ATLlogos.com Now TechDrawl’s “Companies” Database
We’ve long admired Paul Freet’s site showing all the logos of Atlanta technology companies color coded by funding sources, live linked to their sites, and accompanied by a list with names and brief descriptions. He has generously provided this to TechDrawl as a substitute for our editorially created database designed in 2003 and not readily transferable to our new format. We will operate this site as Paul has done and in collaboration with Paul will create versions for other major technology centers in the South. Too, we intend to transfer responsibility for wiki-style updates to the companies, and will roll out an API at some point for mashup applications of the data. We welcome your suggestions and comments on features you might want to see added.
Here’s a heartfelt thanks to Paul for making possible this great enhancement to TechDrawl.
Paul Freet, who joined Georgia Tech’s VentureLab in April 2008 in the role of a commercialization catalyst, admits he’s overqualified for his job.
But that’s a good thing, says Freet, a successful entrepreneur with three startup companies to his credit—almost a requirement for a job that demands both broad business judgment and sustained entrepreneurial enthusiasm.
View Larger MapThe Centergy Building in Technology Square is home to Georgia Tech’s VentureLab program (now part of the new Open ATDC strategy). “I think that in general VentureLab tends to bring in people who are overqualified—people who have done this before, who have created multiple startup companies,” he says. “They’re here because they have some higher mission, a higher vision.”
VentureLab is a unit of the Enterprise Innovation Institute’s Commercialization Services, which evaluates and helps to commercialize Georgia Tech intellectual property. About 10 percent of the 300 or more inventions disclosed by Tech researchers annually are judged to have the right stuff for forming a VentureLab startup.
Working with other VentureLab commercialization catalysts, Freet is responsible for aiding and advising numerous fledgling technology ventures, most of which are still in a pre-incorporation, proof-of-concept phase. VentureLab catalysts help these aspiring companies sharpen their product concept, find office/lab space and also obtain seed funding, which generally comes from the Georgia Research Alliance.
“We’re delighted to have recruited an entrepreneur of Paul’s experience and stature,” says Stephen Fleming, recently named Vice Provost and head of the Innovation Enterprise Institute. “His combination of entrepreneurial experience, technical acumen and plain old business enthusiasm are ideal qualities in a commercialization catalyst.”
Freet graduated from Georgia Tech in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a computer engineering certificate. He spent his initial career years with semiconductor giant Hitachi in both marketing and application engineering roles.
His entrepreneurial calling began in 1996, when as chief technology officer he helped found a San Diego startup called TruSOLUTIONS, a maker of Linux servers for Internet use. That company was sold to VA Linux Systems in 2000 for $200 million.
Freet then moved with his family back to Atlanta and founded Racemi, a venture-funded maker of modular blade-server computers. Racemi evolved into a software company that has pioneered a new approach to data-center recovery and migration tasks.
Freet first became familiar with Georgia Tech’s startup-company programs in 2002 when Racemi became a member of the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), a Georgia Tech unit that incubates young companies that have moved beyond the VentureLab stage. Racemi graduated from ATDC in 2007 and is now an independent company.
But Freet already knew Stephen Fleming. They met when Fleming was working for a venture-capital fund, and they stayed in touch over the years.
“When Stephen announced he wanted to fill a VentureLab slot and was looking for suggestions, I started thinking about who I would refer him to,” Freet recalls. “Then it dawned on me that, my goodness, that would be a perfect role for me.”
As a VentureLab catalyst, Freet is always using his computer, software and electronics experience to shepherd a number of Georgia Tech researchers and their discoveries through a process that could lead to a viable startup company.
The biggest stumbling block for new companies isn’t material, he says; seed money and office space can usually be found for a promising technology.
Instead, the greatest challenges are intellectual. Distilling a technological idea into a commercial product is difficult, and often the researchers who made the discovery can’t make that leap because they lack business experience and are too close to the technology.
“If all you’ve got is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail,” Freet says.
To commercialize any technology, he explains, it’s critical to boil the concept down to something simple and come up with an instructive “story” that can be shared.
“That’s something I try to do very quickly with a young company—find the real germ of the idea and a way to explain it simply,” he says. “If you’re trying to raise money, you need to present an investment in a way that a venture capitalist can explain to his or her partners.”
Finding that story can also help identify a technology’s first commercial application. Freet recalls an example in which Georgia Tech researchers had devised a powerful technology to track computer and other expensive equipment. Further discussion indicated the technology was best viewed as a way to keep companies from losing things.
Freet believes that much of VentureLab’s capability hinges on its interdisciplinary nature and the broad experience of its staff.
“We can really bounce things off one another,” he says. “And while I might think that a discovery applies to the computer hardware business, we might find out that it’s actually a very good fit as, say, a biomedical application.”
Freet says the most attractive part of his VentureLab job consists of two benefits that are of great importance to him – giving back to his alma mater and home state, and improving his already strong connections to the state’s technology community.
“And then,” he adds, “there’s the fun stuff – learning about all this great technology and getting to know some pretty amazing people here at Tech.”
About the Enterprise Innovation Institute:
The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.
