Silicon Valley has Y Combinator. Boulder, Colorado (and now Boston) has TechStars. Boston also as of today has Start@Spark. Washington, D.C. has LaunchBox Digital. Philadelphia has DreamIT Ventures. And now Atlanta is joining the seed incubator movement with Shotput Ventures.
Started by a group of Atlanta tech entrepreneurs who want to attract and keep startup talent in the Southeast, Shotput Ventures is accepting applications from young, first-time founders for its summer program. The deadline is April 10.
Mitch Free, the founder of industrial marketplace MFG.com, is one of the backers. He explains in an email:
We are looking for “capital light” web startups. We think there is so much open source software, web services and cheap cloud computing capacity (like Amazon S3) that web business can be prototyped and launched very inexpensively.
Ideally we are looking for a small team of co-founders, most likely still in college. We will pick 8 to 10 teams and give them $25k each so they don’t have to get summer jobs and can work on the product full time. We (all seasoned entrepreneurs) will mentor them through the summer. We will take a 5% to 10% equity stake. At the end of the summer we will pick some to further fund and/or help raise capital and some we will probably kill.
There has been nothing like this in the Southeast. We have lots of great breeding grounds such as Georgia Tech but the people with the next big idea have had to reach out to the Northeast or West Coast to find seed capital and support. Our goal is to create an eco-system in the Southeast to encourage and support web startups. And once they are up and running we don’t want them having to relocate to Boston or San Jose
The first summer round is funded with $300,000. Who needs a summer job, when you can create a startup instead?
Thats Great! for the SouthEast but I’m going to California.
During the “reporter” meeting (I always chuckle when I use reporter and TC in the same sentence), did the two bungling TC reporters actually see whether they were Overlapping 2 Nonstories involving these incredibly desperate losers.
Schonfeld: Jump off building.
Other TC hack: Place head in bucket of water.
Thanks.
BTW: when I mean Losers, I of course, without question, am referring to the leeches at Ycombinator.
Ycombinator: Kryptonite for Geeks with Lucid Ideas.
Awww. Was your moronic idea of a startup rejected by YC?
lol
Or are you just an idiot who doesn’t bother to read past a headline?
This is not about Y Comb, it is about Shotput. They just happen to be putting the Y Comb model into play in Atlanta.
Is it a deal, Fagan?
I mean, Mr. Graham?
“The first summer round is funded with $300,000. Who needs a summer job, when you can create a startup instead?”
This is a excellent point that I wish more people would recognize when writing and commenting about incubators like these.
my neck of the woods. i rather bootstrap first before i turn to these guys
Hey We need someone who’s got your skill set. How can I contact you?
i really don’t think these things work regionally all that well. these founders are young and happy to move wherever for the most part.
Define “work” please?
…and Austin has Capital Factory.
http://www.capitalfactory.com
These YC copy cats don’t get it. The point isn’t the money, its the connections. Going with YC = lots of doors are opened for you.
Going with these copy cats is basically just doing a tiny angel round. Except you have to move to the middle of nowhere.
No Alex, you don’t get it. These guys have connections.
said the guy who wouldnt even put a hyperlink to his own name.
Well, um, Mitch alone has raised money from Jeff Bezos, the Samwer Brothers, and Fidelity.
http://www.tech...-after-alibaba/
how does that explain raising only $300,000? and also it doesn’t explain the whole “connections” thing, if, with the backing of mitch, they only raised that amount..
The amount raised was limited based on the number of companies we’re planning on having in the program. The number of companies is limited so that they can get personal attention from the partners. Also, the funding is provided directly from the partners, so this was not an issue of raising money from outside investors.
No reason Atlanta should not be a hub for tech startups. Great resources, tons of good schools in the area, low cost of living…No reason to think Shotput Ventures won’t be around for a long time.
I can see this working out well. The more incubators there are, the more visible competition will exist, meaning better products for us http://tr.im/hNWG
Creepy Paul Graham and his Ycombinator Patty Hearts should sit back and wait for all that Loopt money to pour in.
Oh wait, there IS no Loopt money.
Sigh…
Does Shotput Ventures use the “exploding term sheet” we were warned about?
http://www.tech...ing-term-sheet/
No. There is a deadline to accept the offer, as all these programs have, but nothing that is meant to pressure teams into a decision they aren’t ready to make and no funny NDA stuff.
10% Equity seems VERY STEEP for $25k when I assume they take a bigger piece for the continued founding.
Who wants to loose 30% of their start-up over a summer?
Well, I mean. It’s a good thing if you REALLY don’t have any capital I guess.
