Venture Energy Blog

Seeking Perpetual Inspiration as Entrepreneurial Fuel – Johnson Cook

Venture Energy Blog - Seeking Perpetual Inspiration as Entrepreneurial Fuel – Johnson Cook

Atlanta’s Startup Ecosystem Limiting Factor – The Number of Full Time Entrepreneurs

 

When talking about Atlanta, startups, tech, and becoming a top tier tech startup city, the first question is: “What do we need to add for the ecosystem to go faster?”

My answer: Atlanta needs more full time entrepreneurs.

We have a lot of hobbyists. These are folks who are living off their spouses income, showing up to every startup community event, active in social media, blogging even… but they are in the same place with their startup that they’ve been for the last 2 years. They say they aren’t able to raise money or they justify it by saying there isn’t enough capital in our city.  I consider these folks hobbyists.

We have a lot of wannapreneurs. Sadly, I see at least one of these per day.  It’s the guy (and yes, most are guys) in the corporate job, hooked on the crack salary – with a mortgage, club membership, car payments – and isn’t willing (or able) to make the dramatic changes that need to happen to do something meaningful. These guys are miserable in their job, climbing the ladder, have the skills needed to be a startup entrepreneur, but aren’t able to pull the trigger.   Often they come to me with this sad argument: “If I can just raise money, then I can afford to go full time on my startup.”  Every time, they almost pull off the surprised face when I tell them that they won’t be able to raise money until they are in full-time.

We have lots of one-hit wonders.  I think this is the most promising group of potential full-time entrepreneurs. It’s the original team members of great Atlanta startups. They jumped into a startup 10+ years ago, stuck with it to make it wildly successful and now it’s a big company. Now they have their stock options and big salaries but often have the itch. These are the people who have done it before and can usually do it again.   Mindspring, Pardot, ISS, Airwatch, Mailchimp, Weather.com, Firethorn, CNN, Radiant Systems… the list of successes in Atlanta is long, and the founding core teams are often still around with the skills to do it again.

We need to recruit outside the state. This is something admittedly, that I need to do better. We all need to make an effort to attend the events like Southland in Nashville and other regional events to promote the amazing resources in Atlanta for tech startups and full-time entrepreneurs.

I know with all the excitement we are moving in the right direction, but it’s important to acknowledge our biggest limiter: the number of full-time entrepreneurs.  Not ideas. Not capital. Not talent for the growth team. We have plenty of those.

 

I Am Computerless

 

Just recently Atlanta Ventures moved our offices within the Atlanta Tech Village from an old-school traditional office to an open floor plan. There are no more offices!  One of the things we added to make this work is four huddle rooms with large iMacs and 3 phone booths, also with iMacs.    These computers are wide open and ready for anyone to jump on when you have a phone call or have a quick need.   Around the same time, I bought another laptop so I can stop lugging my MacBook Air back and forth from home to office.

Now with these two small changes (public-ish computers plus two laptops), I’ve realized that for the first time since I was 14 years old, I don’t have, or need, my “own” computer. 

My computer doesn’t exist. It’s all in the cloud. Everything.  I can sit down at any machine with Chrome and be set to go. Here’s what I use and what I mean:

  • Gmail – all my email is stored in the cloud, complete with my custom keyboard shortcuts, folders, and viewing layout preferences
  • Dropbox – all of my files are in Dropbox, quickly accessible through the app or the web site (or my iPhone, or my iPad)
  • Triple Redundancy – I happen to let my two laptops keep 90% of my dropbox files synced locally to both machines. Not sure I need to do this, but I have the storage so may as well.   As a kicker, I have Carbonite running on one of the laptops, creating another Cloud backup in real-time of all my files.
  • Google Drive – I’ve been able to almost completely dump MS Office and use the amazingly powerful Google Drive+Docs for just about everything. (The last remaining hurdle is some big spreadsheets with fancy gadgets like Pivot Tables where Google Spreadsheets isn’t quite there yet.)
  • Chrome – by signing in and out of my browser now, all of my bookmarks, history, passwords, extensions and goodies are right at my finger tips (and right where I expect them to be) no matter what local machine I’m on. It’s amazing to me to leave the office, come home, pull up my browser and have all the same tabs open with the sites I was reading at the office.

