Before moving to RTP, I was in Phoenix for a good long stretch.  The company I worked for had ~100 employees, was a sexy business and paid pretty well compared to the state’s average salaries.  We were acquired in 2001 for a healthy sum.  I was involved in a variety of business-like activities outside of work, such as public speaking and working with a local college to develop a curriculum.

Despite all this, my business network in Phoenix sucks.

I moved to RTP in mid October, 2006.  By December, my RTP network was larger and more useful than my Phoenix one ever was.

That is the thing that I love the most about the area.  If you’re competent and willing to put forth a little effort, people are willing to help.

So how did I get plugged in so quickly?  Here’s a summary…

1.  On my pre-move visit, I connected with the Technology Transfer office at UNC.  (I tried to contact Duke and NC State, but neither chose to respond).  I explained that I was an experienced entrepreneur thinking about relocating to RTP either to start something or join something early stage.  The person at UNC introduced me via email to two local VC’s.  I met with one in person and the other by phone.  The former continues to be particularly helpful — you know who you are and THANK YOU!

2.  After a bit of digging, I found the Council for Entrepreneurial Development and the NC Biotech Center. Folks at both places were happy to meet with me.  Since I ended up back in software, I didn’t do much work with the Biotech guys, but what I saw, I liked.

CED is the 800 pound gorilla of networking and information for RTP.  Normally, I would treat any group with the word "council" and "entrepreneur" in the title much the same as I would treat an opportunity to personally experience the Ebola virus. But the CED are a fantastic resource.

You get out what you put in.  So you’ll still need to get off your butt and take some initiative, but this is the place to start.

CED hosts lunch events, regional events, a venture conference and more learning and connection opportunities than you can shake a stick at.   They also offer some great programs like FastTrac and STREAK. The former is a 10 week class that aims to educate you on how to turn an idea into a business.  Streak is a professional smack down session.  Go in, pitch your business to a team of smart and relevant folks (CEOs, bankers, VCs etc) and get fantastically brutal feedback (but Steve, we love you for it).

We participated in Streak earlier in the year and it lead to (a) a much better pitch and plan, (b) a real product and (c) a fantastic advisory board member.

You will notice that some of the same names come up repeatedly.  Don’t let this be a concern — the core of the entrepreneurial community here is relatively small and people are generous with their time.  It is absolutely NOT an "old boys club" as I wondered before getting here…

Membership is cheap.  Most events you can attend even if you aren’t a member.  The CED even lists non-CED events on their website calendar.  Spend time here and get to know these folks — you won’t regret it.  I have yet to attend a single CED event that did not lead to at least one useful reference, introduction or piece of knowledge.

3.  Through various events (CED and non-CED) I met our attorney and our accounting firm, both of whom have made numerous introductions for me.  Again, great people who are willing to help.  If you can believe it, I even had a joint lunch with both of them to discuss the business, and it cost me nothing!

4.  I dug in to some of the research being done at local Universities.  The most useful person I met through that was Fred Stutzman, (aka Mr BarCampRDU).  Fred scores bonus points for introducing me to Peppers Pizza in Chapel Hill.

5.  After I got here and got settled, I looked around to see who I should meet that I hadn’t met with yet, and figured out a way to make it happen.  Silicon Valley Bank and Square 1 Bank are two examples (and I’ve discussed Square 1’s herculean efforts on our behalf before).   

6.  I attended a local "small business" meetup group.  Utter waste of time — the group was far too broad and we spent the whole evening misunderstanding each other because our businesses were so different.  I think some of the more focused groups (like the Ruby Brigade, if you’re a Rails programmer) may be better.

7.  I found the TAFU Networking Group. The acronym stands for "To Avoid Future Unemployment".  These folks meet on the first and third Thursday of the month, 7:30am at the Panera Bread near Brier Creek in north Raleigh (go to Panera’s Website and punch in zip code 27617 to find it).  This is an informal networking group of the employed and the unemployed.  You show up, introduce yourself and see who you can help or who can help you (or both).  There’s a range of folks there from a variety of industries.  The Yahoo group is much bigger than the meeting attendance would imply, but you can only join that after you’ve been to a meeting.

