This coming month of September, I will be building a primary presence in Sarasota, Florida but will continue to maintain my Austin, Texas address as well as continue my work around the world.  With this decision, I have received a fair amount of grief from friends and colleagues who cannot believe I would leave the innovative and creative technology driven city of Austin.  It should come as no surprise to me due to the success Austin has enjoyed in my particular field, however, one cannot discount the power that the sea can have over ones ability to create and innovate. 

Meredith F. Small, a columnist with LiveScience, wrote a great column today about her recent trip to the beach and it raises the question, why do we see trips to the sea as merely vacation spots and not locations to do our best thinking and innovating?  http://www.livescience.com/history/070824_hn_fish.html 

Well, I for one, will be near the beach and I expect to uncover incredible innovations, driven entrepreneurs and emerging technologies.  There is a ton of entrepreneurial energy in Florida and along the gulf coasts and it is time we leveraged these resources to continue to grow the region.  I am excited to be there and participate in the regional efforts for innovation and wealth creation. 

Having reviewed almost 100 early stage technologies in my first year, my experience has taught me that great technologies can be presented poorly and poor technologies can be presented well, only to find out later that there is no market, the IP already exists or the product is, well… horrible.  In one case, university researchers brought us something that simply broke the laws of physics! 

Events like this keep commercialization fun.  Keeping with that spirit, one of my favorite diversions, The Onion, released an article on commercialization that really isn’t too far from some of the things I’ve seen real inventors pitch!  Enjoy…

Brookstone Scientists 10 Years Away From Towel Alarm Clock

http://www.theonion.com/content/news/brookstone_scientists_10_years 

There is simply no substitute for being out in world meeting people when making deals.  Every city, every region has a place where the deal makers of various industries come together to make things happen.  Today, my wife, Michelle Raines,  told me a story that illustrates this point.  She is a marketing strategist to executives, primarily focused on a couple of industries, one in particular is Urban Real Estate Development.  She works from home but is usually out and about meeting people and clients.  With this freedom, she can leverage herself to be at Jo’s Coffee Shop in Downtown Austin and meet and greet casually with almost every major player in the hot development market in Austin.  She is seen as well, which is equally important.  During the two hours, she met with a major developer casually, integrated into the conversation a couple of C-level executives from her former employer who walked by and who coincidentally raved about her and how much they missed her in front of this new potential client and she met a few other business associates and clients casually, who just happened to be in the area, all of which builds her credibility as a key resource to this community. 

The point I want to make is that when you are doing business development, you have to keep in mind that e-mail and phone calls are only tools that ultimately get you into an opportunity to meet face to face.  I would further advocate that simply ordering a cup of coffee and meeting a few contacts over a morning in a hot spot like I just described is far more valuable than a day spent working the phones. 

As a start-up, your resources are spread thin and sometimes, it seems that making the most contacts you can is where the payoff will be for your firm.  This is rarely the case.  Get out for at least two mornings a week and find a key hot spot in your town for VC’s and Angels, developers, agents, government administrators – whomever you are seeking – and schedule one or two informal meetings with high profile executives and watch your personal stock rise quickly in your area.  Introducing them to others is a very highly regarded position to be in and they will also introduce you to even more important people as they pass by your table.  Making personal connections is key but being seen in the environment often gets overlooked and sometimes, just being seen is half the battle.