Your Suspect

At this week’s TechCrunch Disrupt, twitter creator Jack Dorsey demo’d his new product and company called Square, very cool stuff. Check out the video below to learn more. But what I enjoyed was Jack’s very refreshing and relevant advice to entrepreneurs looking to raise money from venture capitalists. Surely this applies to angels too, but @jack was really talking about VCs. Check it out, it’s about 14 minutes in.

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In early 2007 a new website was founded by someone only known as Ted. The website was simply called The Funded. Simply put, The Funded allows entrepreneurs to rate and review venture capital firms and angel investor groups. While the site, and its founder, has been highly criticized, The Funded took off. For the first time ever, entrepreneurs had a place to go and rate and review investors, and for those searching for potential financing, a place to read those ratings and reviews. The Funded has, in it’s own small way, leveled the playing field and has served the entrepreneurial and VC communities well. For the first time ever, VCs were publicly being held accountable. For example, see here for the most loved VCs of 2009. Some say it’s a one-sided forum, and many just don’t care. Most entrepreneurs agree though – The Funded is a good thing.

The whole idea of The Funded really intrigued me, and had something in common with a little side project of mine called The Founder’s Quandary. But I had no idea who was behind The Funded, so I had no idea who to contact about getting involved or at least offering a virtual high-five.

For it’s first six months it was unknown who “Ted” really was. That is, until Ted unveiled himself as Adeo Ressi, a well known, somewhat controversial, entrepreneur. In the past couple of years Adeo and I have exchanged a number of emails, mostly about how I might help The Funded and perhaps even help with something here in Boston. Well, the good news is that The Funded has announced Founder Institute, and it’s arrived in Boston!

The Funded Founder Institute, a four month program to help founders build the next generation of world-class technology companies, is launching a new semester in Boston from July, 2010, until October, 2010. The program is run by founders for founders, providing a structure for successful entrepreneurs to share their experiences and to provide guidance. Everyone that graduates from the program is invited to join a pool to share in the equity upside generated from the success of their peers. This adds a unique camaraderie to the program and creates a long-term peer support group with a vested interest in your success. If you have a new company or if you are thinking to start a company, take a moment and apply to the program. The program has an early acceptance deadline of May 23rd. Apply here.

If you’re an entrepreneur in Boston I hope you’ll take a look at this opportunity and get involved! I’m just thrilled to see this happen, and I’m eager to see Founder Institute nurture and provide fertile ground for entrepreneurs!

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If you read this blog, you don’t need to be reminded that I’m an entrepreneur, or that CitySquares has been funded by angel investors from eCoast Angel Network, to Jonathan Kraft, and Mark Cuban, among others. The bottom line is that CitySquares would not be here today if it were not for our angel investors, but more generally if it were not for Angel Investing as a whole. Most importantly though, angel investing is good for America, that simply cannot be disputed. So why is Senator Chris Dodd trying to make it harder for entrepreneurs and companies to raise angel financing, and why is he going to raise the minimum requirements to be an accredited investor, and on top of it all make the SEC review every angel deal before it can get done?

Is the Democrat from Connecticut out of his mind? What is he trying to achieve here, raising revenues for the federal government? I don’t get it – where’s the logic in this provision? Maybe someone smarter than me can help me understand, but in the meantime if you are for entrepreneurship, for innovation, for job creation, for small business, then go here and sign the petition to stop this nonsense.

More information can be found here on The Huffington Post, in a well penned piece from Robert Litan. A quote follows:

Various studies published or sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation have made it abundantly clear how dependent the U.S. economy has been and will continue to be on the formation and growth of new companies. Angel investors are important funders of new companies. There is no good time to make it more difficult for them to invest in startups, and now — when the economy is struggling to recover from what may be the deepest recession since the Great Depression — is the very worst possible time to discourage angel investment.

Sign the petition here.

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The Kelsey Group, or should I say BIA/Kelsey, held their annual Marketplaces conference this week in sunny San Diego. A heck of a show it was. So good that I probably was only able to sit in a handful of sessions. I say that because when I first started going to Kelsey shows in 2005 I was a newbie to the local scene, a newbie to local search conferences, and I probably sat in on 90% of the sessions, and soaked up information like a dry sponge. And that was the intent – to learn as much as possible, and then learn more. While my desire to learn at these shows hasn’t changed, my priorities have – it’s all about networking now and prospecting and establishing business relationships, of all types.

My colleague, Todd, and I had back-to-back-to-back meetings from even before the preconference started on Monday morning. By the time I left the hotel late Wednesday night, it wasn’t without three more impromptu meetings that kept me busy and well fed right up until I had to leave for the airport at 7pm. Here I am, 1:30 the next day, 60 minutes away from a follow-up meeting.

I wonder sometimes how some businesses in my industry (vertical? space?) are even able to stick around or grow without attending shows like these. These shows are sort of like annual or biannual checkpoints for many companies; are you still in it? are you thriving? surviving? ready to grow? growing? ready to do that deal you put-off last time around? changing models?

Since I started attending these shows almost five years ago now, I’ve seen many companies come and go. It’s exciting to grow alongside other companies, competitive or complementary or otherwise – it really is something to have those brothers and sisters to grow up with. It’s also sad and disheartening to see some of them vanish, never to be heard of again – to reminisce with others about those brands, faces, names, stories.