Paul Freet’s background story provided by:
Research News & Publications Office
Georgia Institute of Technology
75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 100
Atlanta, Georgia 30308
ATLlogos recently replaced TechDrawl’s ‘Companies’ database page thanks to the generosity of Paul Freet! We’ve long admired Freet’s slick site built about a year ago that shows the logos and growth stages of Atlanta technology companies color-coded by funding sources, linked to sites, and accompanied by a list of names and brief mission statements. The criterion for admission to ATLlogos (whose URL we have preserved) is the company must create technology. Freet has generously provided ATLlogos to TechDrawl to replace our editorially created page designed in 2003 for a previous brand and not readily transferable to our new format. We will operate ATLlogos as he has and collaborate with him to create versions for other major technology centers in the South. We’ll roll out an API in the near future for mashup applications of the data and intend to transfer responsibility for updates to the companies themselves at some point. We welcome suggestions and comments on features you might want to see added.
Here’s a heartfelt thanks to Paul Freet for making possible this great enhancement to TechDrawl and which helps us better showcase technology companies and build an even better startup culture in Atlanta.
So, who is Paul Freet? Freet joined Georgia Tech’s VentureLab in April 2008 in the role of a commercialization catalyst. Freet is a serial entrepreneur with three startup companies to his credit, essential for a job that demands both broad business judgment and sustained entrepreneurial enthusiasm. Freet is a 1986 Georgia Tech graduate with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a computer engineering certificate. He spent his early career with semiconductor giant Hitachi in marketing and application engineering roles. His first startup was in 1996 when as chief technology officer he helped found a San Diego startup called TruSOLUTIONS, a maker of Linux servers for the Internet. TruSOLUTIONS was sold to VA Linux Systems in 2000 for $200 million. Freet relocated to Atlanta and founded Racemi, a venture-funded maker of modular blade-server computers. Racemi evolved into a software company that pioneered a new approach to data-center recovery and migration.
The biggest stumbling block for new companies isn’t material, he says; seed money and office space can usually be found for a promising technology. Instead, the greatest challenges are intellectual, says Freet. Distilling a technological idea into a commercial product is difficult, and often the researchers who made the discovery can’t make that leap because they lack business experience and are too close to the technology. To commercialize any technology, it’s critical to distill down the concept to something simple and come up with an instructive pitch that can be shared. “That’s something I try to do very quickly with a young company—find the real germ of the idea and a way to explain it simply,” he says. “If you’re trying to raise money, you need to present an investment in a way that a venture capitalist can explain to his or her partners.”
About the VentureLab
The Centergy 1 Building in Technology Square in Midtown Atlanta is 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). VentureLab is a unit of the Enterprise Innovation Institute’s Commercialization Services, which evaluates and helps commercialize Georgia Tech intellectual property. About 10 percent of the 300 or more inventions disclosed by Tech researchers annually are judged to have the right stuff for forming a VentureLab startup.
The VentureLab generally recruits highly qualified commercialization catalysts with experience creating multiple startup companies like Freet and
Apple/Yahoo/Pixelpaint Valley veteran Keith McGreggor who is also getting his PhD in Computer Science from Georgia Tech in his spare time. They come to the VentureLab with a sense of mission, a higher vision.
Working with other VentureLab commercialization catalysts, Freet advises numerous technology startups, most still in a pre-incorporation, proof-of-concept phase. VentureLab catalysts help these early stage companies sharpen their product concept, find office/lab space and also obtain seed funding which generally comes from the Georgia Research Alliance. As a VentureLab catalyst, Freet uses his computer, software and electronics expertise to shepherd Georgia Tech researchers and their innovation through a process that can lead to a viable startup. (He also became the unwitting godfather of Twitter news during the week of auto excavations after the Centergy 1 parking deck partly collapsed on about 50 vehicles).
Freet believes much of VentureLab’s capability hinges on its interdisciplinary nature and the broad experience of its staff. “We can bounce things off one another,” he says. “And while I might think that a discovery applies to the computer hardware business, we might find out that it’s actually a very good fit as, say, a biomedical application.” Freet says the most attractive part of his VentureLab job consists of two benefits that are of great importance to him – giving back to his alma mater and home state, and improving his already strong connections to the state’s technology community. “And then,” he adds, “there’s the fun stuff – learning about all this great technology and getting to know some pretty amazing people here at Tech.”
About the ATDC:
The ATDC (Advanced Technology Development Center) is a Georgia Tech unit that incubates young companies who have moved beyond the VentureLab stage. It is a startup accelerator that helps Georgia technology entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies. Founded in 1980, ATDC has helped create millions of dollars in tax revenues by graduating more than 120 companies, which together have raised more than a billion dollars in outside financing. ATDC has provided business incubation and acceleration services to hundreds of Georgia startups—most of which are not based on Georgia Tech research, but which benefit from the close proximity to the university.
Recently ATDC expanded its mission by merging with Georgia Tech’s VentureLab and with the Georiga SBIR Assistance Program. The change will enble ATDC to greatly extend its reach to serve more technology companies along multiple growth paths and at all stages of development. ATDC has opened its membership to all technology entrepreneurs in Georgia, from those at the earliest conception stage to the well-established, venture-fundable companies..
About the Enterprise Innovation Institute:
The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation. Stephen Fleming Georgia Tech 1983 valedictorian and graduate in theoretical physics was recently named Vice Provost and head of the Enterprise Innovation Institute.
Editor’s Note: Thanks to the Research News & Publications Office of the Georgia Institute of Technology for background information, story and (undoctored) photos of Paul Freet, Stephen Fleming and Keith McGreggor.
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