“There is no other event where you’ll have the opportunity to hear 3 minute pitches from 50 startups in a day.” - Startup Riot

Once a year in Atlanta, GA there is gathering of  entrepreneurs from around the world itching to tell the anyone with ears about their business ideas. OK, well they really are trying to get the attention of some investors (institutional, corporate VCs, and angels). There is ever room for larger companies looking for fresh ideas to either acquire or work a partnership deal. Unfortunately I personally have not had a chance to attend yet, but I caught up with someone who has. Hear his story about Startup Riot 2010:

RedMaven: Who is Andrew (Andy) Watson?

Andy: I’m a software engineer originally from Orlando. I’ve worked for huge companies like Federal Express and Cox Communications and also at small startups like MindComet. I enjoy creating things and have a knack for solving problems.

RedMaven: Almost everyone thinks they’ve had a great idea for a product or business, but complained that no one would ever take them seriously, let alone give them money for it. What enticed you to attend StartUp Riot?

Andy: I’ve wanted to start a company for a long time.  I graduated from the Executive MBA program at Georgia Tech in December 2005.  As part of that program we built a business plan around technology developed at Georgia Tech.  I found the entire prcess fascinating and it was at that point that I decided I wanted to start my own company.  A friend invited me to attend StartupRiot in 2009.  While I was sitting in the audience that year I became determined to be a presenter in 2010.  This year I was up there on stage.

RedMaven: Were you nervous the first time you attended? How did you get past it?

Andy: The first time I attended StartupRiot I was just in the audience.  It was incredibly exciting and I was intensely jealous of the founders who were up on stage.  This year I was presenting and I was very nervous.  I had spoken at conferences and in front of large crowds before but I never had this much at stake before.  Add to that Robert Scoble, Bo Peabody, CNN and 400 people and it’s a little intimidating!  The best thing for me was going to Startup Gauntlet the night before.  I got great feedback on my pitch and a lot of encouragement from Jeff McConnell, Keith McGreggor and Paul Freet.

RedMaven: Describe the atmosphere at the venue.

Andy: The venue was electric.  It was literally buzzing with excitement.  At one point in the exhibit hall I had to shout to be heard.  You could feel the excitement from people as the met other entrepreneurs and thought of new ways to combine their technologies together.  It was frenetic.  If it had lasted for 24 hours I would have stayed the whole time.  I talked so much that day I almost lost my voice.

RedMaven: What did you do to prepare for the event?

Andy: We printed out lots of business cards.  I moved our database to Amazon’s RDS in case we got slammed with traffic.  I setup a special phone number to show off our features but I forgot to mention it during my pitch.

RedMaven: If your intentions are to secure funding, beyond the 3 minute presentation, how would you suggest approaching potential investors? What are some of your do’s and don’ts?

Andy: Well, we weren’t trying to raise capital this year but if we had been, I would have tried to network with investors in advance by talking to my advisors at ATDC.  Find out what investors have made investments in your space recently.  Find a way to get introduced to them before the event.  Find out what it takes for them to invest in a company.  Find a way to meet those criteria or have a plan to meet them. Be ready to demonstrate either proven experience (successful exit) or traction (paying customers).

RedMaven: Any funny stories that you have come across while at StartUp Riot? Either personal or something you heard about at the event.

Andy: When I showed up at the event I thought I was speaking in the after-lunch group.  I planned on having a few beers at lunch to calm my nerves.  I thought I would have time to rehearse, practice, re-write, rehearse again.  The only problem?  I wasn’t in the after-lunch group at all.  I was in the first group.  I was THIRD.  Somehow the lists of people had gotten scrambled.  Nobody was in the slot they though they were in.  So I was sitting up in the front of the theater going over my outline and I didn’t even realize I was sitting next to Ben Dyer who I’ve wanted to meet in real life for a while.  I was a little pre-occupied.  I thought I was ready to go.  I had even worked in a line that made reference to Bo Peabody’s keynote.  Then Ben was done.  He started walking off the stage and my mind went BLANK.  I did alright though and in retrospect it was good that I went early so I could get it over with.

RedMaven: Haha, wow! Ok, so looking to next year, if you plan to attend again, what, if anything, are you planning to do differently?

Andy: I would definitely invest in signage.  We didn’t have any and I think it made us harder to find and we didn’t show up in any of the CNN footage of the event.
We also could have done better about having our demo up and running on my laptop on the table.  We’ll get better at the trade show thing over time.

