Comments on: Why Are We Doing This?

By: Wayt King

Wayt King — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:10:53 +0000

This (the New ATDC) is the best news I’ve heard about the ATL tech startup scene in many a moon. This is indeed different, and huge. Thanks Stephen and ATDC!
wayt

By: ATLlogos on TechDrawl Thanks to Paul Freet! — TechDrawl

ATLlogos on TechDrawl Thanks to Paul Freet! — TechDrawl — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 18:23:45 +0000

[...] home to the VentureLab (now part of the new Open ATDC strategy that you can read about here and here thanks to Stephen Fleming, new Vice Provost and head of the Enterprise Innovation Institute). [...]

By: Radford Harrell

Radford Harrell — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 17:29:47 +0000

Thrilled with this new strategy and like @ATL StartUpGuy, we are focused on growth and revenue with existing resources. Thanks for taking this leap!

By: @ATL StartUpGuy

@ATL StartUpGuy — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 12:07:39 +0000

Like a lot of folks, we gave up on ATDC a few years ago. With Skype and all the free tools out there, bootstrapping the technology has been easy as was getting the first $250k in revenues. Our challenge now has become scale – putting in place the systematic sales and operational processes. How can ATDC help with such things so that we don’t have to take Angel/VC money?

By: Tom Sammon

Tom Sammon — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:42:21 +0000

Stephen,regarding your statement “it will mean leveraging community involvement as a force multiplier… We’ll want to see ATDC “circles” in Gwinnett, and Alpharetta, and Athens, and anywhere else in the state where there’s sufficient entrepreneurial activity to justify it.”

The EI2 Carrollton office is based in a 3-year old incubator called the Burson Center. Jerry Shadinger (GTPAC) and I (Lean Group) maintain offices here. http://www.bursoncenter.com/ Along with home-grown startups, some of the orginal hopes/dreams/plans for the Burson Center were to attract Atlanta startups that did not fit at ATDC or that wanted a more suburban/rural setting in which to grow. At least two Atlantans have located here. I’ve spoken with the Burson Center director Donna Lackey and Chamber Pres Daniel Jackson about the new structure of ATDC and they’d like to get together with you soon, either in Carrollton or at Tech. Let me know.——Tom

By: Peter Rosen

Peter Rosen — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:01:54 +0000

What a great opportunity to leverage ATDC’s new size into beoming a buying co-op for all things needed by early stage companies. This could include anything from paper to technology to benefits and save the companies lot’s of money.

By: Paul Stamatiou

Paul Stamatiou — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 08:18:34 +0000

Great post! I’ve been eagerly keeping track of everything, even have an ATDC search in TweetDeck now haha. Curious to see what kind of companies apply, hopefully more concept and seed stage ones.

“you can run a pretty substantial operation via laptops and coffee shops.”

That’s what I love about the current web startup landscape. Lately we’ve been working with an intern in Arizona, while I was in Houston and Calvin in Atlanta, and all we needed was our chatroom and we’ve been getting work done like being in the same room.

By: Heath Wilkes

Heath Wilkes — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:34:11 +0000

Stephen,

Now that’s how you come out swinging… Big, bold moves like this are the ones that create real change. Reading your article and press release actually made me a bit giddy. What you’ve done here is plant the seed for a unifying long-vision for our community. The reinvented ATDC will have the unique ability to aggregate startup tools, business support and belief in our ecosystem that technology entrepreneurs will need to improve our economy. For that, I thank you.

The other part that excites me with this model is how it promotes recycled success. The more profitable startups we create, the more these companies will hopefully give back to the next generation — especially if there is a unifier in our market like the new ATDC.

In three words: I love it. You can count us in!

Cheers,
Heath

By: Mike Schinkel

Mike Schinkel — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:35:12 +0000

Hi Stephen,

As one of the many who has been actively working to fill the vacuum in the concept/seed stage for years, I applaud these changes. I really look forward to how my efforts as well as the effort of so many others can be amplified by this initiative and how we can also work together to grow the startup ecosystem in GA and consequently improve economic development and our local standard of living.

-Mike Schinkel

By: Adam Wexler

Adam Wexler — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:19:27 +0000

Great news, Stephen!

“Federal government’s mandate that the eleven most profligate Federal agencies need to devote 2.5% of their R&D spending to small companies? Companies like yours?”
I was not aware of this fact, and I’m curious to know when the decision came down? How often are grants considered? Quarterly?

Although Georgia Tech is located at the hub, it’s great to hear that the entrepreneurial community from the entire state is getting access to some of the opportunities that only GT affiliates have had in the past.

What kind of ATDC “circles” do you have in mind for other growth sections in the state like Athens, Gwinnett & Alpharetta? Could there be an actual ATDC physical spinoff?