David Cummings on Startups

Category: Community

  • How do part-time entrepreneurs fit in the startup community?

    Part-time entrepreneurs are more abundant than full-time entrepreneurs. Just think how many people work an hour or more per month on a new business idea. Now, let’s define part-time entrepreneur in a very simple manner: they have a day job that pays the bills. The day job might not even be full-time, but it’s still their primary means of making a living. So, today’s question is “How do part-time entrepreneurs fit in the startup community?”

    Here are a few thoughts:

    • I don’t know of any group that caters to the part-time entrepreneur audience other than general meetups where anyone can attend
    • It’s extremely difficult to get a business off the ground working nights and weekends on it (I only know of one entrepreneur, out of hundreds I’ve met, that was able to do it)
    • Peer groups, like Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), are amazing resources, and a simpler version of one of those would be beneficial for part-time entrepreneurs (peer groups are great regardless of profession or career)
    • More open dialogue is needed about part-time entrepreneurs as the most common response is that you aren’t serious if you aren’t full-time

    I don’t have the answers but I believe more dialogue is needed about how part-time entrepreneurs should be nurtured and incorporated into the startup community.

    What else? What are your thoughts on how part-time entrepreneurs fit in the startup community?

  • Pricing Iteration at the Atlanta Tech Village

    After publishing the most recent Pricing at the Atlanta Tech Village post, and talking to companies that have signed up for private rooms and private suites, we’ve learned that startups would prefer a fixed-rate pricing methodology whereby the rooms or suites are a flat-rate, regardless of number of people.

    The idea is that tech companies and startups want to have the option of being high density or low density with respect to the number of people and not feel like they are being nickeled and dimed. If two contractors or interns are needed, and there’s room to double up a couple desks, pricing shouldn’t change, resulting in more predictability and flexibility. Use cases like temporary workers, part-time workers, interns, guests, etc kept coming up and the original idea of additional membership types became more cumbersome than it’s worth.

    Going forward, we’re going to try out our next iteration of pricing for rooms and suites where everything is labeled for the ideal number of people, with no extra per person charges if you want to cram more people in. We’re playing to the law of averages knowing that some companies will have less than the target number of people and some will have more. Here are the new prices for all inclusive memberships:

    • 3 Person Office – $1,000/month
    • 4 Person Office – $1,300/month
    • 5 Person Office – $1,625/month
    • 8 Person Suite – $2,600/month
    • 14 Person Suite – $4,550/month
    • 18 Person Suite – $5,850/month

    Service provider pricing is 20% higher and follows the same idea where there are no additional per person fees.

    Pricing is a very interesting topic as it plays into the financial model, positioning in the market, and more. With this new pricing change we’re working hard to make the pricing as easy to understand and streamlined as possible for a wide variety of use cases. I’m sure we’ll continue to make changes but this feels right based on input from customers.

    What else? What are your thoughts on these pricing changes?

  • Measuring Member Progress Within the Atlanta Tech Village

    One of the topics we’re debating now within the Atlanta Tech Village is that of measuring member progress and how to create a culture of success. If we merely provide a great community and a great building without great success stories, we won’t be a success. Members of the Village need to continuously make progress with their startups and build sustainable, high growth businesses.

    Here are some ideas on measuring member progress within the Atlanta Tech Village:

    • Require quarterly and annual SMART goals as part of the application progress along with mandatory monthly updates in a Google Spreadsheet (documenting them in a spreadsheet makes it easy to look back and see what was, and what wasn’t, accomplished)
    • Require a monthly 15 minute meeting with each member company to go over their current One Page Strategic Plan or Business Model Canvas
    • Require a monthly review of the Killer SaaS KPIs and require a minimum growth rate (e.g. numbers must improve by at least 1% per month)

    Startups that are working hard and helping each other out will make significant progress, even in a short period of time. Results matter and measuring member progress will focus efforts on the important areas. It will also make it easier for mentors to make introductions and provide advice when challenges come up.

    What else? What are some other ideas on measuring member progress with the Atlanta Tech Village?

  • Announcing the Frank Borchardt Undergraduate Prize Fund

    As a freshman at Duke I was part of a first year program where students elected to join 29 other students and study a particular topic, in our case, Computers in Society. One of my courses was Instructional Technologies, taught by Professor Frank Borchardt. Now, Frank Borchardt was a full professor in the German department, but he had a real passion for using computers for foreign language learning, and had become famous for his research in the mid 1990s.

    By the end of the course we had developed great rapport and he made the side comment that if I ever was going to start a business that I should come see him. I didn’t think much of it at the time but kept the idea in the back of my mind. Come the end of my first semester junior year, I had been doing a number of entrepreneurial initiatives but hadn’t seriously focused on any one thing. Then an idea hit me. I had been building websites for campus organizations, professors, small businesses, etc for a couple years and there was no easy way to update it once it was built. It’s like saying here’s a shiny new car to a 16 year old and following it up with you can look at it but can’t drive it.