Perhaps the one point that really stands out for me though is how clear it is to me that these kinds of conferences and trade shows are so vital for me as an entrepreneur, and for CitySquares as a business. Some thoughts I’d like to share while they’re still fresh:

1. Never judge a book by its cover. It’s so easy to dismiss a company because their slides may have seemed boring, or overly complicated, or the speaker wasn’t charismatic enough, or was even too charming. It’s easy to dismiss a company because their booth wasn’t fancy enough, or because someone was shy or anxious and didn’t have a drink at the mixer. I’ve been surprised so many times. Be bold, be brave – talk to everyone – but don’t be too aggressive about it. Just be there. Being there is the first step. Before you know it you’re deeply engrossed in a conversation and discovering common denominators.
2. Don’t go to bed. I mean this. You didn’t spend your or your company’s money to go to bed when the best stuff happens. The best time to meet people, to learn, and to establish relationships and prospect for deals is during the hours following each day’s show. Whether in the bar, the restaurant, in the lobby, in the hallways, or outside the hotel at dinner and bar meetings – that’s when it happens. Simply put, be available. Don’t drink? No problem – but be there. You can make up the sleep on the plane or when you get back to your hometown. This way you’ll really be taking advantage of all the networking opportunities.
3. Be real, be curious, be yourself. Don’t know about a topic being discussed, ask the panelists questions when the mic goes around. If the mic doesn’t make its way to you, stick around after the panel and track down the people you want to talk with. They’re at the show for the same reasons you are!
4. Have business cards. I know it’s a no-brainer, but there is nothing worse then meeting someone and not getting their business card, or vice versa. Bring three times as many business cards as you think you’ll need. I can assure you that if you’re doing all of the above, you’ll use them. You may even need to run up to your hotel room to get more cards.
5. Ask for time. If you meet someone you’d like to get to know better, or learn more about their business or talk about some ideas you have for working together, just ask them to meet with you. This is so easy – whether its an early breakfast meeting the following day, a chat in the hallway at a table, outside in the sun, at the bar that evening, over lunch or dinner, or even out in town – just ask them for their time. You’d be surprised. I’ve never been turned down. Sometimes you meet with someone and you find there’s just not a fit. OK – now you know! Time wasted? Absolutely not! More often than not though, there’s a synergy somewhere – but don’t force it either.
6. Follow up. LinkedIn is the best way to follow-up. If you’re not on LinkedIn – get with the program! Really though. When you gather up all those cards every day, before you finally close your laptop at the end of the night, set them down, search LinkedIn for each person and write a personal message to them – remind them who you are and add some context to the message. A lot of names and faces get mixed up, business cards are just the reminder. Mention the topic you were discussing, be it business or even something casual that was discussed. It’s hard to remember who everyone is, but when you add context it jogs the memory and make it a lot easier for the recipient to accept your request. Follow up again a few days later with an email or a phone call.
7. Go to the sponsored parties and events. Most evenings after the day’s events, there are company sponsored parties and gatherings. Go to them! If you find out its exclusive, and invitation only, just find out who’s doing the inviting and ask if you can attend – its rare that you’ll get turned down. Again, that’s what these events are for and the more people that show up, the better off that company looks – they want a good turnout! They want to be sold out and want people talking about it.
8. Relax. This is especially important because no one wants to talk business 100% of the time. Be yourself, talk about where you’re from, learn about where others are from, talk sports, schools, family, hobbies. You’d be surprised when you do – often times you’ll find that you have a lot in common, and what was at first perhaps an awkward introduction turns into laughter, common interests or connections.
9. Keep it simple. You’re wearing a name tag. People will look at it. After shaking someone’s hand and introductions the first question will be “so what does [your company name] do?” Don’t go into a 10-minute monologue about your special patent-pending technology that’s going to change the game and disrupt the whole business. First, no one likes to hear that their business is threatened by yours, and two, no one likes a bore. Be able to explain in less than 3-4 sentences what you’re business does – specifically what problem it’s working to solve. But don’t be secretive either. No one likes a spy or stealth company being sly.
10. Know the right people. This is huge. Get to know a few people who run the conference, or who seem to know the right people, the folks at the booths, and others. If you see someone talking to someone you’d like to speak with, just ask for an introduction! They’ll be flattered you asked them. Knowing the right people does not mean shadowing people, tagging alongside them like a pet dog though either.

I hope these 10 points ring true for you, or inspire you to get out there more. And if you have any tips you’d like to add to this list, I’d love to hear from you, as would my readers.

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The Kelsey Group is like the ESPN of the local search and advertising world. They’re the authority. They host about four major conferences every year, attracting industry insiders from around the globe. Their next one is next week in San Diego, called MARKETPLACES 2010: THE LOCAL VERTICAL OPPORTUNITY. It’s the who’s-who and that what’s-what of local and vertical solutions and advertising. I’ve attended numerous Kelsey shows and have come to know the Kelsey staff as warm and generous professionals, and many of the conference regulars. The Kelsey Group and their conferences have been absolutely critical for CitySquares. If it wasn’t for them and their shows, I don’t think we’d be a player on this big and competitive field.

I was asked to speak at the Marketplaces show alongside Colin Pape with ShopCity and David Vazdauskas of Local Thunder. The panel will be moderated by Steve Marshall, who I always enjoy. He doesnt pull punches and he adds a certain kind of intensity to the panels. I’m looking forward to it.

I’ll be at the show from Sunday through Wednesday with my colleague and VP National Sales Todd Salerno. We have a few meetings teed up but if you’d like to catch up with one of us just email me, tweet me or send smoke signals, whatever works for ya!

If anyone wants to go, but does not yet have tickets, please get in touch with me, I have a discount code for you to save a little.

Looking forward to seeing a whole lotta people! See you there!

“You stay classy San Diego” – Ron Burgundy

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