David Cummings on Startups

Category: Community

  • Walkthrough of a Standard Floor at the Atlanta Tech Village

    With our 4th floor complete at the Atlanta Tech Village, we can now visually highlight many of the elements and explain some of the thinking behind them. The 4th floor is our first finished floor and we’ve already identified a dozen smaller items we’ll be changing for the exact replica 3rd and 5th floors, but we’re pleased with how everything came together. Also, with tenants moving in, we’ll also have tons of feedback over the next few weeks that we’ll take into account for the other floors.

    Here’s a walkthrough of the main elements.

    atlanta tech village elevator lobby

    Elevator Lobby

    • Reclaimed hemlock wood from New Hampshire surrounding a 70″ TV that displays a directory of startups on the floor as well as community-related news
    • Large glass doors with key card access into kitchen and common areas

    atlanta tech village kitchen

    Kitchen

    • Large, single kitchen for the entire floor to promote serendipitous interaction
    • Pantry stocked with light snacks and refrigerator stocked with drinks

    atlanta tech village medium conference room

    Medium-Sized Conference Rooms

    • Three medium-sized conference rooms immediately adjacent to the kitchen
    • LED backlit dry erase panel across the length of the back wall of each room
    • Self-service room scheduling as well as ad hoc availability

    Phone Rooms

    • Seven shared phones rooms and eight private phone rooms per floor
    • Perfect for personal calls, conference calls, and web meetings
    • Self-service room scheduling as well as ad hoc availability

    atlanta tech village large conference room

    Large Conference Room

    • One large conference room around the corner from the kitchen
    • 70″ LED TV on the wall with Google Chromecast to wirelessly project a laptop screen
    • Extensive back wall with dry erase paint
    • Self-service room scheduling as well as ad hoc availability

    atlanta tech village coworking

    Coworking Area

    • 20 desks plus soft seating directly next to the kitchen
    • Large walls with dry erase paint

    atlanta tech village library game room

    Library / Game Room

    • Two rooms: a soft seating room with sofas, coffee table, etc and a shared desk room
    • No talking when others are in the room working
    • Video game system
    • 50″ LED TV per room
    • Large amounts of glass that also act as dry erase boards

    atlanta tech village private room

    Private Rooms

    • Five private rooms with 2-6 desks per room
    • Large amounts of glass that also act as dry erase boards
    • Individual key card access

    atlanta tech village private suite

    Private Suites

    • 12 private suites with two rooms per suite containing 6-12 desks
    • 50″ LED TV per room with Google Chromecast
    • Large amounts of glass that also act as dry erase boards
    • Large dry erase wall on the interior hallway
    • Individual key card access

    atlanta tech village corner suite

    Private Corner Suites

    • Four corner suites with 5-6 rooms per suite containing 16-21 desks
    • 70″ LED TV in the main area with Google Chromecast
    • Large amounts of glass that also act as dry erase boards
    • Large dry erase wall on the entry hallway
    • Individual key card access

    Another important feature is that there’s a locked connecting door between each suite that can be opened if two adjacent suites are rented by the same company, similar to adjoining hotel rooms.

    In addition to the amenities described above, the building also has a shared conference center, classroom, community center, over-sized board room, video production room, and gym coming in March. Oh, and an Octane Coffee with a great outdoor patio.

    Want to see it in person? Sign up for our weekly tour.

    Overall, the idea is to have a variety of shared and private spaces that promote collaboration and serendipitous interactions while allowing startups to scale and contract as necessary.

    What else? What are some thoughts on the standard floor at the Atlanta Tech Village?

  • $11.5M Renovation Budget to Build the Ultimate Atlanta Tech Village

    When Urvaksh asked me in early December 2012 about the renovation budget for the 103,000 sq ft Atlanta Tech Village, I naively said $4.5 million. At the time, my thinking was that we’d spend $60/sq ft to do 40,000 sq ft of cool startup space and then spend $2M for common space renovations (atrium, lobbies, bathrooms, etc). After going through the design process, refining the vision, and getting price quotes, it was clear that it would be significantly more expensive to achieve the desired outcome.