To put the value of this group in perspective:  I met Logan, our CTO, through a fellow TAFU member.

8.  I was invited to present a local VC’s round-table event, pitching the Monkey to a room full of RTP Heroes.   These are big local names with considerable successes (yes, more than one) behind them.  Scary stuff.  And frankly, the pitch had huge holes in it and we were a bit of a lead balloon.  But even that resulted in a relationship with a great contact at Cisco.  We grab lunch every so often and it’s something I always look forward to.

And that’s it.  It’s not magic, and it does take some work.  But RTP has been the easiest place to network that I’ve ever experienced.

More on relocating here when I think of it.

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This is one of the topics I covered in my session at BarCampRDU…

One of the big shocks for me early in my career was finding out
that Sales could be an almost step-by-step process. I had always
thought of it as a thing that you did by talking a lot to the customer
and just “pushing” the product, whatever that means.

1.  Needs

2.  Budget

3.  Competition

4.  Timeline

5.  UDM

Conclusion

Categories: Old Posts
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First of all, I want to be absolutely clear that I mean no disrespect to Andrew Hyde, the man behind the original Startup Weekend.  I think it was a visionary idea and the inspired debate alone makes it worthy of a tip o’ the hat.

One of the things I have always disliked about the internet is how easily it enables anonymous and highly negative criticism.  If you have something to say about someone, stand up and attach your name, or a real handle (one you consistently use in many venues) and be prepared to defend your opinion.

It is certainly NOT my intention to sling mud at Andrew’s idea.  As I’ve said, he had a visionary idea that is worthy of praise.  The event’s ability to bring together the Colorado startup scene was impressive.  While I’m sure there were moments that were tough for everyone, it is quite clear that the process had an enormous positive impact on the region and the community.

I am very convinced that the process is brilliant and adds huge value.  However, I am equally uncertain that the goal is the best way to drive the process.

The pros, as I see them, are:

#1 (by a mile):  Building/consolidating/unifying/expanding the startup community.  Not only did this event network the existing startup-minded folks, it lured in newbies that were on the fence about the whole startup experience.

#2:  Getting folks that would otherwise not interact to work together e.g.  programmers and evil marketing people like me

#3:  Pushing hard for a solid goal in a short period of time.  My only issue with events like BarCamp is that the free-form structure deliberately doesn’t lend itself to achieving a particular goal, which leaves me wanting more…

#4:  The ability to gain first hand experience of the ups and downs of a startup while only risking a weekend.

However, there are some fairly major cons, some of which other local folks like Dugald have already discussed.  I’ll skip past some of the more obvious issues, and go straight to the big ones from my perspective:

#1:  This was a weekend adventure.  I believe most of the attendees had real jobs, many of them in startups.  The passion that it takes to commit to a startup is huge, and once you are drinking the coolaid, it is very hard to leave.  I think the essence of being "in" a startup is best captured by the first few lines of Casabianca (disclaimer: I had no idea what the name of this poem was until about 5 minutes ago — I’m am not that culturally edjumacated…)

  The boy stood on the burning deck
 
  Whence all but he had fled;
 
  The flame that lit the battle’s wreck
 
  Shone round him o’er the dead.

The best and brightest in a failing startup are often there until the bitter end.  The whole damn boat can be on fire and sinking rapidly and still they will hang on.  Committing a weekend to something is unlikely to persuade these folks to leave their current startup for a new idea.  In other words, you’re building something around a team that won’t stay around.  The ones that will stay on are more likely to be the less experienced, further tipping the odds against success.

#2:  In most startups, there is some kind of core idea around which everything coalesces.  There is usually one primary owner of the idea, who has managed to get other people to believe.  The idea expands, changes and evolves, but there is always a core of 1-3 people that define "the path" and keep everyone on it.  This core, and the people that guard it, is the greatest strength (and weakness) of any startup. 

In the case of disruptorMonkey, I had the original seed of an idea back in May/June 2006, sat on it for a few months, then pitched it to Andre and it grew from there.  Logan joined in October, the idea grew, changed and became more concrete.  We are in sync with the vision of what we are building and why.