As a nerd, I’m so thankful to be alive right now. Technology is so awesome.

 

Driverless Cars for Atlanta

 

This has been bugging me ever since I realized that tons of new cars now will park themselves, keep you from rear-ending someone, keep you in your lane, or even stop/start you through congested traffic using radar cruise control.  I realized that all the individual technologies necessary for driverless cars are already here.  Now we just need to put it all together and make this happen for our country, ASAP.

Here is some background– first, a video from Google showing how a blind person is now able to move around:

Now a Ted Talk:

As you start to pay attention, articles like this pop up with loads of useful ideas and arguments for driverless cars.   I’ve been thinking about my own list too:

  • Imagine the millions of hours of productivity gained from so many angles here:
  • Productivity from an extra 60 minutes to respond to e-mails, read a book, or talk to a friend while your car drives you to where you need go
  • Productivity from less time in the car since there won’t be traffic accidents or traffic jams. Every time I’m forced to watch humans argue over how to merge from 2 lanes down to 1, I just think how stupid we humans are compared to what a computer could do for us.
  • Financial boost for individuals because we won’t need to own cars any more. There will be networks of taxis that are affordable enough to pick you up and drop you off anywhere.
  • Business opportunities – a whole new ecosystem is created. Driverless car operators. Amenities. Features. Maintenance. Add-ons, services… premium options and low cost options.  Franchises and more!
  • Think of the improved mental energy from the millions who are now drained after their long afternoon commutes.
  • This infrastructure, compared to “mass” transit makes so much more sense from an economic investment standpoint. Instead of taking Marta out another 10 miles for 25 gagillion dollars, let’s buy a fleet of these vehicles and setup an Uber-like app for ordering your rides.
  • No more DUI’s, ever.
  • Teenagers (and all of the rest of us) become so much safer. Thousands of lives will be saved.

As pilots we are trained in instrument flying that when you become disoriented in the clouds or a sticky situation, often times the safest thing to do is to turn on the autopilot. The computer doesn’t get disoriented. It always knows which was is up, down, and which way is home.  Hand flying is risky.

Atlanta is a big transportation hub. It’s one of our strong points. With companies like UPS, Delta, and Georgia Pacific calling Atlanta home, plus the Tech Startup Explosion that is upon us, I believe we are in a prime spot to lead the driverless car movement.

Somebody tell me how I can help make it happen.

 

Another Benefit to Raising Outside Money

 

One of the discussions we have a lot in Atlanta these days is whether startups should bootstrap or raise outside money. Whether you’re talking angel money or VC money, one reason I believe it’s worth bringing on an investor is that founders need the mental freedom to operate with (less) fear than if bootstrapping.

Too often when bootstrapping (and I speak from close personal experience on this), you live with and focus too much on the fears about “what if this doesn’t work” … what if you don’t close the next account, you miss a mortgage or rent payment, you don’t make payroll, they take your house, your family will disown you!?  How can you make a clear, effective, and confident sales presentation to that Fortune 500 prospect when you’re worried about your house?  While a hefty appreciation for the value of fear is good, too much fear can be paralyzing.

Entrepreneurs in startup phase need confidence. You’ve got to keep moving. Don’t stop. You need to go after each deal as if you didn’t really need it and you know there are 10 more after that one if you don’t close it.

As a startup founder, you’ve already met your quota of irrational thinking by starting this company in the first place.  Once you’re on the train, it’s time to stay focused, confident, and smart. Smart means rational.  Fear challenges rational thinking.  Sometimes a little bit of money, and knowing that someone has your back and you’ve got enough money to keep your kids from going hungry is the spark of confidence that will get you to the next level.