RedMaven: What is the best advice you would give entrepreneurs interested in attending StartUp Riot as a presenter?

Andy: DO IT.  Seriously.  It doesn’t matter if you think you’re not ready.  You’re as ready as you’re ever going to be.  Boil your business down to its essentials.  Come up with 4 VERY simple slides and apply to attend.  What have you got to lose?

RedMaven: Can you tell us about any future projects your are working on?

Andy: We’re currently working on extending OtherNumber into some vertical markets like Real Estate where we can build out special functionality to meet their very specific needs.  We’re also working on an integration with Chirbit to allow post audio clips on Twitter by making phone calls.

RedMaven: What is the best way for our readers to get in contact with you, follow you, etc…?

Andy: My twitter handle is @andrewwatson and we post company updates with @othernum.  Our company website is http://othernum.com/ and you can find a million ways to contact us on our About Page (http://othernum.com/about/)

In an earlier post we suggested that you check out HBO’s new series “How to make it in America” which basically shows the experiences Ben and Cam (the main characters) go through while turning their ideas into a profitable business, specifically, a high end denim (jean) line.

How does this relate to MAGIC? I am so glad you asked.

Well, there is no hocus pocus here, but the long answer is this “MAGIC is the preeminent trade event in the international fashion industry, hosting global buyers and sellers of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, footwear, accessories and sourcing resources. As an incubator of fashion, MAGIC is where new trends surface and develop into what will be seen on the consumer. The show’s goal is to connect and inspire the fashion community, fuse diverse trends, while offering unbeatable service to its customers.”

A short answer is if you want to get your fashion line in front of major movers and shakers in the fashion industry and book orders you need to be in Las Vegas in either mid February or early September for MAGIC.

So, Ben and Cam (I know they are fictional characters, but there may be some of you reading this right now how have started or thinking about staring some type of clothing line, so I am talking to YOU): “Once you have your business setup properly, outlined end-to-end procedures for your products, quality samples, some marketing signage, business cards, flyers, and a manufacturer lined up ready to receive orders, then and only then will you be ready to really attend MAGIC to get some skin in the game.”

Last week, Jon Stewart interviewed Jim Cramer and criticized CNBC, the biggest financial news network. Here is the link, there is an edited and unedited version. Unedited versions are always better. John Stewart tries to get to the point as to why CNBC is not doing a better job calling out faulty business practices that goes on within the financial services industry. Jim Cramer tries to stand up for what he has done but truly he has no real defense. At the end of the day, CNBC can not be objective for several reasons.

First, it always has to keep a positive spin on its reporting. If CNBC came out and said CEO’s are out here manipulating their books, hedge funds are manipulating markets and spreading rumors, it would cause widespread panic. In September of 2008, their were large runs on regional banks and ended with about 550 billion dollars being pulled out of money market funds. This almost collapsed the world financial systems as we know them today. However, these stories were never discussed on CNBC. Why? Because it would have caused more widespread panic. We obviously do not want disaster, so as a result, it is not talked about.

Secondly, It has to do 17 hours of live television a day while entertaining it’s viewers. If you had to talk about your favorite subject for 17 hours 5 days a week, you eventually find yourself making up stories, lying, and misleading people. There are millions of times when there is just nothing worth talking about in the markets, however CNBC has to talk about something, so very opinionated stories are created.

Lastly, CNBC ends each interview with what should I buy? Each news event does not have a money making opportunity attached to it. Actually, for investors there are really only about 2 times a year where you should be thinking about buying stocks and if it’s a bear market, your money should be in cash. You do not have to always have your money in the market. Buying and holding stocks should have never been a mantra believed by investors.

So, what I’m saying is do your own research and do not depend on what is said on television. It is not always factual. I hear many people saying I heard this on the news so it has to be true. That is not true at all. At the end of the day, make your analysis, and believe in your own research.

Below is an article from Bloomberg about the FDIC Insurance fund being insolvent by year’s end.

March 4 (Bloomberg) — Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair said the fund it uses to protect customer deposits at U.S. banks could dry up amid a surge in bank failures, as she responded to an industry outcry against new fees approved by the agency.

“Without these assessments, the deposit insurance fund could become insolvent this year,” Bair wrote in a March 2 letter to the industry. U.S. community banks plan to flood the FDIC with about 5,000 letters in protest of the fees, according to a trade group.

