and to register, go here.

If you have any questions about it, feel free to email me jason@southcap.com.

Validating the Pitch Early On

When I meet with a startup that is pre-revenue with a neat idea, I'll often ask them if they have talked with potential customers. Often the answer is no. I don't understand that since those meetings can offer more upside than meeting with me.

Let me share a story that I think can help.

One of my favorites is about one of the entrepreneurs we seeded. He spent a few months meeting with over a dozen potential customers understanding their specific needs. Based on their input, they helped shape the direction of the company. When he met with us, the direction of the company was more clear. He had identified who his beta customers might be and he had quotes from them sharing their feedback. This added a lot of credibility and just strengthened his case for funding.

To add to this and what's really interesting is that he had one of those companies pay six figures upfront to lock in preferred pricing BEFORE he built the product. So, he used customer money to help finance building the company. That meant, he had to raise less money, which meant less dilution.

Other strategies that I've seen work well is presenting ideas to prospects with just early screen shots. Of course I've seen others present without that stuff too. But all these entreprenuers are presenting before the software is really built.

My point is to get out there, test the market and speak with prospects early to help validate the model. These meetings can help you see if what you're thinking matches up with people that can pay you for it.

Another benefit of meeting with prospects early on is that it could lead to a change in direction, which is okay too. Maybe they already use a competitor's product, which they love. Or maybe they end up suggesting some new features. Whatever the case, that early feedback would be helpful so you can build the product to your potential customer's liking, rather than having to shift strategy after you have launched. Shifting after you launch, could be costly and could slow you down.

Anyway, I always scratch my head a bit in meetings when we're pitched for capital and the idea hasn't been pitched to any sales prospects yet. I think it is an important step in building a company.