 

 

No Trophies

 

Last week, David Cummings won the prestigious Ernst & Young’s 2012 Deal of the Year Award. Very cool! We are all proud of David and excited for story that led to the award. The morning after the award when I congratulated him, I asked “So you going to put the trophy right here in the lobby of the Atlanta Ventures suite?”

His response is a lesson for all of us:  “Nope. Trophies are about the past, so I don’t care for or display them.  We need to focus on the present and the future.”

Boom.

Simple yet profound point! Whether your past includes selling a company for $95mm, or a whole list of failed attempts to do so… it doesn’t matter.   None of it matters. What matters is today, and what you do today– and you should think about tomorrow too.

There’s a ton of freedom in that.

 

Help Yourself, Help another Entrepreneur, Serve on a Board

 

In my work with Atlanta Ventures and Atlanta Tech Village, I’ve had the opportunity to help and advise many dozens of companies in 2013. It’s amazing how much you can learn by helping other people. I wrote about this over a year ago and labeled it Selfish Generosity. The idea continues to be a top 5 key to finding goodness in everything.

Sometimes startup entrepreneurs only need someone to listen to them process their issues. Just describing problems out loud, is often all they need to get to an answer.  Other times, they have a major roadblock that you can solve with one introduction for them.   The issue with most help we provide is that it is superficial and short term. We have  friends and contacts, but it takes some structure for us to take deep dives and find long term ways to help. One great idea I recommend to entrepreneurs to help yourself by helping others is to serve on a Board of another company.

In short, I agree with Brad Feld, that All CEOs should be an Outside Director for One Company. To have the big picture perspective on someone else’s companies, helps you put your own challenges and struggles in the right view.

There are so many reasons why CEOs can gain value from serving on another Board:

  • Your own Network - by participating in another group to help move another needle, you will be exposed to people that you may not otherwise encounter
  • Your own Rhythm - keeping in pace with other company board meetings, tracking their progress, will help you put your own rhythm in place for your own company and your own board
  • Your own Discipline - this is what I love most about Board meetings is the requirement to get your s**tuff together once a quarter. Financials. Progress on goals. Accountability to your action items. By learning from other companies, you can be inspired and less intimidated by focused discipline required to please a Board.
  • Fresh Ideas - All too often, we entrepreneurs dive deep into our own world and only come out for food and beer. Looking at other industries, new technologies, different team structures, other peoples’ financials can give you fuel for your own creativity that is hard to gain by reading the same blogs and Twitter Discover links

For more thoughts, I encourage you to read Brad’s post.

 

Yes, You need a Board

 

I’m surprised at how many startups and growing companies in Atlanta (less than $5mm revenue) don’t have a Board.    Whatever you call your board members (Advisors, Directors, etc…) I believe the perspective and value they provide are critical for any company that wants to go faster.

Board members and board meetings help entrepreneurs and their teams establish the bigger picture rhythm. Hopefully, you are doing your daily standup checkins, and perhaps weekly team meetings and monthly deep dives, but Board meetings are different. They help you revisit your 5-, 3-, 1-year and even Quarterly goals and strategy.  It’s a refreshing “slow down to go faster” routine that should be embraced.

In my personal experience, I knew the Board was providing me the most value when I left feeling the most uncomfortable. A good Board will challenge you when you get comfortable. They will point out big areas where you are weak or completely missing the boat. Many times, they also provide great support personally for entrepreneurs. If they are the right people, they’ve likely been there, done that, and can relate to the stress that entrepreneurs face in a young, growing company.    Entrepreneurs are naturally optimistic. We are dreamers and big idea people.  A Board help balance this out with reminders to check in with reality, measure the right things, and keep you in gear. It’s important to develop a thick skin in all this because you don’t want the tough love to hurt your optimism and excitement for the business. Just go in with the right expectations, and you will end up gaining tons of good energy.

This is one of those items that investors require from startups where they invest money: to form a Board of Directors. To me, even if you aren’t raising money, it’s an area where a best practice for the big boys will serve you well.