    With this idea for a simple content management system, I approached Frank Borchardt to be an investor in early 2001 and he said yes on the spot. A month later I had $20,000 in the bank from Frank and I was actively recruiting friends to be summer interns and help me build SuperUpdate, our first product.

    Fast forward five years and I paid Frank back double his money. Frank was in poor health so I wanted to make sure and give him a good return as quickly as possible. That next year Frank passed away and I attended his nice funeral at the Duke Gardens.

    Frank had some unusual characteristics that made him stand out. Physically, he was a very large man with an energetic personality and a booming laugh that was infectious. Early in his career, he promised himself he would stop conforming to society once he became a full professor, so after achieving his goal, he wore all black and never cut his hair, resulting in a long beard and pony-tail. You could spot Frank across the campus and you’d always know it when you were in the same room together.

    To say thank you for all he did for Duke, as well as for me as an entrepreneur, I’m donating $500,000 to endow the Frank Borchardt Undergraduate Prize Fund, which will provide $20,000 in grant money, every year, to the top undergraduate entrepreneurs at Duke.

    Frank was a great man and I hope that his help to me will help entrepreneurs for generations to come.

  • Pricing at the Atlanta Tech Village

    After three months of being open with a beta version at the Atlanta Tech Village we’ve tweaked ATV pricing over a dozen times and incorporated feedback from prospects and customers. In addition, the master plan for the Village is almost done, so we now have a good feel for the optimal layout, and what the corresponding rates need to be to make things successful.

    Here are the economics of the Atlanta Tech Village as well as the second round of ideas on the economics. After a couple more months under our belt, we have a several more updates on the economic model:

    • Renovation, including construction, furniture, and other associated fees is likely to be $500,000 to $1,000,000 more expensive than expected
    • Demand for private rooms is higher than expected, so a two person room is now $1,000/month for the first two people and then $200/person/month after that, making a room for three people the same price as three reserved desks in the coworking area ($1,200/month)
    • Stocked Coke refrigerators, ample snacks, and catered lunches every Friday are now standard for all members, resulting in a direct expense of $50+ per person per month, which we believe is worth it to create the best place possible and to engineer serendipity (the Free Food Friday lunches, as we call them, have proved to be amazing at bringing people together — in fact, it’s the largest weekly tech/startup/entrepreneurship event in the Southeast with 70+ people on a weekly basis). Overall, with 400+ members, this will add $240,000/year in direct expenses that weren’t contemplated before, which is a 20%+ increase in overall costs.

    Taking our current pricing, and the draft of the master plan, we have the following revenue potential for each floor:

    • 1st floor – 50 desks @ $350/month blended average due to being mostly hot desks ($210,000/year) plus conference center and coffee shop ($75,000/year)
    • 2nd floor – 28 private rooms @ $1,100/month blended average ($369,000/year) plus 20 desks @ $450/month blended average due to being mostly reserved desks ($135,000/year)
    • 3rd floor – 20,000 rental square feet @ $22/foot traditional space for tech companies ($440,000/year)
    • 4th floor – 10 private suites @ $3,500/month ($420,000/year) plus six private rooms @ $1,000/month blended average ($72,000/year)
    • 5th floor – 10 private suites @ $3,500/month ($420,000/year) plus six private rooms @ $1,000/month blended average ($72,000/year)

    So, overall potential direct revenue from tenants, assuming no churn and 100% utilization (which isn’t going to happen due to lag time with turnover), is $2,213,000 ($210,000 + $75,000 + $369,000 + $135,000 + $440,000 + $420,000 + $72,000 + $420,000 + $72,000). The new pricing for unreserved desks, reserved desks, private rooms, and private suites reflect the economics of the business. We’re super excited about ATV and are committed to making it the best tech and entrepreneurship center in the Southeast.

    What else? What are some other thoughts on the pricing at the Atlanta Tech Village?

  • How Can I Help the Atlanta Tech Village?

    On a daily basis, when meeting someone about ATV, I almost always get the question “How can I help the Atlanta Tech Village?” This goes to show the awesome community support and pay it forward mentality we have as a city. Of course, when people are asking how they can help, they expect an answer like “please refer tech companies and tech startups to ATV” or “please get involved in our community.” Those are great, and important, but the real ask is even more strategic:

    Help us nurture startups so that they grow, succeed, and graduate

    No matter the coolness of the building, the greatness of the people, and the excitement of the vibe, if we don’t have startups becoming successful businesses, we’re not succeeding as a community. Simply put, we need success stories to create jobs, wealth, and to put Atlanta on the map.

    The next time you hear someone mention the Atlanta Tech Village, bring up the ultimate goal of nurturing more successful startups.