    During the beta opening of the Village, we also realized that there was more demand than expected for entrepreneur space in the community and that our existing traditional tenants didn’t like the new building demographic. As a result, we decided to work out all the existing tenants and move forward with a full building renovation in stages over the course of 12 months, instead of the previous goal of doing it over five years.

    Now, with our first full floor renovation complete, and all the hard costs, soft costs, and unexpected costs identified, it’s clear that we’re looking at a $11.5M renovation and fully loaded costs for the office space running $90/sq ft. Here’s the list of major expenses, several of which we didn’t factor in originally:

    • Architect’s fees
    • Construction costs
    • Building modernization – new mechanical, new elevators, etc
    • Furniture – 600+ desks, chairs, etc
    • Building-wide wireless network – 100+ high-end access points
    • Security system
    • Audio / visual equipment for conference center
    • 150+ 50″ LED TVs

    atlanta tech village corner suite

    After seeing the completed 4th floor, it’s totally worth it. Our goal is to build the ultimate community to start and grow successful tech companies, and doing it with a 20-year horizon is absolutely the best approach.

    What else? What are your thoughts on spending more money to deliver the best facility?

  • Ride the Lightning as a Next Step for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

    For someone with entrepreneurial interests, there are two previously offered ideas to get started – start an eBay business for true real-world learning and start blogging to build a personal brand. Now, each of these ideas requires hard work but they can be done after hours in conjunction with a full-time job. If both of these don’t feel worthwhile, there’s another, third option: find the five fastest growing local tech startups and do whatever it takes to get a job with one of them. That’s right, ride the lightning of success that’s already struck a startup and soak up as much knowledge as possible.

    Here are a few reasons why joining a fast-growing startup is a great entrepreneurial next step:

    • Growth increases the likelihood of a meritocracy and the chance to shine
    • Opportunities are stronger to create new roles and develop new initiatives
    • Access to founders and top performers is highest due to flat structures
    • Decision making is fast-paced and frenetic, which most entrepreneurs love
    • Recruiting is a top priority and there’s the opportunity to get a ton of practice at it

    Don’t know how to find the fastest growing local tech startups? Check the Inc. 500 awards, Pacesetter awards, and the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 awards.

    So, add ride the lightning as a New Year’s resolution. Fast growing startups are a great place to learn and thrive.

    What else? What are some other reasons to ride the lightning and join a fast-growing startup?

  • The Atlanta Tech Village’s One Year Anniversary

    Exactly one year ago today I purchased 3423 Piedmont Rd and announced it to the world as the new Atlanta Tech Village. Everything about the Village has exceeded my expectations. Entrepreneur support has been incredible. Community support has been incredible. And, support from city leaders has been incredible. I truly didn’t know what to expect and looking back it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

    Here are a few observations after a year at the Atlanta Tech Village:

    • Our staff at the Village is amazing and creates the magic
    • Startup demand continues to exceed expectations, and is most concentrated in companies with 1 – 6 employees
    • Hosting community meetings has been one of our best marketing vehicles and we’ve had over 150 events (our original goal for this year was to do 50 events, which we blew past)
    • Startup Chowdown has taken on a life of its own and is the largest weekly gathering of entrepreneurs in the Southeast with 200+ people every Friday
    • Atlantans have great pride in the city and having one of the 10 largest tech entrepreneurship centers in the country enhances the excitement
    • Renovation costs are way higher than originally budgeted, especially with soft costs factored in (our goal is to be the best and the location, finishes, and amenities reflect that)

    As part of sharing more background on the thinking and documenting some of the findings, I’ve written over 25 blog posts on the Atlanta Tech Village lessons learned and observations. Some of the most popular posts include the Economics of the Atlanta Tech Village, Mission, Vision, and Core Values for the Atlanta Tech Village, Translating Per Person Costs to Standard Commercial Real Estate, and 5 Goals for the Atlanta Tech Village.

    Here’s to the next 10 years and everything in store for the future of Atlanta’s startup community.

    What else? What are some other Atlanta Tech Village observations after one year?