 

The Antifragile Schedule

 

Ever since I read the book Antifragile from the Author of the Black Swan, the idea penetrates my thinking more regularly.  Today I’m thinking about an antifragile calendar. As my family begins the new schedule of summer fun with the kids being out of school, I’m hunting for time to enjoy it with them. And it’s a tricky hunt.

Since we’ve launched the Atlanta Tech Village and a host of other programs, companies, and ideas that have come along with it, the amount of interest from the community has only accelerated week by week. My requests for meetings is at an all time high, which also means my calendar is booked at an all time density. The problem is that I have never been happier with how I spend my days. I’m doing more of what I’m doing because I “can’t not” do it.  Brad Feld just had a great post about his inability to moderate. I’m with him.  This ATV idea and all that surrounds it is an all-in movement for me.

However, it’s ironic that I’m trying to set the example for other entrepreneurs of keeping work/life balance by writing about being intentional.  I’ve realized that this calendar insanity has creeped up on me where now it needs to be addressed.  The cool thing about all this is the Antifragile angle:

It’s easy to have a work/life balance when work is easy or life is boring.

It’s easy to take a day or two a week and schedule fun activities for the kids when your company is in cruise control, the pace of creation has slowed down, and you are out of ideas. If you have ideas and passion, and BURN: you won’t find moderation naturally desirable.

To remind you of the definition of antifragile, it is when things become stronger as they are exposed to stress. Where fragile is on one end of the spectrum, robust is in the middle, and antifragile is on the other end. Robust means you stand up to the stress and are resilient. Antifragile means you become better. Stronger. The more stress you put on something, the more resilient it becomes.  Like wind on a forest fire.

If you are building a company and a family at the same time. If you think that both are delicious and you can’t get enough, then you have the situation to become antifragile.  Don’t let the friction stress you out or cause worry. Just be intentional about your calendar and take satisfaction in your personal development.

My takeaways from this thinking means a few practical actions:

  • Saying “sorry but no thanks” to more meetings. I hate doing this. It’s the hardest thing for me to do.
  • Admitting to people that it may be 3-6 weeks before we can find a time on the calendar. It’s ok, there’s usually no rush.
  • Keeping some time unscheduled on the work calendar so unscheduled meetings can actually happen and the rare time sensitive meetings have a place to land.
  • Taking advantage of no drop off routine for school in the summer and going in earlier for breakfast meetings instead of evening meetings.
  • Prioritizing and delegating. Deciding that I don’t have to do all the meetings myself and there is an awesome talented staff already running the Village.
  • Schedule our weekend father-son trips with both of my sons. Max is 5 now, so he knows he now qualifies for this benefit.
  • Scheduling one full day per week for kid activities for the next two months.
  • Scheduling two weeks of chill time at Dog Island, back-to-back.

It’s a great feeling to know that as the stress is added to my balance, I’m able to add even more good balance to it.  Hopefully nothing blows up in all this. :)

 

 

Intro Magic – And Disappearing Act at the End

 

Introduction MagicI love giving introductions.  In my effort to add value for the person I meet with in 2013, I’ve found that the highest value I can provide is at least one relevant introduction.  Maybe it’s Atlanta business community’s awesome culture of giving and helping, but for whatever reason, 9 times out of 10 both parties are very happy I made the intro and put great energy towards helping the other person.