The stake is 5-10% and is pretty much the same as any similar programs. It’s also comparable to what any other seed investor would take, and the value that teams get for it far exceeds the capital they receive.
I organize a 1300+ member Atlanta Web Entrepreneur Meetup group (http://atlantaw...repreneurs.org/) and the thing missing most here in Atlanta is the real, substantial ongoing mentoring from successful entrepreneurs with track records. The $25k is important to keep aspiring entrepreneurs from fearing lack of raman noodles during seed stage, but the real value of Shotput IMO is the mentoring, connections, and peer camaraderie & competition. I have no involvement in Shotput to date other than to allow them to present to my group but greatly applaud what they are doing for startup web entrepreneurs in Atlanta. And I expect great things to come out of Atlanta in large part due to Shotput Ventures.
Well said Mike!
$25k will also buy more time in Atlanta than in Silicon Valley — easily twice as much.
Ultimately it’s up to the leaders, like Paul Graham, to infuse momentum into a new venture from the beginning that continues to shape the company after “graduation”. Does Shotput have the right leadership? I think they do.
Your comments actually tell the reader that you have never seen $25,000 much less spent it.
And that you’ve never worked in a company in any position of financial responsibility.
If you had, you wouldn’t utter such nonesense.
I agree with Mike. I submitted a deal, and while 25k appeals to me, It’s the mentorship I’m really after.
S
The appeal to me is not about the money, although that is nice, its about having these guys on your team, helping you build the minimum viable product, going to bat for you with early customers, helping you raise additional capital and providing you with credibility.
The money is only enough to support a college kid, so its not the point. Anyone a little older is going to have to save money to afford Shotput, and thats ok, we have to save anyway.
I agree with Russell and Mike that the real benefits to these startup incubator programs are the mentoring and connections. I’m currently a participant in AlphaLab, and I’ve found both to be invaluable.
However, 5–10% equity is steep compared to the 3% that AlphaLab takes for the same funding, in an area with a lower cost of living.
As does its bloated, White Shoe Double Chinned Lazy Big Brother Sequoia.
You don’t need these Chickenhawks.
Ask yourself: Why do they blindfold you and make you sign on the dotted line before the Domino’s Pizza guy shows up?
Idiot Unsexed College Eunichs: Stay Away!
So you’re a general partner in which seed fund again?
Mitch Free of Shotput writes, “Ideally we are looking for a small team of co-founders, most likely still in college. We will pick 8 to 10 teams and give them $25k each so they don’t have to get summer jobs and can work on the product full time. We (all seasoned entrepreneurs) will mentor them through the summer. We will take a 5% to 10% equity stake. At the end of the summer we will pick some to further fund and/or help raise capital and some we will probably kill. ”
Between Sequoia / Y Combinator and Spark/TechStars and the bunch of Visibility/Vanity funds out there, it seems that folks see the need and the opportunity, but they cannot break with their old business models and old habits.
Rather than another Charles River Ventures “Quickstart” or any Y Combinator / First Round / TechStars visibility fund, I believe that the best way to source, screen and, most importantly, provide post Seed investment mentoring and oversight is a Public-Private For Profit dedicated effort to work with, support and compensate the Seed Infrastructure (Incubators, Economic Development Agencies, Tech Transfers).
This infrastructure already exists and provides the efficient sourcing, screening and post-investment oversight needed to develop Series A worthy companies. What is needed is a dedicated effort that is not geographically constrained. What is needed is a thorough Virtual Incubation system that brings both Community and Collaboration to all elements of the total Investing community.
Please review – http://www.slid...iottDaha….
I look forward to any comments and suggestions on The START Fund.
Thank you,
Elliott Dahan
elliott(a)thegrowthgroup.com
Between Y Combinator and Twitter, I don’t know who TC cheerleads for the most.
twitter by far
I applaud the Shotput Ventures guys for getting out there and actually doing something for Atlanta’s technology community. That’s a lot more impressive than sitting around posting anonymous, uninformed comments on TC…
Just because you dont know us, dont mean what we say aint true.
That said, thank God your applauding Shotput Ventures. America was quite worried whether you’d approve or not.
Not.
It’s too bad TechCrunch allows people to comment anonymously.
Look, everyone will be skeptical until you can put up results to prove them wrong. My best wishes to the Shotput Ventures guys. Prove the skeptics wrong guys!
This is a great thing for Atlanta. I am a Partner with Atlanta’s oldest and largest VC, Noro-Moseley Partners. Our region has, for some time, needed a group like Shotput to step up and provide smart seed funding for the great entrepreneurs here in Atlanta.