  • Atlanta Tech Village Holiday Showcase Recap

    Tonight we had the Atlanta Tech Village Holiday Showcase sponsored by the Metro Atlanta Chamber (MAC) and BDO with 20+ startups on display and 200+ attendees. Some of our guests of honor included the CEO of InterContinental Exchange, CEO of Coca Cola Enterprises, CEO of Cousins Properties,  CEO of AT&T Mobility, CEO of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and more. We also had the opportunity to briefly honor Sam Williams for his 17 years of service as the MAC CEO and recognize Hala Moddelmog as the incoming CEO.

    Here were a few takeaways from the event:

    • Entrepreneurial excitement in Atlanta continues to grow
    • ~20% of the attendees had never been to the Village before (events are one of the best marketing vehicles for the Village)
    • 5 people I met were from out of town and came to the event to learn more about the facility and community
    • People are surprised by the variety of technology companies in the Village (video games, B2B SaaS, health IT, etc)

    Overall, it was a great event and a big thanks goes out to the Village staff and MAC staff for doing a wonderful job.

    What else? What are some other thoughts on the Atlanta Tech Village Holiday Showcase?

  • Atlanta’s Greatest Active Entrepreneur: Jeff Sprecher

    Today I had the opportunity to hear entrepreneur Jeff Sprecher talk for 45 minutes at the Atlanta Rotary club. Just six weeks ago, his Atlanta-based company InterContinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), bought the New York Stock Exchange for $10.9 billion dollars. That’s right, NYSE, started in 1792, and viewed as the heart of American capitalism for over 200 years, is now owned by an Atlanta upstart that was founded in 2000.

    In his talk, Jeff recounted trying to get into the software business in the mid 1990s. After becoming a successful entrepreneur building power plants in California, he saw the state’s deregulation of the electricity market as an opportunity to build a trading platform. Only, the state wanted it to be a government run marketplace. After licensing software from a startup in Sweden, Jeff bought a DEC VAC minicomputer, rented a U-Haul and a generator, and drove from Los Angeles to Sacramento. He camped out on the front lawn of the capitol building and paid a lobbyist to bring legislators out to see the product in action, inside a U-Haul. Only, other, more powerful lobbyists, got a bill passed outlawing any private electricity marketplaces in the state.

    Undeterred, Jeff found a startup in Atlanta building a trading platform that was owned by a power company in Iowa. He promptly offered to buy the company for $1 plus the assumption of $4 million of debt and quickly consummated a deal. Immediately everyone except for the engineering team and a few sales people were let go and the company was rebooted as a derivatives trading platform. After a slow start to the business one of the best things he could have hoped for happened in December 2001: Enron collapsed. Enron was the dominant company in derivatives and energy trading. With a giant hole in the market, ICE quickly stepped in and became the market leader.

    Over the years ICE has acquired 17 exchanges all around the world and now has a market capitalization of nearly $25 billion dollars.

    Jeff Sprecher is Atlanta’s greatest active entrepreneur.

  • Atlanta Tech Village as Being Expensive

    The most common negative comment about the Atlanta Tech Village is that it is too expensive. As someone who enjoys thinking about marketing, positioning, and branding, I try to stay away from merely comparing costs between per desk pricing vs per square foot pricing. As an organization working hard to help Atlanta, we fully embrace that we want to provide the absolute best high tech entrepreneurship center in region, and that also means that we’re going to be the most expensive when compared to other options.

    One way we focus on being the best is in terms of infrastructure. From a furniture perspective, we have high-end Knoll desks and chairs, which everyone raves about. From a wireless perspective, we have a $200,000 Meraki Cisco network that delivers amazing WiFi throughout the building. From a bandwidth perspective, we have 1.4 gigabits per second of redundant fiber internet access that costs over $100,000 per year.

    A second way we focus on being the best is employing an amazing staff of people that help make the community great. With awesome events, networking sessions, educational programs, and more, it takes a solid team to coordinate all the moving parts and continually improve as we go. Regular programs include the weekly Startup Chowdown, monthly Show & Tell, and more. Our team is amazing.

    Knowing that there are some people that want to be in the Village community, but can’t afford it, we created a scholarship program. To date, we’ve given away over 30 scholarships and anticipate giving away hundreds more over the coming years. Our mission is to support and inspire entrepreneurs, which includes all types of members.