Some of the coolest introduction types:

  • Cross network intros. This is when I introduce people who, from my view, would have almost 0% chance of otherwise meeting. They are running in different circles, different networks, different geographies and in different paradigms. These are the best. Universes collide and random unpredictable things can happen the most often from these intros.
  • Multiple levels up. Meeting with tons of startup entrepreneurs means I see a lot of folks who are struggling to find their way into a large organization. Typically, they are starting at the ground level and inching their way up the org chart. Occasionally, I will meet with a startup trying to penetrate a large organization where I happen to have a C-suite contact or other high level executive in my network. Selfishly, these are the most gratifying to watch happen.  When I know that both sides are looking for what the other has to offer, these intros are so cool!
  • Pool of resources.  Examples of these intros are when someone needs a certain type of person and I can make an intro to a leader in that network. The good example are the companies or individuals seeking MBA students and I can introduce them to a professor or Dean of a local MBA program.
  • Missing puzzle piece.   There are some needs that startups have that are hard for the founders to define. Sometimes I encounter people who don’t know how to describe exactly their need; or they are so close to the problem that they can’t take a step back and look at the larger picture.  Then there are others who need a specific skill set that they aren’t aware even exists. There are consultants and organizations out there that do things you never would imagine.
  • Knowledge help.  The most basic, yet still rewarding.   Person A needs to understand how to X, where to go for Y, or if they should Z.    Person B wrote the book (sometimes literally) on X, Y, and Z and can give ultimate clarity in a short 30 minute conversation… and B is often more than happy to do so.

The key to successfully giving introductions is to be genuinely interested in helping both parties.  Some introductions require an up-front “Ok to introduce” reach out and other people are wide open to your intros. You have to know your network well enough to navigate it without overstepping or offending.

Once you make a connection of value for someone, I have found the best next step is to disappear. It’s not my goal to benefit or profit from introductions I make.   Unless it is a rare case where I have a lot of other balls in the air related to a specific connection, then I intentionally and quickly disappear.

My request is that you take this to heart. Be more intentional about helping people find each other. We live in an interdependent society now and relationships are gold. Go make some.

 

 

The Run, Not the Route – Serial Entrepreneurs and Focused Energy

 

TeaminTrainingI’m training for my first half marathon.   Next week I’ll be in San Diego to run the Rock and Roll Half with a group of entrepreneurs from EO.  Our efforts are for Team in Training: we are fundraising for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and I appreciate your donations to the cause here. (One week to go!)

As I’ve built up my weekly long runs to cover more mileage (now right at 13 miles!#$%), since I prefer to run alone, one of the most interesting aspects has been planning the course and finding routes that will get me the distance needed in my training plan.

I’ve known routes for a 3 mile loop, 4 miles, 5 miles, 10k, and even a 7 miler, but I have no desire to do any of these routes two or three times in a row. I need more variety than that!   So I’ve found some new routes and combinations of known routes to get in nice long runs.

When I’m running a route for the first time, I’m often more focused on the scenery and making the right turns than I am on the run itself.  Without fail, I run slower on unexplored portions of the route in my long runs. So I’ve figured out to always start the long runs with the unfamiliar routes and end with the routes I can run without thinking.

The reason?   When I’m not thinking about which way to go, I’m thinking about what’s really important. My pace. My energy level. My actual run. Besides, that’s the point, isn’t it? The run. Not the route.

It’s incredible how directly this translates to entrepreneurship. Serial entrepreneurs, in their later career companies, are able focused on the run not the route in each additional startup. They can spot issues so much earlier than first-time entrepreneurs. They get their rhythm. They know how to meter their energy, ideas, and cash.  It’s really awesome to watch them work.

Some of my favorite observations of entrepreneurs who are focused on the run:

  • Team and culture friction issues are spotted earlier, and addressed easily with the right amount of TLC. This doesn’t usually include throwing more office benefits in (like buying a pool table, or adding beer to the fridge)… it is quickly getting to the root of stress, discussing it, and finding solutions to the causes.
  • Unnecessary partnerships and other distractions are ignored. Serial entrepreneurs know that they’ve picked the route– aka business model– and taking turns off that business model by exploring often sill strategic partnerships are a waste of time and energy.
  • Investments are made on the right people.   Serial entrepreneurs have been through the broken promises routines before. They know how to spot the candidate that looks amazing on paper but doesn’t work out in the culture of the startup. They waste less money on these mistakes.
  • Cash is handled smarter.  This is the equivalent of energy management on a run. “Go slower than you think you should” is what my coach always tells me. Whether you’ve raised money or are bootstrapping, the not-so-silent killers of cash burn rate and big overhead are aggressively managed.