“A large number” of bank failures may occur through 2010 because of “rapidly deteriorating economic conditions,” Bair said in the letter. “Without substantial amounts of additional assessment revenue in the near future, current projections indicate that the fund balance will approach zero or even become negative.”

The FDIC last week approved a one-time “emergency” fee and other assessment increases on the industry to rebuild a fund to repay customers for deposits of as much as $250,000 when a bank fails. The fees, opposed by the industry, may generate $27 billion this year after the fund fell to $18.9 billion in the fourth quarter from $34.6 billion in the previous period, the FDIC said.

The fund, which lost $33.5 billion in 2008, was drained by 25 bank failures last year. Sixteen banks have failed so far this year, further straining the fund.

Angry Bankers

Smaller banks are outraged over the one-time fee, which could wipe out 50 percent to 100 percent of a bank’s 2009 earnings, Camden Fine, president of the Independent Community Bankers of America, said yesterday in a telephone interview.

“I’ve never seen emotions like this,” said Fine, adding that he’s received more than 1,000 e-mails and telephone messages from angry bankers.

“The FDIC realizes that these assessments are a significant expense, particularly during a financial crisis and recession when bank earnings are under pressure,” Bair wrote. “We did not want to impose large assessments when the industry and economy are struggling. We searched for alternatives but found none better.”

The agency, which has released the change for 30 days of public comment, could modify the assessment to shift the burden to the large banks “that caused this train wreck,” Fine said. “Community bankers are feeling like they are paying for the incompetence and greed of Wall Street,” he said.

Legal Constraints

Bair dismissed that suggestion.

“For risk-based assessments, our statute restricts us from discriminating against an institution because of size,” Bair wrote.

The deposit insurance fund won’t dry up because the government can get funds from the industry and congressional appropriations, and borrow from the Treasury, Chip MacDonald, a partner specializing in financial services at law firm Jones Day, said today in a telephone interview.

“As a depositor, I am not worried in the least,” MacDonald said. “No one is going to let the FDIC go without any money.”

Consumers should watch this issue closely, said Edmund Mierzwinski, consumer program director at U.S. PIRG, a Boston- based consumer-watchdog group.

“I wouldn’t take their money out of the bank yet,” Mierzwinski said. “If the FDIC is saying that there is this serious problem, then we should all be concerned. I think there is a chance the FDIC is going to have to ask taxpayers for money in the future.”

No Taxpayer Funds

Bair rejected arguments that the agency should use government aid to rebuild the fund. The FDIC has authority to tap a $30 billion line of credit at the Treasury Department and legislation pending in Congress would boost the amount to $100 billion.

“Banks, not taxpayers, are expected to fund the system,” Bair said. Asking for taxpayer support “could paint all banks with the ‘bailout’ brush.”

The FDIC “will revise the interim rule, if appropriate, in light of the comments received,” the agency said in a Federal Register notice.

Is your saving more money hurting the overall macro economy? It is called the Paradox of Thrift. Well a number of economists have debated this question more intensely for the past 15 months. Below is an article I found on Consumerism Commentary. I feel the author explains the argument pretty well from both sides. 

The Paradox of The Paradox of Thrift
By Flexo on Monday, February 16, 2009 in Saving

If you’ve been paying attention lately, you might have heard that throughout the economic recession, Americans have been saving more of their income. Some economists worry that saving, while good for the individual, can be harmful to the economy as a whole. This is commonly called, “the paradox of thrift,” a theory developed by John Maynard Keynes, a popular economist who in the early 20th century saw spending as the basis of an economy.

Keynes looks at a recession as a vicious cycle, illustrated here:

1. Less money is being spent by consumers.
2. Demand for products and services decreases.
3. Businesses reduce production and eliminate jobs to meet demand.
4. Unemployment increases, resulting in less income for saving or spending.
5. Rinse and repeat.

In this model, it is theorized that saving more money can eventually result in having less money to save on an aggregate level. The only thing that can break this cycle is something external. In our case, it is the government. The first treatment was “stimulus,” payments given to taxpayers (from current or future tax receipts) to help “stimulate” the economy.

The reaction, when this didn’t work, was that this wasn’t enough to break the cycle, and more stimulus was needed to noticeably affect the economy. The government decided to go directly to businesses, providing them with the capital needed to finance shovel-ready projects, hire more employees, and keep aggregate income up so consumers would feel that their money is better spent, spent.