I went to Ga Tech, HBS, and ran Corp Dev at Turner Broadcasting and did several investments in the Valley so I’ve seen the talent in Boston, SV and Atlanta. Atlanta can absolutely compete and become a world class city for innovative start-ups, but we have to build a balanced ecosystem. The Shotput guys will fill in one of the very important gaps in that ecosystem.
Greg Foster
“We are looking for “capital light” web startups. We think there is so much open source software, web services and cheap cloud computing capacity (like Amazon S3) that web business can be prototyped and launched very inexpensively.”
What a line.
What a line (snicker).
Shotput Ventures is a great group of impressive entrepreneurs. The Atlanta tech community has been in desperate need of an option like this.
The founders are true entrepreneurs to the core, and genuinely want to help other entrepreneurs be successful. It’s not about the money, it’s about seeing more successful startups launched out of Atlanta.
While this structure might not work great for all entrepreneurs, it does for many others – as evidenced by the first Shotput Ventures class. With the collective experience and track record of this team, and their willingness to mentor, there will no doubt be several successful launches in the near future as a result of their efforts.
“It’s not about the money, it’s about seeing more successful startups launched out of Atlanta.”
Did you lose money with Madoff or vote three times for Bush by any chance?
Are you going bald?
You’re in luck, I’ve got something for you.
To learn more about Shotput Ventures, to meet its partners and to ask any questions that you may have, please come the the Emory Entrepreneurial Leadership Event this Thursday night from 6-8PM at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University in the West Wing room W525. The event is co-hosted by Shotput Ventures and light refreshments will be provided.
For more information on the event, please go to: http://www.face...8512&ref=ts
Dave Williams
Partner Shotput Ventures
CEO, BLiNQ Media
http://www.blinqmedia.com
Great post!
Thanks,
Ben Fryxell
http://macmaniapodcast.com
I believe regional incubators such as ShotputVentures are an excellent idea – especially given the business plan they have chosen to adopt.
Targeting college students (having lived in Buckhead) is not only a very erudite plan, but one that can work in a city such as Atlanta. GA Tech, UGA, GA State, Fashion Institute, Kennesaw, etc…
Not only that, with Hartsfield Airport being a great jumping off point to anywhere in the world, it is attractive as a place to travel for meetings if need-be.
Back in 2000 when eHatchery, John Yates, Red Hot Law Group, etc… were the players in town, I actually helped start a firm to bring foreign companies to the Atlanta region rather than Boston, DC, Austin, SF, etc… I am now out of it completely and have moved from Atlanta, but the plan was solid. None of you will know who I am, but I have been asked to speak at the Atlanta Angel Investor Forum previously…
I wish you all the best of luck and wish I could submit some of my ideas for consideration.
I applaud all of you, stick to your convictions.
Chickenhawk
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Chickenhawk (sexuality))
A chickenhawk or chicken hawk is slang used in American and British gay culture to denote older males who prefer younger males for (sexual or business) partners, who may less often be called “chickens”[1], i.e., the prey of the chickenhawk.[2] Other variations include chicken queen[3] and chicken plucker.[2]
It is sometimes used as a disparaging vulgarity within the LGBT community, or seen as a slur against people in that community. The label can also be applied to a man who seeks partners with the look of someone young, regardless of their target’s age or experience running a startup Technology company.
Much less frequently, “chickenhawk” indicates a man who uses underage boys for his sexual pleasure. The usage was publicized by members of the controversial group NAMBLA in the 1994 documentary film Chicken Hawk: Men Who Love Boys,[6] although Time magazine reported it in this sense in 1975.[3]
The use and significance of this term have been the subject of academic discussions [7][8] as well as popular reports in vile counterculture publications such as Hustler, Field and Stream, and Techcrunch.
Expertise: See MG Siegler.
As Warren Buffett puts it,
there are innovators, imitators, and idiots.
mitch falls somewhere between imitator and idiot. No talent, compared with the mentors of the other mentioned incubators.
I find this kind of comment totally amazing.
Even if you think the founders of shotput are not as talented as the founders of other incubators, if you even bother reading TechCrunch and are interested in startups then how could you possibly react negatively to new sources of seed funding popping up? Bitter much?
In my experience in Atlanta of over 10 years the only really meaningful tech company to ever evolve is WebMD. And my guess is that 99% of the people in town never even realized that WebMD is right in their back door.
There may be talent here but the community of meaningful players is small. After all, why would a partner of a leading VC firm here in town need to “applaud” a concept like this? If there is viable start-ups in town wouldnt he jump in? A good idea is a good idea. Period. In my experience successful VC’s dont need to rely on small fries to filter out the real players. That is just a lame excuse.
Then you need to get out more, Innovation Guy. A vibrant tech startup community has formed in the last couple of years!
