In response to my recent travels to San Francisco and the Valley, I have had many conversations with local Atlanta technology movers and shakers and, in particular, heads of various angel groups and investor séances. There's no denying that there is a sense of discouragement about local startup and early stage funding, but there's an equal amount of energy looking for some tangible way to address this. Allow me once again to beat the drum for my idea of establishing a "landing party" in San Francisco to better connect our entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, and investors with the fabric of today's frontiers in software and computing.

My background is primarily software related, and I speak from that perspective. I have written earlier that Atlanta has missed an epoch of computing over the last 5 years while many major successes have arisen out West. Those successes have created wealth that is being redeployed to spawn even more wins. Whole classes of Consumer Internet software have been invented and have resulted in real businesses, yet very few of our local investors are users of these products. Sure, some of these may now seem to be time wasters, but the odds are good that many of them will pivot in directions that will make them tools of necessity for being effective in the mobile connected world. There is a strong cluster in place in downtown San Francisco that results in talent and knowledge transfer that helps all parties toward that goal.

So, why not open an ATDC-like branch in that geography? We could give our best talent the opportunity to become part of the aforementioned fabric. We could give investors based there a look at some surprisingly good ideas originating here in our universities and startup community. We could send some of our own investors out there on "trade missions" to get them in tune with the deal flow that seems so prosperous. Sure, we'll lose some promising ventures to that area, but that beats the alternative of having them never even get launched. Enough will come back over time that there will be a long-term upside for our region. And, there's plenty of upside for San Francisco in being able to tap a broader talent pool. You've no doubt read about the poaching of engineers among the hot companies of that area, even to the extent TechCrunch recently reported a $3.5M retention bonus for one Google employee.

There's a precedent for this. One incubator I visited is already hosting international delegations seeking to tap into the exuberance of the area. Picture a sign near the Twitter HQ for Georgia's Advanced Technology Development Center. (We might have to be explicit that this refers to a US state as opposed to the Republic of Georgia.). Commercial real estate there, like here, is readily available at rates much depressed from norms. We could house a small staff and provide the usual accouterments of incubation. Throw in a few companies and entrepreneurs, hold some events, be represented at all the important events there, and soon we'll be in the game.

So what's the catch? It's who can pay for this. The Georgia state budget looks to require further tightening, not expansion. Would one of our global corporate citizens buy into the wisdom of this? We're talking pocket change relative to their marketing budgets, and I can certainly think of several prospects.

At least this idea is something to try. We don't need any more whiteboard sessions on how to bring capital to our area. Let's just do this. Comments?

After my lengthy trip to the Valley and San Francisco, I have a few thoughts to share on how the South needs to shake up our approach to entrepreneurs and startups. I gave this report verbally to Angel Lounge last week and enjoyed a lively discussion with that group about how Atlanta’s technology community should start “skating to where the puck will be, not where it is.” (Hat tip to Wayne Gretsky) My focus was strictly on the Consumer Internet space, so please take all my comments in that light. Here’s my list:

1) Not all the entrepreneurs out there are youngsters, but Clarium Capital has set up a fund offering $100K stakes to founders 19 and under. These are not gifts; these youthful founders do have to combine raw intelligence and work ethic with a bankable idea. Can the next Gates or Zuckerberg be found in that manner? Clarium must think so.

2) There have been enough successes in that area in recent years that entrepreneurs who have participated in a high-profile exit or have founding history in the Consumer Internet space can raise money at high value with hand gestures -- napkin optional. Investing anywhere is always a bet on the jockey, and the proven winners are at the head of the line. No surprise there.

3) Startup values in the $3-5M range are common; sometimes are double that. A bit of traction with a working product in the hands of even a few customers is a big plus when valuation comes up on the agenda, but things are now competitive enough that this is no longer a strict requirement.

4) Although there are copious examples to the contrary, generally speaking the founding team is advantaged by being resident there and fully plugged into the local Valley network. Some of the sharpest young companies and people (I think of Austin's Storenvy or Paul Stamatiou) have made their way West, and it's hard to argue with the osmosis that happens.

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