Standard Podcast [65:39m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Welcome to SL #35! We kicked off the 2009 podcast season with a great chat with Joel Lanik of Frontier Capital out of Charlotte, North Carolina.  Frontier is one of many regional venture capital funds that routinely visits Atlanta in search of new deals.  In addition to talking about their newly closed venture fund, we spoke about the current state of the economy, and the impact it is having on their fund and their portfolio companies.

The 2009 TAG/GRA Business Launch Competition is coming up, and we discussed it in the opening of the show.  “Under the Bus” or “Look Who Gets It?” – Tune in to find out!  Mike also challenges Scott to a startup mentoring challenge for charity (the gloves are off now, folks). Another great selection of listener emails and a dash of StartupLounge humor to top it all off. Enjoy!

Sponsors for this episode:
Be sure to click the logos below and visit our sponsors – without them, we simply couldn’t do all of the things we do.

Shownotes and Interview Questions:

As usual, we had lots of related follow-up questions and side discussions, but here is a good sampling of the questions we asked on the show:

• Give us your 30-second elevator pitch
• Can you tell us about your recent closing of Frontier’s latest venture fund?
• Was it hard to raise this fund, given the current economic climate?
• What is the story you tell potential limited partners that excites them about investing in Georgia and the Southeastern US?
• Do you have meaningful competition for deal flow?
• What’s the wackiest deal that’s been pitched to you?
• Could you highlight a success story of which you’re particularly proud?
• What is attractive to you about the Atlanta market?
• When you receive an opportunity and you’re inclined to pursue it, what is your process for examining that opportunity?
• On average, how long does it take to get you from that starting point to an agreement on an investment?
• What’s your overall assessment of the Atlanta early stage market? Is it improving, and if so, how do you see that?
• What is the impact of the current economic climate on your investing behavior?
• What impact is the current economic climate having on your portfolio companies?
• How are valuations holding up given the bad economic outlook?
• What advice do you give to entrepreneurs regarding addressing the current economic environment?
• What impact is the current economic climate having on your deal flow?
• How many opportunities do you get exposed to a year and how many investments do you make?
• When dealing with you guys, what’s one thing that’s an absolute no-no?
• How involved are you day to day with your portfolio companies?
• If you were to “sell” yourself to an entrepreneur to take you on as an investor, what do you think is your biggest selling point?
• What is a piece of advice you would give to new early-stage investors?
• If you could change something in the environment to make your jobs easier, what would that be?
• What is the best way to get an opportunity in front of you?
• If you were to give one piece of advice to entrepreneurs that might want to approach you for capital, what would that be?

Listener Emails Read and Answered on the Show:

Gia: Gia: Hey guys love the show!  I’ve heard you guys use the phrase “cram down” several times in past shows. What the heck does it mean?

Cassandra: Cassandra: Scott and Mike, I am starting up a new company and as part of this I am trying to put together a detailed breakdown of my target market.  It seems that the data is readily available out there if I am willing to pay for it.  I am bootstrapping this company by working two jobs, sometimes three.  What’s a poor girl to do?  I can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars on marketing reports.  Help!

ImTakingoff: I am moving forward with filing a series of patents around my technology and have a question regarding the selection of the best attorney/firm to do the job.  I have done a good bit of research into firms that have done a great bit of work in my industry, but I’ve compiled a rather nice list of potential candidates.  Should I be worried that these firms have worked or continue to work with my competition on adjacent patents??

Guest Bio:
Joel Lanik, Principal, Frontier Capital

Joel is a Principal at Frontier where he is responsible for developing, analyzing, and executing investment opportunities, and is instrumental in leading the firm’s day to day operational processes. He was recently the Vice President of Finance & Strategy at LURHQ, a leading provider of managed IT security services, where he was responsible for all financial, strategic planning, legal and HR operations. Prior to this operating role, Joel was with Frontier Capital where he was instrumental in the successful deployment of Frontier Fund I. In addition, he was a Senior Financial Analyst with investment bank Lloyd & Company. Joel holds a BA in Economics from Duke University and an MBA from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. Joel is also a CFA charterholder.

Comedy Break Lyrics:

Featuring “Hooked up with a Bigfoot”, by Robert Lund, sung to the tune of Billy Joel’s Big Shot.  Even though they didn’t find Bigfoot in the North Georgia Mountains, we’re still holding out hope.  Enjoy!

Well -
You left Georgia riding in your Cherokee
Into Blue Ridge National Park
You stopped for drinks with the bulky brunette
That you met in the dark
Ooh -
But when you wake up in the morning with your hair on fire
And you’re tied face-down from a tree
You know it’s no urban legend
The same thing happened to me

‘Cause she turned out to be a Bigfoot creature
You should have known from how she growled
She’s definitely a Bigfoot creature
‘Cause your limbs are all yanked out
You had to stay till last call last night
That will teach you to get plowed
You thought you’d met a tall babe – not quite
You hooked up with a Bigfoot last night
Oh no!

So -
You went chasing tail on the Blue Ridge Trail
‘Cause the women seemed aggressively game
Like the Chattahoochee mama with fangs
Who just grunted her name
Ooh -
But now you just don’t remember all the things she did
And you ask why it hurts when you cough
I’ll give you one hint, buddy
Your Jeep ain’t all she ripped off

No no no no no no you didn’t believe in Bigfoot, didja?
She seemed abominably endowed
Undoubtedly a Bigfoot creature
Her perfume was Rainbow Trout
You almost had your last rites last night
Got Sasquashed into the ground
You’re covered with a rug burn – shag type
You hooked up with a Bigfoot last night
Oh no!

So, baby, have you ever considered laser hair removal?
Or there’s always waxing.
Or you know, you could always just borrow my razor….

Miscellany:

Enjoy! To play it, use the tools at the top of this post – you can play it via the embedded Flash player by pressing the big play button at the top, or download it to play on your computer or MP3 player.  You can also take advantage of our iTunes feed.

Podsafe music used within this episode:

• Underground by Roadside Attraction
• Hooked up With a Bigfoot by Robert Lund
• All the Money in the World by Hutch

Our format is a little out of the norm as far as podcasts go. We treat our efforts as a true “show” rather than a super-concise (limited) vehicle for delivery of information. Therefore, the podcasts can run a bit long (actually, it is largely driven by the guests and their responses.) While we try to have very substantive discussions, we also try to have a lot of fun along the way (and that tends to elongate the programming a wee bit.) Our theory is that if we are having fun during the show, hopefully, you will be having a little fun listening as well.

Here is the breakdown for the show, in case you want to hop around.

A special thanks to Joel for coming in and hanging out with us!

We welcome your continued feedback as well! If you have an interest in appearing on the show, becoming a show sponsor (hint, hint), have some suggestions for topics, have feedback, or would just like to email us and tell us to “shove off”, we invite you to contact us.

Enjoy!