This was just started, but it will be kept current: http://twitter....m/startupgossip I suggest following it, and showing up to participate.
“In my experience in Atlanta of over 10 years the only really meaningful tech company to ever evolve is WebMD.”
You mean besides Firethorn and JungleDisk, right? That’s just the two most recent successes I know of.
Are you really being serious in comparing those two no-name companies to WebMD?
Companies in Atlanta tend to get acquired before they become household names. Doesn’t mean they aren’t meaningful.
I applaud the effort because all of us in Atlanta are working together to build something special here. I applaud it because in pushing some of these early ideas forward, Shotput pulls a great deal of entropy out of the system which makes it so much easier for many of these companies to attract VC, not just local VC, VC period (and to succeed without VC in many cases). I applaud it and support it for reasons not dissimilar from the reasons my friends at Sequoia and Spark have supported these efforts – it is a net benefit to the ecosystem.
The list of start-up successes in Atlanta is too long to mention here, but feel free to reach out to any of us and we’ll be glad to educate you.
I’ve been an outspoken critic of the Atlanta startup ecosystem [1] and how it’s much different than the valley [2]. Last year, I had enough and moved myself and my company to Mountain View. I’m very glad I made this decision as it was the right decision for my situation. That might not be the right decision for others.
However, I’ve also long said I believe the entreprenuers in Atlanta will ultimately be the solution to most of these issue with the startup ecosystem. I very much respect and applaud the Shotput Ventures guys and can say first hand that they are the “real deal”. They are very active with the community, have the right connections and are very passionate entrepreneurs trying to help other young up and coming entrepreneurs. Actions and results are what separates the wheat from the chaff.
There’s been a lot of positive traction in Atlanta since I’ve left and I’m very proud to still call it home. We have a long way to go to put Atlanta on the map. However, it will be the success of Atlanta startups that will determine if we were successful or not.
We need social contracts between entrepreneurs that encourage us to give back to others behind us – to lend a helping and encouraging hand to the next generation of innovators. This is much more common in the valley than in Atlanta – and I’m glad to see Mitch Free, David Cummings, Dave Williams and the rest of the wonderful crew at Shotput doing this in Atlanta.
In these times, we should all wish them success.
[1] http://blog.jef...-to-fix-it.html
[2] http://blog.jef...al-economy.html
Well said.
I pulled this straight from the latest Shotput blog post.
“It is not the critic who counts, not the one who points out how the strong man stumbled or how the doer of deeds might have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred with sweat and dust and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause; who, if he wins, knows the triumph of high achievement; and who, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat.”
Teddy Roosevelt’s words.
It’s easy to be a critic. It’s not the critic that counts. Annon critic cowards count even less.
Amen to Lance’s citation of Teddy Roosevelt.
This regional sparring accomplishes nothing. The economy is not going to be revived solely by entrepreneurs in the Valley. Wherever well-intentioned and well-conceived efforts like Shotput, Capital Factory, etc. are brought to life, something good is likely to result for the country as a whole. As Rodney King said? “Can we all get along?”
If anyone is curious if there are any interesting startups in Atlanta, here are about 150 of them: http://www.atllogos.com/
Im sure that anyone would call that list impressive. I also think its an error to not include WebMD under the IPO and Moved section. It still remains the most successful web company ever created here by a mile.
But this isnt a pissing contest. Atlanta is nowhere on the map. People are trying to change that. Great. But as the earlier poster said, anyone with a real idea with a real shot at success needs to get to the Valley or NYC. Maybe that wont be the cast in the future but it is today.
New York? Why would anyone go there? Are there even 150 startups in NYC that make actual products?
Feeling a little defensive aren’t we? If the Valley and NYC are the beginning and the end of everything startup, why do you care what people in other cities do?
Some entrepreneurs like boring things such as families, low taxes, affordable housing.
BTW, where was Facebook founded? Wikipedia? Flickr? Netvibes? (Answers: Boston, San Diego, Vancouver, France)
What about Internet Security Systems (ISS) founded in a dorm room at Georgia Tech by Chris Klaus http://en.wikip...iki/Chris_Klaus and JBOSS founded by Marc Feury http://en.wikip...iki/Marc_Fleury in his wife’s parents baseement. ISS was sold to IBM for over $1.3Billion and JBOSS was sold to RedHat for $350MM. Chris will be speaking at one of our weekly dinners and we are currently in discussions with Marc as he know lives in Madrid. These are just two recent examples of successful technology companies that were founded in Atlanta and attribute much of their success to the Atlanta technology community.
By the way, all applications are due by this Friday April 10th. So far we have seen a very impressive applicant pool.
http://www.shotputventures.com