I just don’t see how you reach that in one weekend with 70 people.  It’s like being a recent hire at Google — you and 69 other people all arrive one day and are just trying to figure out what makes things tick.

#3:  Products take time to build, test and finesse, even the simplest ones.  Almost no-one wants to build a crappy product (I am biting my tongue here for a change, so bear with me), but a weekend is just not enough time to really make a full product.  More than a weekend is going to be a commitment problem for many people, and as per note #1, the folks that can commit may not be the best experienced for the task at hand. 

#4:  The structure.  As I understand it, 50% of the equity was split between all attendees and 50% held in reserve for those that got the job done.  I completely understand the logic here, but it is a messy structure that would probably scare an investor (if the company sought funding at a later date).

Part of not just slinging mud is to make some suggestions, so here are mine:

#1:  Hack for Humanity:  think of the essence of Habitat for Humanity, but instead of building a house, we’re building a product.  It doesn’t have to be quite as morally lofty as Habitat, but the end result should be a useful product or service, and should probably end up as an open source project so others can carry the torch.  There would be an initial weekend, where a problem gets identified, teams put together and work is begun, but the project would actually take place over a period of weeks.

#2:  xCombinator (with apologies to Paul Graham):  Think X-Prize meets yCombinator.  Teams come together in a friendly but competitive way to build something on a fixed schedule.  Each team has to build something soup to nuts, and be able to pitch it, by the deadline.  A panel of worthies chooses a winner, who wins the prize (ideally a big fat wad of cash or a full beer truck).

#3:  Pitch ‘n’ Bitch:  Anyone gets to come and pitch an idea or product (BarCamp style) to everyone that shows up.  The audience gets to pile on, dissecting each idea.  The winning pitch gets free therapy to recover from the beat-down.

#4:  Startup Hackathon:  A traditional hackathon but with the aim of building something that is a product plus a plan — so multiple mini-Startup Weekend teams competing over a fixed period of time.

I’ll give it some more thought and see what I come up with.  Feel free to jump all over me in the comments…

Categories: Old Posts
384 Comments »http://blog.nicholasnapp.com/2007/08/07/my-thoughts-on-a-startup-weekend-for-rtp/My+Thoughts+on+a+Startup+Weekend+for+RTP...2007-08-07+05%3A10%3A00NickN

I spent this past Saturday at BarCampRDU.  As I mentioned previously, some good questions came up relating to general business development, marketing and sales. 

But several folks who had recently relocated, or who were considering relocating, were curious as to how I got "plugged in" after moving here.  Some folks I know who don’t live here were equally curious as to why I moved here in the first place.

So I figured I’d do some posts on relocating to the area.  If you know someone heading this way and think the info is valuable, send them on over…

In this inaugural post, I thought I’d address the whys of moving here.  I’ll get on to other topics in future posts.  But before Why comes What…

What is RTP?

First of all, what is RTP?  The actual Research Triangle Park is an area between Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh, but RTP is commonly used as a catch-all for the whole area.

Back before the dawn of time (1959), some smart politicians (I’m actually not being sarcastic here, really) had the foresight to set aside a bunch of land and try and create a research park area that would be a magnet for technology of all kinds.   You can read all about it on about page at the RTP website.  A quick taste: "Situated in the heart of North Carolina, The Research Triangle Park today comprises 7,000 total acres and is home to more than 150 organizations that employ more than 39,000 full-time professionals. While commonly referred to as the Silicon Valley of the East, the Park has endured its share of challenges but has come out on top". 

I have only been here 9 months, but this is the ONLY place that I’ve seen RTP referred to as the Silicon Valley of the East, so adjust your expectations a little.

Moving along…  As mentioned, there are three cities/towns in the immediate area:  Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh.  Chapel Hill is your funky lefty recycley college town.  Durham is a bit more urban and real.  Raleigh (which to me includes Cary, Morrisville and Wake Forest, but that will be a sin for some folks) is a _lot_ more suburban overall.  Think recumbent trike versus Scion versus SUV-Minivanland to get a basic feel for each town.

If you move here from anywhere of any size (Phoenix in my case), the distance between the three is trivial (~20 miles or less).  If you’re local, you’ll probably consider me crazy to happily pop to Chapel Hill for lunch.