    Much like Rackspace is the most expensive and best option for managed server hosting with their amazing Fanatical Support, so too the Atlanta Tech Village is the most expensive option with amazing infrastructure and staff. Regardless of infrastructure and staff, the ultimate measure of success is the quality of the community and the number of successful startups that emerge.

    What else? What are your thoughts on the Atlanta Tech Village as being expensive?

  • Atlanta Tech Village for Talent Retention and Recruiting

    Last week I was talking to a local technology executive that wanted to start a new software company at the beginning of 2014. During the conversation, he volunteered that six months ago he was all ready to move his family to California to start the business, but with the advent of the Atlanta Tech Village, he felt Atlanta finally had the critical mass of entrepreneurs and community he desired to help his startup be successful. Thinking more about it, there’s a real desire to be in a community that has enough scale and density such that there’s peace of mind that if a startup doesn’t work out that there are other jobs in the area.

    Several startups in the Atlanta Tech Village moved to Atlanta in 2013 to be a part of the Atlanta community. BitPay moved to Atlanta from Orlando. CheckAction moved to Atlanta from New Orleans. Over the next few years, I expect to see many more startups move to Atlanta to take advantage of all the great resources and community.

    I knew the Atlanta Tech Village would help with recruiting but talent retention didn’t cross my mind. Now, I’ll add it to the list of Village benefits.

    What else? What are your thoughts on the Atlanta Tech Village for talent retention and recruiting?

  • Highlights from Venture Atlanta 2013

    Today wrapped up another very successful Venture Atlanta event at the Georgia Aquarium. Every year 40 of the best and brightest startups present for six minutes in front of an audience of 700 people.

    Here are some of the highlights:

    • Alan Dabbiere, chairman of AirWatch, gave a great keynote talking about some of his lessons learned, which included an awesome quote, “Atlanta is like a shaken up champagne bottle – ready to explode”, when referring to Atlanta’s entrepreneurial potential
    • Megan Burton, CEO of CoinX, did a great job articulating the value proposition of a Bitcoin exchange that has all the required licenses and state-level regulations to grow the $1.5 billion dollar market
    • Terry Kim, CEO of CheckAction, brought some levity to the event and mixed humor with the otherwise dry topic of I.T. project management software
    • Lucie Ide, CEO of Rimidi, presented one of the biggest ideas of the event with the harnessing of big data to deliver better outcomes for patients with diabetes
    • Tony Gallippi, CEO of BitPay, painted a picture of world-wide frictionless payment processing devoid of transaction fees
    • Devon Wijesinghe, CEO of Insightpool, fired up with the crowd with tales of winning Fortune 500 customers and instilling a healthy level of fear around social media tracking of people in the audience
    • Kurt Uhlir, CEO of Sideqik, highlighted successful case studies of customers and educated the attendees on the power of online partner marketing

    Overall, the event was a major success and I’m glad I had the opportunity to attend.

    What else? What are your thoughts on Venture Atlanta 2013?

  • Atlanta Tech Village Accelerates Results for Ambitious Entrepreneurs

    Much has been written here about the Atlanta Tech Village and lessons learned over the past 10 months, including the benefits as a sales and recruiting tool, instant community, and more. There’s another observation that crystallized for me recently: the Village accelerates results for entrepreneurs that work hard and take advantage of what the community has to offer. Let me explain.

    With a large, active entrepreneurship center, there are always opportunities to move a startup forward. Here are a few examples:

    • Learning programs for continuing education (it’s important to pick the ones that are the most relevant and not waste time)
    • Guest speakers, panels, and VIP tours that also double as a prospect hunting ground (be tactful and pleasantly persistent — it’s very easy to cross the line and be annoying)
    • Media events where journalists come through to meet startups, and the more relevant and timely the entrepreneur story, the better

    So, the takeaway is that the entrepreneurship center provides a number of great resources but just being in the community doesn’t translate into results. Getting involved and being smart about it results in significantly more progress than working on an island.

    What else? What are your thoughts on the idea that the Atlanta Tech Village accelerates results for ambitious entrepreneurs?