    What else? What are your thoughts on answering the “how can I help” question?

  • 3 Misconceptions About the Atlanta Tech Village

    At the Atlanta Tech Village we probably average 25 people per week coming through on a tour of one sort or another, so it’s fun to hear all the different questions and comments. I also enjoy asking the question “How did you first hear about ATV?” and most of the time it’s from a friend or via Twitter. As with anything, there are a number of misconceptions.

    Here are the top three misconceptions about the Atlanta Tech Village:

    1. Amount of Space – Many people think the Atlanta Tech Village is one floor or one section of the building when it is actually the entire building, patio, and parking deck — 103,000 square foot building and a 93,000 square foot parking deck.
    2. Incubator Equity – ATV is a high tech entrepreneur center and not an incubator — members pay a monthly fee and there’s no equity component or shared services component. We do have investors in the building along with other service providers, but no equity is involved to join.
    3. Vetting of Ideas – We believe we can’t pick the good ideas from the bad ideas better than anyone else, but by providing a great community and holding people accountable to our four core values (be nice, dream big, pay it forward, work hard/play hard), we can increase the likelihood of success.

    ATV is designed to service technology and technology-related companies that have a unique set of needs in their quest to change the world. Come join us.

    What else? What other misconceptions have you heard about the Atlanta Tech Village?

  • Lessons Learned from the First Atlanta Tech Village Event

    Last night we had our first real Atlanta Tech Village event where over 200 people came to hear five startups give their pitch as part of the Atlanta Startup Village (ASV at ATV). Being our first major event, we made a ton of mistakes and learned a good bit. Here are some of the lessons learned:

    • The fiber internet and Meraki WiFi gear held up great — the only issue was when the backup Apple AirPort Extreme got overloaded and we weren’t able to use the Apple TV (next time we’ll have the Apple TV on the Meraki WiFi network)
    • 90 chairs won’t cut it when 200+ people show up, but as a temporary space, it worked well (optimal size for the temporary space is ~125 people although 200+ can be in it)
    • From an audio perspective, the big speakers we had up front worked great but we could use another set of speakers in the back
    • Food and drink was well received (thanks sponsors!) but we could have more drink variety next time
    • Community wise, there’s even more demand than expected for entrepreneurs and startups to spend time with their peers
    • Pitch wise, the entrepreneurs did well and covered a good bit of ground

    With our high-end conference center due at the end of the year, more prep by the entrepreneurs doing pitches, and quality food and drink, I’m confident we’ll have the demand for regular 300+ person events at ATV.

    A special thanks to all the organizers of Atlanta Startup Village — we’re honored to have hosted the event at the Village.

    What else? If you attended, what were some of your takeaways from the event?

  • Atlanta Startup Village at Atlanta Tech Village March 26th

    Tomorrow’s a big day: the Atlanta Tech Village is hosting the Atlanta Startup Village as its first 100+ person event. With 206 people already signed up, we expect ~150 to actually show up. Free parking, a MARTA station nearby, 400 megs of fiber WiFi, and a completely new venue makes for great infrastructure. The real magic is in the entrepreneurs and the community — no matter how great everything else is, it always comes down to people.

    Here are the five startups presenting:

    The villages are coming together tomorrow night and I’m looking forward to it.

  • 3 Books Every Atlanta Entrepreneur Needs to Read

    Atlanta has a much richer and extensive history with entrepreneurs than most people realize. Many people know about the big success stories with Ted Turner of CNN / Turner Networks, Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank of Home Depot, and Asa Griggs Candler with John Pemberton creating The Coca-Cola Company. There are many other entrepreneurs in Atlanta that have had major successes including the founders of WebMD, Spanx, and even The Elf of the Shelf from CCA and B Publishing. To better prepare for one’s future it helps to understand one’s past.

    Here are three books every Atlanta entrepreneur needs to read:

    1. A Man in Full – Tom Wolfe’s best-selling novel is also a great way to learn about one of Atlanta’s most prized industries — commercial real estate — and insight into how certain types of people operate
    2. Call Me Ted – Ted Turner was one of the most successful cable entrepreneurs anywhere, let alone Atlanta, and his autobiography is full of interesting stories and anecdotes (fun fact: CNN’s headquarters was an opportunistic purchase of a failed real estate venture)
    3. Jungle Rules – John Imlay built the largest software company in the world right in Atlanta and is the benefactor of angel investing in the city, so it’s only fitting to read his autobiography (fun fact: Imlay’s company, MSA, invented the first maintenance contract to have recurring revenue)

    In 2011, Atlanta’s entrepreneurial activity ranked second in the country with 500 per 100,000 adults. Atlanta has a bright entrepreneurial past and future — study it, live it, and create it.

    What else? What are some other books Atlanta entrepreneurs should read?