The local airport is Raleigh/Durham International (RDU), which is why you’ll see local events, like BarCamp, with  RDU worked in to the title.  It’s pretty small and flights in and out of here to interesting places will almost certainly involve a change of planes somewhere else.

Overall, the area is a nice mix of folks from around the world.  Again, depends where you are from.  Compared to Phoenix, RTP is fantastically diverse.  If you’re coming from the Valley or NYC, you’ll be unimpressed.

My biggest gripe so far is the food.  Restaurants here are, on average, pretty bad.  I’m really not a food snob and have no problem with chains (used to be a regular at Chilis in Phoenix) — the food and service here is just pretty bad.  And I’m English, so I have some expertise in bad service and terrible food.  There are some standouts that I’ve discovered, but they are the exception and not the rule.

Why RTP?

Since moving to the US, I’ve mostly lived in Phoenix, with a brief stint in Silicon Valley.  My reasons for moving here were combination of personal and professional.

Personal first:

• Housing:  the property market here has just been growing steadily.  No bang, no bust, just nice growth.  There does seem to be some concept of town planning/growth control (100% absent from Phoenix) and plenty of neighborhoods are well established.  Prices are very reasonable compared to other major urban areas.  I traded a 1400 square foot 3-bed 2-bath home in Phoenix for a 3000 square foot 4-bed, 3-bath on 2.4 acres.  If the Phoenix market hadn’t crashed so hard, there would have been no difference in price.
• Weather:  we have seasons, but none of them brutal.  Summer is hot
  and humid, but not a Phoenix 120.  Winters are cold-ish, but not really
  sub-zero.  We had maybe 1" of snow this past winter.
• Schools:  Wake County and Orange County both have excellent schools.  There’s been some turmoil recently with all the growth, but they still seem far ahead of Phoenix to me.

Professional:

• Something of a tech center:  RTP has brought some big name tech companies to the area.  RedHat, Cisco, IBM, Lenovo and plenty of others are here.
• Universities: UNC, Duke and NC State are all here, plus a host of other colleges.  Each has it’s strengths, but all are pretty darned good as far as I can tell.
• Talent (relating to the above):  there’s a nice local talent pool to pull from

Before I decided to move, I considered Silicon Valley, Boston, New York, Austin, Boulder and Atlanta.  California was out for two reasons:  the cost of housing and the ability to build a stable business.  Competition for good people in CA is fierce.  I saw that first hand while I was there.  Building and keeping a brain-trust together is almost impossible as a startup.  New York and Boston were expensive and too cold in the winter for me.  While Austin is the only part of Texas I would live in, it’s gotten pretty expensive.  Not to mention that much of the tech there centers around semi-conductors or PC manufacturers.  Colorado seemed interesting, but I wasn’t crazy about Boulder the last time I was there (some time ago) and my wife and I weren’t crazy about being even more land-locked than we were in Phoenix.  Atlanta went in the "too expensive" category too.

All in all, RTP seemed like an area where I could balance the needs of my personal life with the needs of my professional life.  We came out for a week and a half to see how it was, and obviously I liked it enough to move out here… 

More in the next relo post.

Categories: Old Posts
373 Comments »http://blog.nicholasnapp.com/2007/08/06/relocating-to-research-triangle-park/Relocating+to+Research+Triangle+Park...2007-08-07+01%3A35%3A00NickN

I recently moved house and have finally been going through all the various boxes of things I thought I really needed and kept.  One of the boxes had a bunch of old backups, including a fancy-schmancy Zip 100 disk.

Damn those things were cool when they first arrived.  All that storage on just one disk.  Who would have thought it possible.

Of course, your average musical greeting card holds almost as much data now

So in honor of that piece of bygone tech, I’m launching the "Dead Technology" post series.  I’ll throw up a bunch on long dead items that I’ve either owned or used. 

Let the reminiscing begin…

Categories: Old Posts
362 Comments »http://blog.nicholasnapp.com/2007/08/06/remembering-dead-technology/Remembering+Dead+Technology...2007-08-06+16%3A02%3A00NickN