The easiest argument against the validity of the paradox of thrift is that, for the most part, there is no such thing as saving money. Money is either spent now or it is spent later. Another possibility is that it is invested now and transferred to a business, and the business either spends it now or spends it later. When you decide to spend money later, in almost all cases, you put the money into a bank account, which provides the bank with more funds with which to provide loans to businesses now.

As long as banks to continue to loan out money, the economy doesn’t decline. But as we see now, thanks to the “credit crunch” (which we haven’t been hearing about as much recently), that’s not happening.

In short, it’s not consumer spending or saving, but the financial industry’s refusal to lend money to credit-worthy businesses that is keeping us amidst the recession.

The paradox of thrift, the idea that saving more money was bad for the economy, was invented when personal rates of saving were much higher and consumer credit was all but nonexistent. At this time in American history, “saving money” meant keeping cash under a mattress outside of the banking system. Perhaps the paradox of thrift was a reality at that time, but despite its popularity in the news recently, it probably no longer applies to America’s modern economy. Many economists now agree that this aspect of Keynesian economics has seen better days.

Does the government need to step in to break the cycle, like Keynes suggested? Probably, but it needs to take the right actions. Helping tax payers with $400 over two years is not enough because it doesn’t have a large enough effect for the majority of Americans in order to restore consumer confidence.

The economy is broken at the lending level, and that’s where the government should focus. Banks need to lend money to credit-worthy customers. If they refuse, the government can step in, and they have a number of options, with approaches ranging from near-socialism to capitalism, including:

• buying the banks, nationalizing the industry, and changing the way banks do business
• buying controlling shares in the banks and making management decisions to lend (responsibly)
• investing in the banks with the requirement that the money be used to increase lending
• providing tax incentives for institutions that decide to increase responsible lending
• creating a federal bank that accepts deposits and lends its funds to compete directly with private banks

Continue to save money and spend less than you earn. It’s not a patriotic duty to spend it on products and services you don’t need, despite what you might hear. There is no need to sacrifice your future financial well-being for the sake of the greater good. It wouldn’t work, anyway. The economy will be sorted out with or without the house you buy now rather than a year from now.

Here is an interesting article posted by the author of the blog, “My Money Blog.” I feel it has a some important information that my effect some of our readers. See below:

“The House and Senate have reached an agreement on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, better known everywhere as “that huge stimulus bill“. I couldn’t stop myself from taking a peek. Here are some details that directly affect most taxpayers:

“Making Work Pay” Tax Credit: $400 per person, $800 per family
Apparently it won’t be sent out as a lump-sum check this time, but will directly increase your paycheck as an extra $13 a week in take-home pay starting in June (since it is retroactive to 2009), falling to about $8 a week in January 2010. I tend to think a lump sum would have more “bang.” Starts to phase out at $75,000 modified adjusted gross income for single filers, $150,000 for married filing jointly.

“Not Working” Tax Credit: $250 per person
For retirees, disabled individuals and others who don’t work, they will receive a one-time $250 payment. This will probably be a check in the mail.

$8,000 First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit
Although there was talk of a $15,000 tax credit for all homebuyers, it looks like it was greatly reduced and still restricted to first-time homebuyers. Starts to phase out at $75,000 modified adjusted gross income for single filers, $150,000 for married filing jointly.

If you bought your house between April 9, 2008 and December 31st, 2008, the first-time homebuyer tax credit remains at $7,500 and you will have to pay it back over 15 years, or when you sell the house. If you bought your house after January 1st, 2009 and before December 1st, 2009, the credit is now increased to $8,000 and you will not have to pay it back as long as you live in it for 3 years.

New Car Tax Deductions
If you buy a new car, you can deduct the taxes you paid on it (on up to $49,500). Starts to phase out at $125,000 modified adjusted gross income for single filers, $250,000 for married filing jointly.

…and a whole lot more, including expanded unemployment benefits.

An example of a tiny tidbit that got mixed in? In 2009 and 2010, you can now use your 529 plan money to pay for “computers and computer technology,” which could include peripherals, software, and even broadband internet fees.”

Here is the link to the post: http://www.mymoneyblog.com/archives/2009/02/american-recovery-and-reinvestment-act-of-2009-highlights.html