Last point: I believe the ability to focus on the right things also comes with age and wisdom. In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says that few people become successful in their 20′s and 30′s because our ability to effectively focus our energy doesn’t come until late 30′s and early 40′s.  No doubt this plays a big part in the success of serial entrepreneurs as well.

Whatever your stage or age, I hope you will work hard to eliminate the noise. Ignore distractions and focus on your pace.  Happy running!

 

Cliff Jumping or Puddle Hopping – Crazy Dramatic Decisions That Aren’t

 

cliff-jumpingLooking back on my own life, I’ve noticed that the best decisions (that in retrospect seem like obvious good decisions) felt like wildly dramatic leaps with unknown outcomes at the time I made them.   I suspect most of us have the same view.

Getting married. Buying our first house. Starting a company instead of taking a salaried job.  Hiring someone. Firing someone. Deciding to open a line of credit or take money from an investor.  Having a baby. Leaving a salaried job.  Adding a position to the org chart and payroll.  Giving up a responsibility. Moving to another community because of the schools. Firing a client. Saying no to a big opportunity.

All of these are the level of big decisions that cause us to lose sleep, but after we make them, life improves and we often find ourselves on a new trajectory.  If you’re stuck on a path, can see where it leads, don’t love where it heads, and you aren’t sure how to change directions: I propose that you need to consider something that seems dramatic.

When you look back, it will probably appear to be one of the many no-brainers that took you to new heights.

Dream bigger.

 

Cure the Destination Disease – Tips for Enjoying the Ride

 

At the recent EO NERVE Conference, in Charlotte, NC, there were some great speakers on life balance and things that matter. My favorites were Steve Gilliland and Gary Kunath.  Steve and Gary are both great speakers with successful careers, inspirational stories, and invaluable lessons. I wanted to share with you some of the big points I took from their talks.

  • Lessons in serial entrepreneurship. One entrepreneur once told Steve that he wanted to build another business after he sold his first because this time around he wanted to enjoy the process of building it this time.  Having started my first business in my late teens / early twenties, I can admit openly that I had no idea how cool it was to be doing what I was doing. Each new business I am involved with now, my goal is to savor the exhilaration and stress that it takes to go from idea to team to customers to company.  Enjoy!
  • The grass will grow back.  Gary spoke of his father and how he would be frustrated with his grandkids (Gary’s kids) for running on the grass and damaging his perfect lawn.   I can relate to this, being a lover of my lawn. I often find myself barking at the kids to stop destroying some plant or part of our lawn with their antics.    Gary said that his kids are now grown and gone and his father stares at a perfect lawn, with no kids, wishing only that they would come back; but that time has passed.   It is a reminder to me that the grass will grow back, but I only have one shot at having crazy fun in the backyard with my 5 and 7 year old boys.
  • Study of Happiness.    One of the speakers described a study comparing lottery winners to individuals who had an accident and became paraplegics. The bottom line is that those winning $200,000,000 in the lottery are less happy after a couple of years than people who had an accident and became paraplegics! It’s about appreciating life around us. Appreciating what we have and savoring every minute.
  • The big deals at death. Consider that you’re in the last few minutes of your life.   When you write out the bulleted list of “big deals” in your life, what will they be?   Now compare that to the list that today you are working through.   Work to constantly put your daily routines and todo list in perspective of what will matter in the end.  Do this activity in your head with some sincerity on a regular basis and your stress level will drop by 50%.  Here’s a video from Gary to demonstrate.

I may not be able to cure my “Destination Disease,” but with events and reminders like this, I hope to work harder to enjoy the ride. Relax. There isn’t a destination.  We’re living it right now, today.

The ironic thing about this conference is that 24 hours before departure I was just about to cancel because I just “have too many things to do.” Wow. Powerful stuff.